Sports officials won't get SEAG holiday: KONI
JAKARTA (JP): The National Sports Council (KONI) brushed aside allegations that it would take advantage of the Kuala Lumpur 2001 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games by sending a large number of officials to the biennial event.
"KONI realizes that currently it is difficult for us to secure enough money to finance our participation at the SEA Games. It would be a mistake if we were to waste it just for fun," KONI chairman Wismoyo Arismunandar told reporters on Tuesday.
He said the national contingent would comply with the principles of efficiency and effectiveness.
"We have already set the guidelines to decide how many officials should leave for Kuala Lumpur," he added.
KONI has announced that there will be 541 athletes and 124 coaches in the team, but withheld the number of accompanying officials. Preliminary reports said the number of officials reached 140, comprising 34 team managers, seven technical commission staff, 37 core officials and 62 supporting officials.
The government has provided over Rp 10 billion to cover all expenses of the Indonesian contingent during the games, which will take place from Sept.8 to Sept. 17.
Wismoyo defended the sending of a large team of officials, saying that this year's SEA Games would be different from those in the past.
"The events will take place in several cities in Malaysia, not just Kuala Lumpur, with a distance of more than 300 kilometers between them. Such conditions have forced us to modify our coordination," he said.
"I hope the public will take these operational facts into account before making their judgments."
The Kuala Lumpur 2001 SEA Games Organizing Committee (KULSOC) will host archery and tae kwon do in the southern state of Johor and bowling and judo in the northeast state of Penang island. Other venues are in Negeri Sembilan state for boxing and sailing.
Basketball
Meanwhile, the Indonesian Basketball Association (Perbasi) named on Tuesday a 12-strong men's team, with the goal of winning at least the bronze medal at the SEA Games.
Indonesia finished third in the men's basketball in the last SEA Games in 1999 after defeating Malaysia. All-time champion the Philippines won the gold medal after beating Thailand.
"We will do our best to reach the final, hoping to secure the silver medal as it is almost impossible for us to beat the Philippines," team manager Erick Thohir said.
The women's team has set its sights on qualifying for the final.
Perbasi decided to drop power forward Tri Adnyanadi Lokatanaya of Aspac and center Rony Ronaldy Purnama of Satria Muda from the team currently undergoing a series of tryouts in Manila and Hong Kong.
The remaining players are guards AF Rinaldo, Ali Budimansyah, and Riko Hantono; forwards Pek King Dhay, I Gede Agus Wahyudi, Suko Daryono, Dwi Eriano, I Made Sudiadnyana and Romy C. Chandra; centers Cokorda Raka Satrya Wibawa, Saut Lombok Jonson and Fictor G. Roring.
Erick said the Filipino team remains the strongest team thanks to tough competition in its domestic league. He also warned of upcoming talents Thailand and Singapore.
Meanwhile, coach Tjetjep Firmansyah said the team learnt some precious lessons from their outings.
"The players are now accustomed to rough play performed by the Philippines and Thailand. We never play it rough here so the players have to maintain their composure," he said.
"They must also improve both their offensive and defensive rebounds. It is also important to handle an opponent who has the ball."
Tjetjep said the team would use a fast break and second break strategy to counter the Philippines and Thailand.
"During the tours, our players have managed to keep their opponents busy but have failed to seal a victory as we still fallen short of sharp shooters especially from the perimeter circle," he said.
"The players should take the Filipino and Thai players, who keep their cool while under pressure, as a good example. They have managed to claw their way back from a deficit, which meant our team failed to maintain their lead." (nvn)