Aspac dunks Indosyntec to retain Kobatama title

JAKARTA (JP): Panasia Indosyntec of Bandung stayed close in the first half of its Kobatama basketball league championship final against Aspac Jakarta yesterday but it was never enough to save it from a 69-100 rout.

It was the third final-meeting in a bitter rivalry between the two clubs. But defending champion Aspac enjoyed an easier job this time than the previous two encounters.

Aspac built a comfortable 46-37 lead into the break, before Kenneth Travis and Bobby 'Ice Man' Parks sped up their pace to pile on Indosyntec's agony, to the delight of the 3,500-strong crowd who packed the Senayan Basketball Hall.

Earlier on the day, BS Nikko Steel beat rookie Satria Muda 75- 68 in the play-off for third place. Siliwangi of Bandung and Bhinnneka of Surakarta will be promoted to the league next season, at the expense of Glory and Hang Tuah.

Travis led the scoring yesterday for Aspac, sinking game high 40 points. Parks, whose inspirational role earned him the Most Valuable Player, added spice with 32 points in Kobatama's most- lopsided final ever.

A throng of jubilant spectators swamped the pitch as soon as referee Ronaldo blew the final whistle, setting the night on fire after torrential rain drenched the capital city during the match. The Indonesian Basketball Association's executive chairman presented the championship trophy.

"I knew the key. We don't need two guards to tame Gerald (McDonald). I preferred my smallest player Rinaldo to do it, and it worked," Aspac team manager Irawan Haryono said after the match.

"We got off to a slow start, merely because of the tension hanging over us," he added.

Indosyntec, the 1994 champion, attributed its loss to the out- of-form Gerald McDonald, who suffered an injury in the early minutes of the final.

"It's too bad that Gerald was injured in the crucial match," Indosyntec coach Deddy Kuskanto said. "We don't have an equivalent replacement for him. His speed is unbeatable," he said.

The Bandung side gave real opposition when it held a brief 25- 24 lead in the first half, after Johanis Winar threw in a three- pointer.

In the second half, Indosyntec's defense became weaker and gave more room to Aspac to find the basket.

Aspac withdrew all its two foreign signers as it took a commanding 96-68 with just one minute and 15 seconds left.

Irawan said that he will now focus on a selection of players for the Merlion Cup in Singapore on Sept. 2. (yan)