Jakarta - If Satria Muda Britama hopes to avoid a second defeat in the Asean Basketball League when it travels to Kuala Lumpur over the weekend, the Jakarta club will have to work out its trust issues.
Satria Muda fell 94-93 to the Singapore Slingers last week, the loss highlighting the club’s odd coaching tactics more than its players’ performance.
New head coach Ocky Tamtelahitu opted to keep his rookies on the bench for much of the ABL opener, and relied heavily on a six-man rotation.
Veteran guard Mario Wuysang, the lone holdover from the squad that finished runner-up last season, was the only Indonesian to log heavy minutes.
Center Doni Ristanto, one of the rookies, played just a minute.
Ocky said he was not confident that the team’s newcomers “were ready,” but acknowledged that his decision to rely on just six players took a toll on them.
“It was my choice. I didn’t think most of my players were ready,” he said on Friday.
“I want to give them more time to adjust. I know they’ll be ready as we play more games, and I’ll be more comfortable using them when that time comes.”
Ocky said he planned to expand his rotation to include Doni, Ryan Febrian and Fattah Arifin against Kuala Lumpur’s Westsports Dragons.
But he is still inclined to rely on his imports, notably American forward Marcus Morrison and Filipino guard Francis Adriano, to lead the team.
The Dragons lost their ABL opener on the road, 79-74 to the Chang Thailand Slammers.
Filipino guard Rudy Lingganay scored a team-high 30 points for the Dragons, but Slammers forward Chris Kuete scored nine of his 31 points in overtime to give Chang the win. (Wimbo Satwiko)
Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com