Satria Muda going for gold at SEABA Cup

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Tue, 04/01/2008 12:15 PM  |  Sports

Indonesian Basketball League champion Satria Muda Britama is looking for a redemption for last year's narrow defeat at the South East Asia Basketball Association (SEABA) Champions Cup 2008 that begins Friday in Jakarta.

"We will try hard to win this tournament this time. We were close to winning it last year," the club's head coach, Fictor Gideon Roring, said Monday.

The three-day event will be staged at Britama Arena in Sportsmall Kelapa Gading, North Jakarta, and is featuring national champions from countries including The Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia.

Recalling last season's tournament, Fictor rued the missed chance when they surprisingly bowed out to the Philippine's contender in the final match, even though they had beaten the opponent in the qualifying round.

Shooting forward player Amin Prihantono said he would be alert of all participants in the tournament.

"We should not underestimate any squad. We thought we would win last year, but it turned out the Philippines were tougher," he said.

Satria Muda has gained a performance boost with the addition of Alexander G. Hartman of the United States and Jemino Kama Sobers of Canada to strengthen the squad.

"It's difficult to find tall and skillful basketball players nowadays (with a reasonable tag price) and Alex and Jemino, who are quickly adapting to our playing rhythm, meet our criteria," Fictor said.

SEABA President Erick Thohir said the winner of the round-robin tournament would be entitled to an inclusion to the 19th FIBA Asia Champions Cup in Kuwait from May 8 to 16.

Countries participating in the SEABA Champions Cup, Thohir said, include Indonesia, The Philippines, Malaysia, and Thailand. Vietnam and Singapore are not sending their representatives because they are still competing in local leagues while other South East Asian countries, like Brunei Darussalam and Cambodia, do not have eligible basketball teams. (ind)

Copyright © 2008 The Jakarta Post - PT Bina Media Tenggara. All Rights Reserved.