J

AKARTA: Fourteen teams of men and women will take part in the tenth year of the Proliga indoor volleyball league, starting on Thursday in Jakarta.

Among the 14 teams, four new squads — the Jakarta Electric PLN men’s team, Semarang Bank Jateng men’s team, Bandung Alko women’s team and Bontang LNG Badak women’s team — will give more color to the three-month-long competition.

Bontang LNG Badak coach Wienarto said his team would give a surprise in the event. “Although we’re new, we will try our best to steal some points from the big teams,” he said at a press conference on Wednesday.

Besides Jakarta, the league will also be held in Gresik (East Java), Yogyakarta, Semarang (Central Java), Bandung (West Java), Surabaya (East Java), Solo (Central Java) and Malang (East Java) until May 22.

In 2010, the Jakarta BNI 46 club managed to win titles in both men’s and women’s competition.

League director Hanny Surkatty said the event is part of the Indonesian Volleyball Association’s (PBVSI) selection process to form the national team to compete in the upcoming South East Asian Games (SEA Games) in November. In the upcoming years, the Proliga, which has been main-sponsored by a cigarette producer in the last seven years, will be supported by a non-cigarette company, said Hanny. —JP