BTN CLS Knights Indonesia is a basketball club based in Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia that formerly played in the ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) and the Indonesian Basketball League (IBL). Their home games are played at GOR Kertajaya Surabaya.
They dissolved in 2019 to focus on developing their youth team and academy, which consists of under-18 players. In 2022, CLS joined Malaysia's Basketball Development League under the name BBM Vikings Warriors with their under-22 players.
History Indonesian Basketball League (IBL) First years (2003–2011) CLS Knights first competed in the Indonesian Basketball League in 2003. They never won an IBL title from their inaugural season until 2010 when the league changed their name to National Basketball League (NBL). During the league's first season which is the NBL in 2010-11, the Knights reached the league finals for the first time, but losing to the eventual champions, Satria Muda BritAma.
Dimaz Muharri era (2011–2013) Dimaz is a huge change for the CLS Knights Surabaya. Although he has never won the NBL in his career, Dimaz had garnered individual awards such as being the player with the Top Steal and Assist. The Knights' best finish with Dimaz on their team was 3rd place.
"Big 2 Point Guards" (2013–2015) CLS brought in Mario Wuysang who played with the Indonesia national basketball team as their point guard. Wuysang was reportedly the NBL player with the highest salary. Wuysang was paired with Dimaz. In 2015, the league reverted to its old name.
Jamarr Johnson, local dominance, and exit (2015–2017) Five of them were brought CLS in the heyday by winning the IBL Indonesia for the first time. Jamarr came to Indonesia in 2014 and began playing in 2015. Not only that Sandy and Mario are Indonesian national team players in the event of the 2015 SEA Games, furthermore Thoyib return from retirement to make the CLS more intense. Febri which is a player in the Indonesian 2013 SEA Games also made great contributions. Johnson was recognized as the Most Valuable Player, Rookie of the Year, Top Scorer Awards in the IBL while Wuysang was recognized as the player with the Most Assists.
However, just after the 2017 IBL Indonesia season, the Knights pulled out of the league, citing a new rule change as one of the main reasons for their departure.
ASEAN Basketball League (2017–present) After pulling out from the IBL, the Knights subsequently announced their entry to the ASEAN Basketball League, being one of the four new teams to enter the league in the 2017–18 season.CLS Knights Ride in Shining Armor to Bring ABL Glory back to Indonesia The Knights was the first Indonesian team to join the league since the 2014 ABL season, when the Indonesia Warriors and Laskar Dreya South Sumatra last played in the pan-ASEAN league. The team played under the name "CLS Knights Indonesia" in the ABL. But during the mid season of ABL 2018-2019, on 11 January 2019 they announced their name change to "BTN CLS Knights" upon signing a sponsorship deal with BTN Bank. The Knights Finished the 2018-2019 ABL Season as the ABL Champion after defeating the Singapore Slingers in 5 games, Maxie Esho won the finals MVP after dropping 25 points in game 5.
ASEAN Basketball League Champions (2019) CLS Knights won against Singapore Slingers with spectacular fashion in their home arena at OCBC Arena in Singapore, they took the championship after a 2–2 rally with Singapore Slingers. During the 2017–2018 season, the CLS Knights did not even make the playoffs, started off the season with 2–7. Eventually, CLS Knights finished off the season by winning 15 and losing 11, giving them the fourth seed in the playoffs. The first round took off on March 31, giving CLS Knights the 2–1 sweep. The Second round began, the hardest challenger CLS has faced off in the playoffs; CLS Knights took over the game with another 2–1 sweep. The Finals began, CLS Knights was not expecting any spectacular results knowing that Jerran Young will be playing in the final. The first game went on, CLS taking game 1 at OCBC Arena; eventually, they lost their next 2 games at OCBC Arena and GOR Kertajaya Surabaya. The second home game of CLS Knights is where they shined their powers again, taking the game 87–74. The final game is the most intense game so far in the playoffs, especially for a CLS Knights fan. CLS Knights were struggling during the first half, but they eventually found their rhythm and performed a spectacular comeback and taking the game. The CLS Knights was declared the champion of the ASEAN Basketball League champion for the 2018–2019 season. Soon after that, they announced that they won't be playing in the ABL 2019-2020 season
Players Roster 2018–19
PosNameAgeNationalityNoHeightUniversitySG/SFDoug Herring Jr. (WI)321191 cmUtica CollegeSG/SFBrandon Jawato253193 cmUniversity of Hawaiʻi at MānoaPGWei Long Wong305175 cmNanyang Technological UniversityPG/SGNgurah Wisnu288180 cmUniversity of SurabayaSG/SFSandy Febiansyakh (c)329190 cmUniversity of SurabayaPG/SFRachmad Febri Utomo3410180 cmPGArif Hidayat 2711177 cmUniversity of SurabayaCDarryl Watkins (WI)3413213 cmSyracuse UniversityPGJan Misael Panagan2415179 cmHarapan Bangsa Institute of TechnologyCFirman Dwi Nugroho2816200 cmSatya Wacana Christian UniversitySG/SFKaton Adjie Baskoro2417184 cmUniversity of SurabayaPF/CMaxie Esho (WI)2718207 cmUniversity of Massachusetts AmherstCMoh. Saroni2224199 cmUniversity of SurabayaPGBima Riski Ardiansyah2827182 cm
Depth chart
Individual awards ABL Finals MVP Award Maxie Esho – 2018–19
ABL Mid-Season Fan Award, Local MVP Award
Wong Wei Long – 2018–19
ABL Mid-Season Fan Award, Best Defensive Player Award
Doug Herring Jr. – 2018–19
Sonny Hendrawan MVP Award
Jamarr Andre Johnson – 2016
Top Steal IBL/NBL
Dimaz Muharri – 2010–11, 2012–13, 2013–14
Top Assist IBL/NBL
Mario Wuysang – 2014–15, 2016, 2017 Dimaz Muharri – 2013–14
Rookie of the Year
Jamarr Andre Johnson – 2016
Top Score IBL/NBL
Jamarr Andre Johnson – 2016
Coach of the Year
Kim Dong-Won – 2013–14
Sixth-Man of the Year
Rachmad Febri Utomo – 2011 Arif Hidayat – 2017
Notable players
NamePosBrian RowsomHead coachKoko NugrohoAsst. Coach
Season-by-season record SeasonCoachRegular Season Post SeasonWonLostWin %FinishWonLostWin %Result2017–18Koko Heru Setyo Nugroho515 6thDid not qualify2018–19Brian Rowsom1511 4th74 ChampionsTotals2026 -74
References
External links Official site