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Alexander Hartman declared that it was Satria Muda’s defence that sealed the game for the visitors against the Singapore Slingers.

By Vincent Lai

Hartman was part of a lockdown defensive unit that turned the Slingers into a turnover machine in Game 3 of their first round semi-final series, a match that the Indonesian side won 86-76.

"Better defence!" exclaimed the Satria Muda forward to ESPNSTAR.com after the game. "Our defence in the last game was very bad, we let them get into the paint and pass, and hit open shots. We just let them have their way the last time we were here."

"We went back to Indonesia and worked harder; we really worked on our defence and that's what won us the game [in Game 2], and it was enough to win us the game here."

Hartman admitted that his 30-point barrage in this game contributed to Satria Muda's victory, and he praised team-mate Nakiea Miller for carrying the offensive load in the second half, finishing with 22 points and a team-high 14 rebounds.

"I felt in the zone, man," added Hartman. "I was really ready for this game. I've never played in a first-round game decider. I've never done this, so, I really wanted to come out and show that I could help my team the best that I could."

"I had a bad shooting performance the last time we were here. So I came in to show people that I can shoot. The first half was my half, and the second half was Nakiea [Miller's]."

Hartman then took the opportunity to hail Satria Muda's supporters, some of whom had travelled to Singapore to catch the game.

"We knew about a lot of them coming from Indonesia," said the ABL topscorer. "But I am really surprised, that is a lot of fans that have come to support us today."

"Back in Jakarta, our arena is always full. [The BritAma Arena's] full tonight and they're playing the game on the jumbotron back there."

"That's a lot of fans man, Jakarta really supports Satria Muda."

With the ABL finals starting on February 12 in the Philippines, Hartman was optimistic about Satria Muda's chances, provided that they bring the intensity of their defence into Game 1 against the Patriots.

"It's going to be tough, [the Patriots] rebound like maniacs, they play hard, they're aggressive, and they have a lot of weapons," Hartman said about the upcoming ABL finals. "Hopefully we have a lot of weapons ourselves, our team is very confident."

"Our locals are very confident. And our defence has made us, as a team, very confident. We can go to anywhere and play anybody!"