GIANTS MARATHON SOFTBALL GAMES..

From: www.indobaseball.com

Written by ILham Noor, on 18-02-2009 15:04
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12Sesuai dengan namanya ”Giants Cup” yang kalau diartikan adalah Piala Raksasa atau kejuaraan raksasa, panitia pun ingin membuat sesuatu yang beda, sesuatu yang besar. Selain kejuaraan softball, panitia juga mengadakan kompetisi cheerleaders dan lomba fotografi yang tak kalah menariknya. Berbagai macam perusahaan pun ikut mensponsori ”Gorgeous Cup nya” Softball putra ini. Dan terbukti, kejuaraan yang akan diadakan 2 tahun sekali ini mendapatkan respon yang baik dari masyarakat sekitar.

_Giants Cup 2009_
Pesta Ulang Tahunnya “Sang Raksasa”

Pada tanggal 12 – 15 Februari 2009 Lapangan softball pintu 1 Senayan Jakarta diramaikan oleh klub klub softball yang ingin membawa pulang total hadiah Rp. 20.000.000. Tidak hanya klub-klub di Indonesia saja, tim nasional softball putra Brunei Darussalam pun ikut menghadiri kejuaraan softball putra yang sekaligus menjadi hajatan ulang tahun klub softball Giants Jakarta.
Ketua panitia Giants Cup 2009, Teguh Imanriyadi mengatakan, “kejuaraan ini adalah kejuaraan yang pertamakali dilaksanakan, setelah Giants berulang tahun yang pertama pada bulan Januari 2009 lalu, namun akibat adanya berbagai macam hal, baru bulan Februari ini kita bisa menggelar tournament tersebut.”

Giants Cup 2009 adalah sebuah tournament softball putra yang bersifat marathon games, kjuaraan ini dibagi menjadi dua kelompok umur, Open Tournament (Copa) dan U-23 Tournament. Di kelompok Copa terdiri dari 13 tim softball putra, mereka adalah Doberman Bandung, OCBC NISP Bandung, Giants Jakarta, Radjawali Jakarta, Rebels Jakarta, Prambors Jakarta, Pejabat Jakarta, Blue Jays Jakarta, Eagles Jakarta, Balancer Tasikmalaya, Sixth Sense Lampung, Lakidende Sultra, dan Timnas Brunei. Garuda Jakarta, Blue Jays Jakarta, Pejabat Jakarta, Giants Jakarta, Gorgeous Bandung, bumi Asri Bandung, Bone Makassar, dan Partha Jogjakarta bersaing untuk menjadi yang terbaik di kelompok U-23.

Giants Cup 2009 ini bisa dibilang kejuaraan softball putra terbesar setelah Liga Softball Indonesia. Terbukti dengan hadirnya sejumlah pemain asing asal Fillipina yang membela beberapa klub peserta, ditambah dengan ikut sertanya timnas softball Brunei di kejuaraan ini. Namun Tegeg (begitu sapaan akrab Teguh) enggan menganggap kalau Giants Cup ini disetarakan dengan Liga Softball Indonesia. “Liga Softball kan ajang kompetisi yang professional, disana para atlet dikontrak untuk bermain. Namun Giants Cup adalah kejuaraan yang terbuka, siapa pun boleh bermain dimana saja.” ucap Tegeg yang juga memperkuat tim Blue jays di kelas Copa ini.

Kejuaraan ini pun disambut gembira oleh ketua PB. Perbasasi Gugun Yudinar, dengan kedatangan sejumlah pemain asing itu beliau berharap para pemain Indonesia bisa mengambil pelajaran dari mereka. ”Mereka adalah personil terbaik di negerinya, dan saya harap mereka bisa bebaur dan memberikan sesuatu yang bisa diambil oleh para atlet softball di Indonesia.” cetus Gugun usai membuka Giants Cup 2009.

Sesuai dengan namanya ”Giants Cup” yang kalau diartikan adalah Piala Raksasa atau kejuaraan raksasa, panitia pun ingin membuat sesuatu yang beda, sesuatu yang besar. Selain kejuaraan softball, panitia juga mengadakan kompetisi cheerleaders dan lomba fotografi yang tak kalah menariknya. Berbagai macam perusahaan pun ikut mensponsori ”Gorgeous Cup nya” Softball putra ini. Dan terbukti, kejuaraan yang akan diadakan 2 tahun sekali ini mendapatkan respon yang baik dari masyarakat sekitar.

Namun keberhasilan panitia tidak bisa disandingkan dengan tim softballnya, Giants U-23 dan tim copa Giants hanya bisa bertengger di posisi runner up, mereka masing-masing dikalahkan Garuda U-23 dan favorit juara Lakidende. Gorgeous U-23 menyusul di pringkat 3 dan Bumi Asri di pringkat 4. Di Copa, Sixth Sense bertengger di pringkat 3 disusul timnas Brunei di posisi 4.Pitcher Nasional Indonesia asal klub Lakidende berhasil menjadi yang terbaik, Ia meraih gelar The Best Pitcher, disusul rekan setimnya asal Fillipina Rosales yang menyabet gelar MVP dan The best Hitter di kejuaraan kali ini. DI kelompuk U-23, Bayu dari Giants meraih gelar The Best hitter, The Best pitcher diambil Adnan dari Garuda dan MVP dimenangkan oleh Aliev dari Garuda. [_IN23_]

A week of my Indonesia experience

Still tired from a one week softball tournment in Indonesia, Senayan to be exact. At first I was really reluctant to join the National team, luckily I was able to go, otherwise it will become my worst regrets. Honestly I was hoping that I cant join the team, for any reason. But being there, learning lots new things makes me so eager to join the team in any outings again, if I'm called to play.

To play in that tournament was really an eye opener, taught me alot, new experience, technique, friends gained.

It was a really well organized tornament, played in a stadium with 3 skinned diamonds, nice dug-outs, nice people, makes me feels like home and being among softball crazy people made it even more fantasoftballistic, for whatever that means hehehehe. Anyway games we played were not that tensed, but those games we played demanded more of our mental side of the game than the physical.

Placed in group A, consists of 6 teams, single round robin, we won 4, and lost once to Lakidende the eventual Giants softball Tournament champions, which consist largely of players from the Philippines national team, but that wasnt my excuse. I think they beat us because we gave them too much respect more than what they deserved, which in turn makes some of us nervous. Well that's what I thought, but in that game we lost, though less errors made, our batting wonders wasnt there.

First game score board

We managed to go to the semi against Giants, who again is better than us mentally I think. They beat us 9-5. Also our batting department let us down, though our defense wasnt that bad.

There are much to tell actually bout my experience, since it's also my first ever Indonesia trip, which really makes me feel like I'm home, may be due to the majority are malays. But it was a very good trip. I'm really looking forward for another outing, where ever it will be.

The Champions

The 1st runner-up

Click here for pictures of my one week experience.

Softball: Brunei fall in Jakarta semis

Jason Thomas
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN
Tuesday, February 17, 2009

BRUNEI Amateur Softball and Baseball Association (Basba) secretary-general Maj (R) Wan Mohd Tambrin Shah yesterday attributed the national team's failure to reach the final of the 2009 Giant Indonesian Open in Jakarta down to their lack of mental preparation.

Arriving back from Jakarta yesterday after the six-day, 13-team tournament ended on Sunday, Wan Mohd Tambrin Shah felt that the national team could have done better had they been less nervous during their semi-final match against first runner-up Giants which they lost 8-4.

After a bright start to the tournament held at the Pintu Satu Senayan softball field in Jakarta which saw them go undefeated in their first three group matches, the national team lost their fourth match to eventual Champions Lakidende 7-0.

Lakidende are from the Philippines and consist largely of players from the Philippines national team.

They sealed their place in the last four when they beat Jakarta's Radjawali 9-4.

"I think we lost in the semi-finals because we were not mentally prepared enough for that match," said the secretary-general, who was also a member of the team.

"We were more careful than normal in that match. Too careful.

"We were not nervous during our group matches and maybe we pushed ourselves to perform too much during that stage that we were not playing as well as we should have during the semi-finals," he added.

The nature of the competition which forced teams to play matches everyday for four days was something the national team were unaccustomed to and Wan Mohd Tambrin Shah readily admitted that.

"It was physical as well, playing continuously for four days," he said.

"That is something new for this team."

"We need to practise more together and improve our coordination," he replied when asked about the positives the team could take from the tournament.

The tournament marked the first time the national sluggers had competed in Jakarta and was a return to Indonesia after a break of 17 years.

Their first match on Wednesday was a 9-7 result against Pejabat of Jakarta, while their second came on the same day when they beat Bandung 8-5. Brunei picked up their third win against Jakarta Eagles, a 8-4 result.

According to Wan Mohd Tambrin Shah, Basba is now looking forward to a tournament between Asean countries that it will organise in July to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the association's inception.The Brunei Times