Aspac dunks Indosyntec to retain Kobatama title
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)