W

ith four wins and four losses, Indonesia's Satria Muda Britama is looking to fight it out for another five wins to assure a place in the final-four stage of the ASEAN Basketball League (ABL).

"Winning four times and losing four times leaves us not in a comfortable position. But we have seven matches to play. We have to win at least five more," team manager Dwi Eriano said Wednesday.

The team's lost against the Philippines Patriots and the Singapore Slingers, which are the top two teams in the 6-team league, in the provisional standings.

Satria lost 69-76 to the Patriots at home, and 56-74 away. The Slingers defeated them 96-72 in the first game and 61-59 in the second.

"The ABL is indeed an onerous league, because we have been facing tough opponents. However, we are relatively safe because we only lost to the top two teams," said Dwi.

Satria is currently clinging to third in the standings, followed by the Kuala Lumpur Dragons, the Thailand Tigers and the Brunei Barracudas.

The Jakarta-based Satria team are hopeful they can steal victories against the Patriots on Saturday and the Slingers on Dec. 12.

"Polishing the defense is definitely our main priority ahead of the upcoming games," Dwi said.

The team has decided to leave for Manila on Thursday, with hopes of maintaining fitness.

The team's top local players - Agung Sunarko, Wendha Wijaya and Wellyanson - will also be among its younger members set to play against Garuda in the final-four stage of the Indonesian Basketball League (IBL) Tournament on Dec. 11 and 13.

Back in the ASEAN league, Satria will face the Tigers on Dec. 20 at Nimibutr National Stadium in Thailand; the Dragons on Jan. 2 at MABA Stadium in Kuala Lumpur; the Barracudas on Jan. 10 at Britama Arena Sports Mall; and the Dragons on Jan. 23 also in Jakarta.

With two American players in their lineup (Alex Hartman and Nakiea Miller) Dwi expects SM Britama will not squander its odds-on against the Tigers, the Dragons and the Barracudas.

The team has recently made significant changes by including more foreign players from the US and Southeast Asia.

Miller was recruited recently to replace Theo Little, who was said to have played poorly in the first three games.

Another Southeast Asian import is Rensy Bajar of the Philippines, who led the Bhinneka Solo team to win the 2005 IBL Tournament trophy.