Formulir Peserta Sekarang ON-LINE

Kompetisi basket pelajar terbesar di Indonesia, Honda DetEksi Basketball League (DBL) 2009, tidak lama lagi pulang ke kandang. Pendaftaran seri Jawa Timur, yang diselenggarakan di Surabaya (North) dan Malang (South), sudah dibuka mulai 4 Mei mendatang. Mulai hari ini, segala formulir, regulasi, dan persyaratan pendaftaran sudah bisa di-download di situs resmi Honda DBL 2009, www.deteksibasketball.com.

”Kunjungi situs itu, lalu masuk menu 2009 Season. Di menu itu bisa dipilih beberapa kategori yang ingin di-download. Setelah melengkapi persyaratan, peserta lalu harus mengumpulkan formulir mulai 4 Mei nanti dalam format file (softcopy, Red) dan cetak,” jelas Masany Audri, general manager DBL Indonesia.

Masany menjelaskan, cara pendaftaran baru ini dibuat karena peserta di Jawa Timur memang terbanyak. Tahun lalu, jumlah pendaftar mencapai 283 tim, kemudian yang diterima 266.

Mengenai jumlah peserta itu, tahun ini panitia akan lebih membatasi. Azrul Ananda, commissioner DBL, mengatakan pembatasan itu tidak terelakkan. Alasan utamanya, waktu yang tidak memadai. Bulan puasa tahun ini lebih maju, dimulai sekitar 20 Agustus. Kemudian, kompetisi ini juga harus diakhiri dengan even resmi NBA, Indonesia Development Camp 2009, yang memakan waktu beberapa hari.

Dalam even itu, seorang pemain dan dua asisten pelatih NBA akan hadir di DBL Arena, memberi materi latihan kepada para pemain pilihan Honda DBL 2009 dari berbagai penjuru Indonesia. “Kami pun menunda Indonesia Development Camp itu sejauh mungkin, hingga hanya beberapa hari sebelum puasa. Lalu, kompetisi SMP yang biasanya diselenggarakan di sela-sela SMA pada Juli-Agustus, kini dimundurkan sampai Oktober,” jelas Azrul.

Supaya tidak ada kebingungan, panitia pun menerapkan sistem undangan untuk Honda DBL 2009. Jadi, tim yang ingin mendaftar harus menyertakan surat undangan resmi dari DBL Indonesia. “Bagi sekolah yang belum mendapat kiriman undangan, bisa mengajukan diri pada tim DBL Indonesia. Setelah itu akan di-review oleh departemen basketball operation kami, apakah tim itu bisa diterima atau tidak,” papar Azrul.

Puji Agus Santoso, salah satu manager basketball operation DBL Indonesia, menerangkan ada beberapa kriteria yang akan dipertimbangkan. “Prestasi pada DBL tahun-tahun sebelumnya merupakan salah satu pertimbangan utama,” ujarnya. Saat ini, sudah banyak calon peserta yang menunggu kabar pendaftaran ini. Telepon di kantor DBL Indonesia di DBL Arena maupun Mabes DetEksi Jawa Pos di Graha Pena terus berdering. Rata-rata sudah “panas” mengetahui kehebohan Honda DBL 2009 di kota-kota lain.

SMA Petra 5 Surabaya, yang tahun lalu “sukses” jadi pendaftar pertama setelah “camping” 24 jam di Graha Pena, mengaku ingin menjadi yang pertama lagi tahun ini. “Tapi kami masih mempersiapkan teknisnya biar lebih matang,” ungkap Yonardi Sasmito Nugroho, salah satu pemain Petra 5. Rupanya, Yonardi benar-benar tak sabar menanti Honda DBL 2009 di Jawa Timur. ”Aku jadi pengin menunjukkan kalau Surabaya, tempat lahirnya DBL, juga bisa heboh. Nggak kalah kok dengan daerah lain. Pokoknya, tunggu kejutan rahasia dari kami,” ujarnya.

Sementara itu, bukan hanya jadwal yang berubah pada seri SMP. Mulai tahun ini, ada perubahan nama pada seri yang dimulai pada 2005 tersebut. “Mulai tahun ini, seri SMP akan dikenal dengan sebutan Honda DBL Junior,” ungkap Azrul Ananda.

Panitia menjelaskan, pendaftaran SMP masih sama dengan SMA. Hari ini mulai download, lalu mendaftar mulai 4 Mei. Namun, technical meeting dan drawing-nya menyusul setelah seri SMA berakhir. Pada saat Honda DBL 2009 SMA berlangsung di Jawa Timur, pada Juli-Agustus nanti kompetisi ini juga diselenggarakan di tiga kota di Kalimantan. Yaitu Banjarmasin, Pontianak, dan Samarinda.

Rise (and fall) of MVP contenders easy to track down

With our final Race to the MVP scheduled to publish next Friday, April 17, we wanted to step into the Internet version of a time machine (thanks, Google!), to not only see where our mind was when the season started, but we also wanted to look at how our first attempt at ranking the league's best compared to today's top 10. 





In retrospect, we did pretty well, as six of the current top 10 were in our first Race to the MVP from this season. None of them, however, will finish in the spot where we first placed them. It would have been seven of the top 10, but San Antonio's Tim Duncan, who was ninth in our first rankings and ninth last week, tumbled out of the top 10 this week.

(Sorry, Timmy.)

The other three players who are no longer in the top 10 -- Boston's Paul Pierce, who started the season at No. 3, Toronto's Chris Bosh, who was No. 5 and Phoenix's Amar'e Stoudemire, who debuted at No. 8 -- fell out of the top 10 for different reasons.

Pierce's fall out of the top 10 was the longest, but it had more to do with the Finals MVP hangover and how the Celtics were constructed than anything with Pierce's play.

Releated Stroy

In The Finals, Pierce showed he could be the man, and did so often during the 2008-09 regular season, hitting clutch shots and carrying the team at times. But the Celtics' success rests on their defense and their combined talents of the Big Three of Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett. Allen has had one of his best seasons as a pro -- and is another reason the Celtics are close to winning 60 again -- and Garnett has shown how valuable he is by his absence.

Bosh, with 22.7 points, 9.8 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game, has put up better overall individual numbers than Pau Gasol, Yao Ming and Chauncey Billups (three players ranked in this week's column). Yet, there is one number that trumps all -- 48, as in losses.

As we have discussed many times, winning is key to being in the Most Valuable Player discussion. Bosh's slide out of the top 10 coincided with Toronto's slide under .500 when they lost to Denver on Dec. 2 to fall to 8-9. It was also after that loss that the Raptors relieved coach Sam Mitchell of his duties. Combine all those factors and Bosh's MVP candidacy never recovered.

Amar'e's candidacy also took a hit when the Suns were slow to adapt to then-coach Terry Porter's half-court style. Amar'e took exception to the Suns' new slowdown style and made his thoughts about it public. The players' general malaise and their reluctance to walk when they knew they could run hastened Porter's exit out of Phoenix.

The Suns and Stoudemire showed promise after the All-Star break by scoring 282 points in their first two games after Alvin Gentry took over. But Stoudemire suffered a season-ending eye injury and that was that.

So, now we have two interlopers: Denver's Chauncey Billups and Portland's Brandon Roy.

If anyone tells you they thought Billups would be an MVP candidate this season, don't believe anything they ever say again. He started the season with the Detroit Pistons and has emerged as possibly the most valuable player outside of our top five of LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Dwayne Wade, Dwight Howard and Chris Paul.

No one saw Billups' MVP candidacy coming, and it goes deeper than his moderate numbers.

It all changed when he was sent to Denver in exchange for Allen Iverson and Antonio McDyess on Nov. 3. Billups, the 2004 Finals MVP, changed the tenor and the tone of the Nuggets from a throw-it-up team who would throw up all over themselves at crucial times (especially the Playoffs) to a measured and solid defensive squad.

With Billups running the point, the Nuggets have leadership on both ends of the floor and are poised to be the No. 2 seed in the West. Valuable? Very.

As for Roy, the former Rookie of the Year was overshadowed by the arrival of one big rookie, Greg Oden. But as Oden struggled, Roy emerged as The Man in Portland. Steady and possibly most importantly, clutch, Roy has put the Blazers onto his shoulders and helped them navigate the nasty Western Conference. His poise and his presence will make him a mainstay in these rankings for seasons to come.

Finally, at No. 10, there's Pau Gasol. We've been enamored with Gasol's work with the Lakers since they acquired him last February for his brother, Marc and the loose change Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak found in the cushions of his office couch. As we noted in Gasol's blurb this week, it would be tough to find a big in the NBA who fits the Lakers' triangle offense better than the eight-year vet.

In addition to the reigning MVP, Gasol has been the other reason the Lakers have been able to weather Andrew Bynum's injuries in back-to-back seasons. His solidifying presence in the paint is the reason he merits mention here.

Well, that's it until next week when we reveal our final top 10 including who we think should win the 2008-09 Most Valuable Player. And readers, if you have a great reason as to why anyone in this week's top 10 -- from LeBron to Yao

Bynum returns to Kobe's side

It's been 32 games and the Staples Center has missed the presence of a certain 7-footer in the paint. Tonight the Lakers (and Los Angelenos) got their wish with the return of center Andrew Bynum.

Wearing a black brace on his knee, Bynum was greeted with cheers when his name was announced in the starting lineup. Another loud eruption came when the Lakers' announcer asked fans to welcome back the center. 


Bynum did not disapoint in his return either. He was matched up against a gritty No. 2 seed Denver Nuggets team and put up 16 points in 21 minutes. Bynum's faitful leader, Kobe Bryant, noticed the big man was slowly getting his step back but was still a bit shaky with his timing under the basket. 

Kobe Bryant scored 33 points, Pau Gasol added 27 points and 19 rebounds. 
The win was the fifth straight for the Lakers (63-16) and tied them with the idle Cleveland Cavaliers (63-15) for the league lead. 

Carmelo Anthony had 23 points to lead the Nuggets, who lost for the first time in nine games and failed to secure the Northwest Division title and the No. 2 seed in the West. J.R. Smith had 19 points, while Chauncey Billups and Nene each added 17.

Kobe Spares Sir Charles

After scoring 33 points in the match up against the Nuggets, Kobe Bryant remains two points away from passing Charles Barkely on the NBA's career scoring list. Barkley isn't too found on Kobe passing him on the list and expressed it on the set of TNT's Inside The NBA . When Barkley discovered the Lakers will play the Trail Blazers next he said, "Shut [Kobe] down Brandon Roy!"

Host Kocak Lombok Keliling Indonesia untuk Honda DBL

Setelah mengunjungi sebelas kota di Indonesia, mulai dari Jayapura, Mataram, Makassar, Denpasar, Bandung, Palembang, Manado, Pekanbaru, Bandar Lampung, Semarang, hingga Jogjakarta, Honda DBL 2009 saat ini rehat sejenak. Tapi, rangkaian liga basket pelajar terbesar di Indonesia ini belum berakhir dan masih akan berlanjut di lima kota lainnya.

Di sebelas kota yang sudah dikunjungi selama kurun waktu Januari-Maret tersebut, banyak meninggalkan cerita-cerita manis nan seru. Kehebohan demi kehebohan mengiringi penyelenggaraan di tiap kota. Selain peserta (tim basket dan yel-yel), official, suporter, dan panitia yang tak kenal lelah (ehm...), ada satu nama yang punya andil cukup besar dalam mewujudkan kehebohan itu. Dialah Uget Woow, host Honda DBL 2009. Cowok satu ini sudah jadi host Honda DBL sejak tahun lalu. Penampilan perdananya adalah saat Opening dan Final Honda DBL Lombok Post 2008. Selanjutnya, dia didaulat memandu Final Party Honda DBL East Java 2008 di Surabaya.

Tahun ini, Uget kembali tampil sebagai host di Honda DBL 2009. ”Sejak kali pertama melihat performa-nya di Honda DBL tahun lalu, kami merasa cocok dengan Uget. Dia memiliki karakter yang smart dan entertaining. Selain itu, gaya kocaknya mampu menghidupkan suasana,” ujar Masany Audri, General Manager PT. DBL Indonesia.

Uget memang tidak tampil di semua kota. Selama penyelenggaraan Honda DBL 2009 sampai akhir Maret ini, Uget jadi host di 4 kota, yaitu Mataram, Bandung, Jogjakarta, dan Semarang. "Penampilan Uget ibarat bonus. Kota-kota yang antusiasmenya paling tinggi akan mendapat bonus dikunjungi Uget," lanjut Masany.

Bagi Uget, menjadi host kompetisi sebesar Honda DBL merupakan kebanggaan tersendiri. ”Perjodohannya” dengan Honda DBL diakuinya sebagai berkah. ”Aku beruntung dan bersyukur banget bisa jadi bagian dari even sedahsyat ini. Ada ratusan bahkan ribuan host di luar sana. Tapi aku yang mendapat kepercayaan dari DBL. Sungguh suatu kehormatan,” ujar cowok yang disebut sebagai host terpopuler se-NTB (Nusa Tenggara Barat) itu.

Dari empat kota yang sudah dikunjunginya selama Honda DBL 2009 ini, Uget mengaku mendapatkan banyak pengalaman mengesankan. ”Pas Final di Jogja, wow! Penontonnya membeludak. Aksinya juga unik dan gokil. Aku jadi terpacu buat tampil lebih gila. Di final Semarang lain lagi. Aku melihat kapten tim cowok SMA Theresiana 1 (Semarang, Red) terus membisikkan kata-kata untuk menyemangati anggota timnya. Sampai akhirnya mereka berhasil jadi champion. Asli aku ikutan merinding dan berkaca-kaca,” ungkapnya.

Bila Uget terharu melihat adegan yang terjadi di lapangan, para pemain yang berlaga di final Honda DBL Radar Semarang 2009 ketika itu justru terhibur melihat aksi Uget. ”Aku suka lihat host-nya. Orangnya atraktif, bisa mencairkan suasana. Terutama, kalau dia melakukan gerakan-gerakan ajaib kayak lompat trus toss kaki atau goyang pinggul itu. Kami yang awalnya tegang jadi ketawa-ketiwidan bisa enjoy lagi. Top deh !” seru Topas Segoro, guard SMA Theresiana I Semarang. Setelah ini, Uget direncanakan bakal tampil di tiga kota selanjutnya, Pontianak, Malang, serta Surabaya. Tapi, tidak menutup kemungkinan, kota-kota lain yang antusiasmenya tinggi juga bakal dikunjungi dan bisa menyaksikan gaya toss kaki ala Uget. He he he...

Uget sendiri mengaku tidak sabar melihat antusiame yang lebih heboh lagi. Dia juga berjanji akan menampilkan performa yang optimal. ”Aku yakin banget kota-kota yang bakal aku kunjungi setelah ini nggak kalah heboh dengan kota-kota sebelumnya. Bahkan bisa jadi mereka bakal lebih dahsyat lagi. Dahsyat pertandingannya, dahsyat pula semangatnya,” lanjut Uget. Yup, jangan lewatkan laga-laga seru Honda DBL 2009 yang masih akan berlanjut di lima kota lainnya, yaitu Banjarmasin, Pontianak, Samarinda, Malang, dan Surabaya. Sampai ketemu Juli nanti, ya.