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With the Indonesian Basketball League semifinals beginning today, all eyes remain on three-time defending champion Satria Muda Britama Jakarta.

The Jakarta-based club begins its pursuit of a fourth consecutive title and fifth overall when it hosts Nuvo CLS Knights at Britama Arena, Sports Mall, Jakarta. In the other semifinal, regular-season runner-up Garuda Flexi takes on Aspac Jakarta at C-Tra Arena in Bandung, West Java.

Game 2 of each best-of-three series takes place on Sunday, with Game 3 on Tuesday if necessary.

Satria Muda manager Dwui Eriano said the Final Four is a different ballgame. “We always handle the games in the regular season with the same treatment, despite the opponent,” Dwui said on Friday. “We handle the Final Four differently, as it’s a crucial game.”

Illness struck Satria Muda and CLS at the worst possible time. The champion saw Anangga Kurniawan, Bonanza Siregar, Christian Ronaldo Sitepu, Youbel Sondakh, Wendha Wijaya and Wellyanson Situmorang come down with fevers days before the Final Four, though Dwui said all but Anagga should be able to play.

For CLS, starters Agustinus Indrajaya, Andrie Ekayana and Pek King Dhay came down with a cold.

CLS reached the last four by knocking off Pelita Jaya 2-1 in the first playoff round, and manager Christopher Tanuwidjaja had said the team was happy to make it this far.

Garuda wants to do one better than its runner-up showing last season, but manager Simon Pasaribu said that would not be an easy task against two-time league champion Aspac.

“Aspac is still a solid team despite losing several of its players who moved to other clubs this season,” Simon said. “The quality of their players in individual terms is below last season, but as a whole, they have a great teamwork.”

Regardless of its final placing, Garuda’s season will not end with the Final Four. The Indonesian Basketball Association decided to send the club to the FIBA Asia Championship for Men in Tianjin, China, on Aug. 6-16 instead of reassembling the full national team.

Simon said that would not stop his players from focusing on domestic matters.

“Right now we are focusing on the Final Four, and the series will also serve as our warm-up before going to China,” he said. “We don’t have any target [in China], just playing our best. We know that teams from China, Japan and Middle East are still the best in the region.”

Garuda earned Indonesia a spot in the continental championship after it took second in the Seaba Championship in Medan, North Sumatra, in June, losing to the Philippines in the final.