Aspac dunks Indosyntec to retain Kobatama title<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Panasia Indosyntec of Bandung stayed close in
\nthe first half of its Kobatama basketball league championship
\nfinal against Aspac Jakarta yesterday but it was never enough to
\nsave it from a 69-100 rout.<\/p>\n
It was the third final-meeting in a bitter rivalry between the
\ntwo clubs. But defending champion Aspac enjoyed an easier job
\nthis time than the previous two encounters.<\/p>\n
Aspac built a comfortable 46-37 lead into the break, before
\nKenneth Travis and Bobby 'Ice Man' Parks sped up their pace to
\npile on Indosyntec's agony, to the delight of the 3,500-strong
\ncrowd who packed the Senayan Basketball Hall.<\/p>\n
Earlier on the day, BS Nikko Steel beat rookie Satria Muda 75-
\n68 in the play-off for third place. Siliwangi of Bandung and
\nBhinnneka of Surakarta will be promoted to the league next
\nseason, at the expense of Glory and Hang Tuah.<\/p>\n
Travis led the scoring yesterday for Aspac, sinking game high
\n40 points. Parks, whose inspirational role earned him the Most
\nValuable Player, added spice with 32 points in Kobatama's most-
\nlopsided final ever.<\/p>\n
A throng of jubilant spectators swamped the pitch as soon as
\nreferee Ronaldo blew the final whistle, setting the night on fire
\nafter torrential rain drenched the capital city during the match.
\nThe Indonesian Basketball Association's executive chairman
\npresented the championship trophy.<\/p>\n
\"I knew the key. We don't need two guards to tame Gerald
\n(McDonald). I preferred my smallest player Rinaldo to do it, and
\nit worked,\" Aspac team manager Irawan Haryono said after the
\nmatch.<\/p>\n
\"We got off to a slow start, merely because of the tension
\nhanging over us,\" he added.<\/p>\n
Indosyntec, the 1994 champion, attributed its loss to the out-
\nof-form Gerald McDonald, who suffered an injury in the early
\nminutes of the final.<\/p>\n
\"It's too bad that Gerald was injured in the crucial match,\"
\nIndosyntec coach Deddy Kuskanto said. \"We don't have an
\nequivalent replacement for him. His speed is unbeatable,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
The Bandung side gave real opposition when it held a brief 25-
\n24 lead in the first half, after Johanis Winar threw in a three-
\npointer.<\/p>\n
In the second half, Indosyntec's defense became weaker and
\ngave more room to Aspac to find the basket.<\/p>\n
Aspac withdrew all its two foreign signers as it took a
\ncommanding 96-68 with just one minute and 15 seconds left.<\/p>\n
Irawan said that he will now focus on a selection of players
\nfor the Merlion Cup in Singapore on Sept. 2. (yan)<\/p>",
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