Aspac beats Pacific to move closer to semis

BANDUNG (JP): Jakarta-based Aspac was too powerful for Pacific Caesar of Surabaya, posting a convincing 104-67 victory in the fourth leg of the 2000 Nuvo Kobatama national basketball league at Padjadjaran Stadium on Wednesday.

Aspac, which finished in third place last year, has lost only once in its 15 games to top the standings. It is followed by home-favorite Panasia Indosyntec, Mahaka and Indonesia Muda (IM) Texmaco.

The top four clubs will advance to the semifinal round in Jakarta on Nov. 18 and Nov. 19.

Pacific remains in seventh place with a record of four wins and 11 losses. Bima Sakti Nikko Steel of Malang stands eighth after winning five of 14 games and another Jakarta-based club, Dwidasa Mitra, is in the cellar with three wins and 11 losses.

Aspac did not give Pacific an opportunity to get into the game, racing to a 20-7 first-quarter lead. Pacific managed to score 18 points in the second quarter, but still went into the half trailing 42-25.

At the end of the third quarter, Pacific was facing an insurmountable 76-44 deficit.

Aspac manager Irawan Haryono said his team was ready to face anybody in the semifinals.

"All the clubs advancing to the semis have equal skills. The most important thing is that we are already well-prepared for the final match."

Aspac still has to face Panasia Indosyntec on Friday, a game which will determine who will go into the semifinals at the top of the table.

"If we can beat Panasia ... we are still on top. But if we fail, we will move down to second place," Irawan said.

Earlier on Wednesday, Bima Sakti earned two points after surprising Mahaka 83-81. It was Mahaka's third upset loss here and if Mahaka loses its game against Pacific Caesar on Friday, it will move down to fourth place.

IM assured its place in the semifinals with an 86-57 defeat of Wismilak CLS of Surabaya late on Tuesday.

IM is safely in fourth place after winning eight of its 15 games. CLS, which stands in fifth place with five wins and nine loses, will have to wait until next year to try and advance to the semifinals.

"I'm very satisfied because I fulfilled my goal as a coach to lead my team to the semifinals," said M. Rifky, a former IM player who took over as coach this year. (ivy)