SEMARANG - The struggle of the Papuan basketball team dramatically stopped in the round of 8.

They had been eliminated after being returned by the Team of South Sulawesi.

Papua lost with a final score of 34-37, in the round of 8 for Basketball of the Central Java Korpri Pornas XVI held, at Arena Sahabat Sports Center Semarang, Wednesday (19/7/2023) morning.

The hot and tense atmosphere felt like a final, already felt when the referee who marked the first quarter blew the whistle. The revenge carried by the South Sulawesi team who lost yesterday in the final to Papua during the Basketball match of State Civil Apparatus in East Indonesia in early 2023.

The players launched mental and physical attacks, which made the spectators and supporters also fiery so that they could not sit still while watching.

Despite trailing 2-6 in the first quarter, Papua turned around with a narrow score of 12-11 in the second quarter.

The exchange of points in the third quarter made the game very fierce and exchanged leads. As a result, Papua still has hope with a 21-20 advantage in the third quarter.

The persistence and enthusiasm of Papuan basketball players have not decreased for a second, it's just that the superiority of the South Sulawesi team can no longer be contained. The Papuan team had to fall with a deficit of 3 points from South Sulawesi.

The Manager of Papua Basketball, Jimmy Alberto Thesia assessed that both teams played well, it's just that the Papua Basketball team lost a lot of balls and points under the hoop.

The mentality of the Papuan team when under pressure is also important to note when falling behind because it often drops in some matches.

Nevertheless, Jimmy Albertho appreciated his team's unyielding performance, who continued to fight relentlessly to find victory until the end of the fourth quarter.

"Usually when chasing numbers and missing points, their mentality gets dropped. The players are still young. Of the 12 Papuan basketball players, 8 of them are young and born in 1998."

"So, it does take a lot of experience. But overall, I'm thankful they've played amazingly, we deserve appreciation and this is the result we have to accept," he said.

The Coach of Papua Basketball, Jeheskiel Tetjuari said his team had performed all out against South Sulawesi. It's just that luck has not been on Papua's side.

"We have fought tooth and nail on the field but luck is on the side of the South Sulawesi team".

"We are grateful to the team and the Papua Provincial Government for their support, so that Papua Basketball can reach the top 8," he concluded. ***