UNAIR NEWS – Student League (LIMA) season six is over. LIMA was held from July 30 to August 6 at Universitas Airlangga. The basketball team of each university in Indonesia stepped on the national stage. Furthermore, UNAIR as the host also sent 1 men team and 1 women team.
UNAIR women’s basketball team was led by Valentina Vida Arief, a student from the Faculty of Dental Medicine and the men’s basketball team was led by Fajar Prihandaru, a student from the Faculty of Science and Technology. Both teams won second place in LIMA Basketball: East Java Conference 2018.
Despite loosing in the group phase and being ranked 3rd nationally, Aries Herman as coach of the UNAIR basketball team admitted that he was not disappointed with the results of his teams.
According to Aries, his team has performed their best in this sixth season. The match took place about two weeks after Eid al-Fitr when the majority of UNAIR students were still on holiday and doing Field Work Practices (PKL). Most of UNAIR basketball teams’ players are sophomore.
“We did not hold intensive training in the competition this season because team members live far away. They are from Sumatra to Bali. In less than a month they have returned to Surabaya, “Aries explained.
“Meaning, they only practice about two weeks before the competition. Amazingly there is one player who was doing his field work practice in Bojonegoro. “He arrived on the D-day and played that day,” he added.
The man who has been eleven years as a coach of UNAIR team explained that he put forward the students’ studies. Studying and making achievements in the academic field is a major obligation as part of Universitas Airlangga’s students.
He also said that basketball is part of achievement, not orientation. As proof, UNAIR basketball team consists of various degree from diploma to graduate students. In addition, he mentioned that his students have a Grade Point Average (GPA) above 3.7.
“This is one of my pride as a coach of UNAIR basketball team. They are great kids who are not only good at playing basketball but also have great brains. In fact, some of them are from the Faculty of Medicine. This means that UNAIR students prioritized their academic education even when they are involved as athletes, “explained the coach from Mataram.
The 41-year-old coach also emphasized several important points in his players to focus on college, have 2.00 or higher, discipline, and have an excellent attitude. The the UNAIR basketball team always sang the Airlangga Hymn song before competing as a form of pride in being Ksatria Airlangga. (*)
Author: Wiwik Yuni Eryanti Ningrum
Editor: Binti Q. Masruroh
