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Satria Muda Britama might be one of the few teams sad to see 2009 come to a close.

A hectic schedule did little to curb the team’s success. It won its fifth Indonesian Basketball League title, hosted and finished sixth in the FIBA Asia Champions Cup and made its debut in the inaugural Asean Basketball League.

Its domestic form remained imperious as it won its fourth successive IBL crown. Satria Muda overcame city rival Aspac Jakarta 3-1 in the best-of-five championship series.

“It’s never easy to win the title,” said coach Fictor Roring, who won one IBL title as a player and five as Satria Muda coach.

“We have to sacrifice, but we’re always ready to give our best. Every title is different. It’s priceless.”

In the middle of the IBL regular season, Satria Muda hosted some of Asia’s top clubs in the Champions Cup. It wrapped up the tournament with a 112-107 overtime loss to Smart Gilas of the Philippines, but facing sides from Asian powerhouses such as Iran and Lebanon provided valuable international experience.

Its next challenge came in the ABL, the brainchild of league chairman and AirAsia CEO Tony Fernandes and Erick Thohir, who serves as Satria Muda’s managing director and the president of the Southeast Asian Basketball Association.

“The idea is to have Southeast Asian clubs play each other in one league, similar to the NBA,” Fernandes said. “It will also give an attractive platform for sponsors and will be a fantastic way for the Asean brand to promote itself outside its original market.”

The ABL was scaled down from its initial eight-member roster to six, featuring one team each from Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia and Brunei.

In order to receive a franchise, clubs had to provide a $1 million bank guarantee, have a 4,000-seat arena and support a youth development program.

Satria Muda kicked off the ABL against the Philippines Patriots on Oct. 10. It currently sits second in the league with a 6-5 record, trailing only the Patriots (9-2).

December pushed Satria Muda’s depth to its limits. In addition to the ABL, it also played in a hastily arranged preseason IBL Tournament.

The most trying stretch saw the club play three times in three days after reaching the IBL Tournament semifinals. It avenged its 2008 IBL Tournament final loss to Garuda Flexi, beating the Bandung-based side 64-47 on its home floor in the semifinals on Dec. 11. An ABL fixture against the Singapore Slingers followed, which Satria Muda won 67-58, and it returned to Bandung to reclaim the IBL Tournament trophy by beating Pelita Jaya Esia 61-58.

While the ABL appears to be in good health, the IBL is struggling at home. Its clubs played to largely empty arenas, and its promoter failed to secure big sponsorships. Most clubs have yet to receive prize money from last season.

The IBL’s future was thrown into doubt after broadcaster TVOne terminated its contract as the league’s promoter.

“We have officially notified Perbasi [the Indonesian Basketball Association] of our decision, as we have an agreement with the association,” said Erick, who is also the president director of TVOne.

TVOne’s departure was a blow, but Ade Bella Harahap, the head of the IBL board of commissioners, said the league was determined to go forward into next year.

“Right now, we have proposed several plans [to find a new promoter], as we want the IBL to roll into 2010,” he said.