Aspac, Bhinneka, IM Texmaco start well
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia Muda (IM) Texmaco started the sixth series of the 1999 A Mild Kobatama national basketball league with optimism and gained a 73-51 victory over Bima Sakti Nikko Steel in the series' opening at the Senayan basketball stadium on Saturday.
Earlier, final-four candidates Jakarta-based Aspac and Bhinneka Sritex of Surakarta, Central Java, overcame bottom finishers Pacific Bank Swadesi of Surabaya and Citra Satria Pelita (CSP) respectively.
Aspac defeated Pacific 72-61 while Bhinneka had to sweat it out to crush CSP 79-72.
Aspac and Bhinneka have secured the final tickets. Aspac tops the team standings with 13 wins and one loss, while Bhinneka is third after winning 11 games and losing three.
Bima Sakti seemed to lose their fighting spirit after being downed 28-36 in the first half. IM's forward Raymond Manuhutu scored 25 points to bring the first victory in the series to his team.
IM coach Hakiem Rahman said his team would perform all-out to win the overall five games in the series to secure the final berth.
"My players are ready to play all-out to win all five games. However, our chance for the final also depends on other teams' forms including Mahaka Satria Muda and Bhinneka," he said.
Aspac junior player Andi Poejakusuma scored 13 points and made 10 rebounds. Bhinneka's forward I Made Sudiadnyana earned 20 points and nine rebounds.
Aspac team manager, Irawan Haryono, said he was optimistic that his club could win this year's league title.
"I'm optimistic that Aspac will win Kobatama this year. I think we will challenge defending champion Panasia Indosyntec in the final," he said.
CSP expected to win three games in the last series to avoid relegation from the main division. With only three wins and ten losses in the last five series, CSP, competing in the western division, is now in ninth position.
Coach Toto Sudarsono said his team was now running neck-to- neck with eastern division's bottom finisher Pacific. Pacific ranks seventh in the overall team standings after winning four games and losing nine.
"We are still optimistic. Winning two games is enough for us to stay in the main division but only if Pacific wins once out of five games," Toto said.
He said he was certain that CSP could win in the playoffs and perform in next year's league.
"We must evade relegation. Our patron has invested hundreds of millions of rupiah to enable us to play in the Kobatama. It takes Rp 300 million annually for the development of athletes and we have to spend more than that in the coming ten years," he said.
He also admitted that his club needed improvement because there were many newcomers in its lineup.
"We have only two weeks to prepare for Kobatama. We used to have management conflicts," he said. CSP, formerly named Pelita Bakrie club, merged with Citra Satria, a little-known basketball club, just a few weeks before the first series began in September.
CSP struggled to win in the second half after it had to swallow a humiliating defeat of 19-36 in the first half. Its point guard Nano Sukarma seemed to be disoriented in the first half and failed to inspire his team in the attack. (ivy)