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National Basketball League clubs casting covetous glances at Satria Muda Britama’s crown had a rude awakening over the weekend.

Satria Muda showed it was still a threat to add to its six titles since Indonesia’s professional league began in 2003, winning all five games in the season-opening series at C-Tra Arena in Bandung.

The Jakarta-based club has divided its best players into two squads as it competes in the NBL and the regional Asean Basketball League. The domestic league does not allow players to take part in simultaneous competitions, but that did not appear to bother Satria Muda in Bandung.

“It’s great to end the first series with a 5-0 record, but still it’s only the first series,” Satria Muda coach Octaviarro Tamtelahitu said after the team beat arch-rival Dell Aspac 72-62 in its last game on Saturday. “However, I’m still worried about our defense, and we gave away too many turnovers during this series.”

The defending champion coughed up 128 turnovers in five games, third-worst in the series.

Satria Muda beat host Garuda Speedy (50-46), Bimasakti Nikko Steel (85-66), NSH GMC (80-31) and Muba Hangtuah (64-53) before toppling Aspac, the only other team to win a title since 2003.

With the NBL standing by its ban on players competing in multiple competitions, Satria Muda and its coach, who is also known as Ocky, face some tough decisions. Two of the team’s biggest stars, center Rony Gunawan and forward Amin Prihantono, are registered to play in the ABL and will miss out on the NBL.

Satria Muda and new coach John Purves will play in the ABL as the Indonesia Warriors. Its season opener is against the Singapore Slingers on Jan. 15.

With guidance from veteran guard Faisal J. Achmad, though, Satria Muda’s youngsters have started to take bigger roles. Ocky said he was pleased with the young players’ improvement, which showed that the club’s rejuvenation was on the right track.

Faisal hit six 3-pointers and scored 30 points on Saturday. He led the team in scoring with an average of 13.8 points per game in the first series.

“I just recovered from a finger injury and I’m still working to be back at my best,” the 30-year-old told the NBL Web site. “I’m pleased that we closed the first series without a loss. But we still have lots of games to go, so we have to keep improving.”

Satria Muda was expected to struggle for points in the paint with Rony’s absence, and that largely came to pass. Young post players Christian Ronaldo Sitepu and Galank Gunawan still made an impact, though.

Galank leads the NBL with 12.6 rebounds per game, while Christian is second with 10.2 rpg and tops with 3 blocks per game.

Another youngster, 23-year-old guard Arki Dikania Wisnu, has helped make up for the drop in inside scoring with his outside shooting. Standing 1.87 meters tall, the New York-born guard has quickly adapted to the NBL.

“I’m enjoying my debut season here in the country after spending most of my life in the US,” Arki, who averages 12.5 points and 2.3 assists per game, told Satria Muda’s Web site. “I want to stay here, but I still don’t know what my future holds.”

Pelita Jaya Esia, Aspac and Muba Hangtuah are tied for second at 4-1 after the first series, which ended on Sunday. The next series is in Solo from Jan. 7-15.