"I hope that the basketball championship can motivate people (athletes) to compete at the national level," Mayor of Pangkalpinang Maulan Aklil stated here on Friday.
Aklil noted that the opening of the U15 Basketball Championship will be attended by Chief of the Presidential Staff Moeldoko and President of the Indonesian Basketball Association (Perbasi) Danny Kosasih.
Meanwhile, State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) Minister Erick Thohir and Youth and Sports Minister Zainudin Amali confirmed that they will watch the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Cup live first, and they may thereafter fly to Pangkalpinang City.
"We ensure that 300 athletes from seven provinces will attend this year's U15 Basketball Championship," Aklil stated.
The women's team from host Bangka Belitung Islands will play against Banten Province at 5 p.m. Western Indonesian Standard Time (WIB) on Sunday, secretary of the U15 National Basketball Championship Committee Mashur Samsuri remarked.
After the women's team match, the Bangka Belitung Islands men's team will compete against North Sumatra at 7 p.m. local time.
However, prior to that, in the morning, a match will be held between the women's team from Central Java and South Sumatra at 9 a.m. local time followed by North Sumatra vs Bali for the women's team at 11 a.m. WIB.
At 1 p.m. WIB, the Central Java men's team will face Bali and then the East Java vs Jakarta men's team.
"Six matches will be held every day and start at 9 a.m. WIB in the pool preliminary rounds on January 8-11, 2023," Samsuri remarked.
The Pangkalpinang City Government also ensured its readiness and finalized preparations ahead of the U15 Basketball National Championship that will be attended by hundreds of athletes.
One of the positive aspects that the Pangkalpinang administration wants to present to the public is the presence of national basketball players from the city, such as Abraham and other legends.
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Translator: Aprionis, Kenzu
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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