Loud music was heard from the outside of the Ken Arok Indoor Stadium in Malang, East Java. Volleyball fans, mostly male, lined up to buy a Rp 40,000 [US$3] ticket for the 2017 Pro Liga national volleyball league in March. Seven women’s teams competed at the event.
Malang hosted the first leg of the men’s and women’s team competition in January and the second leg in March. Each leg lasts three days and has always attracted a lot of fans to watch the matches.
However, the female players have become the spectators’ sweethearts not only because of their skills but also because of their beauty. Many male fans waited for hours at the stadium entrance for a chance to get the female players’ autographs or ask for photographs. The fans’ favorite players included Mutiara from the Jakarta Pertamina Energy team, Aprilia Manganang and Yolla from the Jakarta Elektrik PLN team and a few foreign players such as Halley Dora Spelman from the Petro Kimia Gresik team.
Three teams – the Jakarta Elektrik PLN, the Jakarta Pertamina Energi and the Jakarta Popsivo Polwan – have secured their berths for the final four. Another ticket was fought over by Petro Kimia Gresik and Bandung Bank BJB Pakuan. Petro eventually made it to the final four. The finals will take place in April in Surakarta, Central Java, and Bandung.
The volleyball league will also attract fans who support their favorite teams and players when they give their best shots for victory. [yan]