Aspac labors to beat Glory in Kobatama
Aspac labors to beat Glory in Kobatama
JAKARTA (JP): Defending champion Aspac of Jakarta was forced
by little-known Glory to go to the limit before nipping the
Semarang club 67-64 in a hard-fought battle on the second day of
the National Semi-Professional Basketball League (Kobatama)
yesterday.
The match was nip and tuck from the onset, with the lead
changing hands dramatically. In the second- half the highly
favored Aspac was forced to dig deep into their reserves before
finally staving off the stiff, last minute challenge of the
plucky Christian team during a five minute overtime after a 62-62
draw.
During the nerve-racking overtime, another 64-64 draw was
produced. But Aspac, whose players reportedly get the highest
pay, used Felix Bendatu, whose three-point shots were highly
accurate, to win three points over Glory.
Glory was not able to retaliate after Felix's shot as Aspac
consistently controlled and stole the ball from Glory. Aspac
succeeded in maintaining the 67-64 lead, killing time by passing
the ball among themselves.
Glory, which fell 75-63 to Pelita Jaya of Jakarta on the first
day of the tournament on Wednesday, was led by Norman Marbury and
Darryl Flowers of the United States, the team's imported players,
to a 38-33 lead during the first half.
In the second- half, scores changed rapidly as time flies: 38-
33 became 40-33, 42-38, 44-40, 46-40, 54-44, 60-50 and eventually
62-62.
It would be hard to imagine Glory without Norman and Darryl
who sank 38 points, or 60 percent of the team's total scoring.
On the other hand, Aspac relied heavily on Mohammad Rifki, Tri
Adi Loka, Fictor Roring and Felix Bendatu who together made 11
out of their 37 attempted three points shots.
Aspac got 33 points, or 50 percent of their total points,
through successful three point scores made by the four.
An earlier match between CLS of Surabaya and Bima Sakti of
Malang, both of East Java, was a one-sided game. Bima Sakti who
whipped Hadtex of Bandung, West Java, 97-53 on the first day
again showed its supremacy by outscoring CLS 75-44.
Bima Sakti was once again spearheaded by Scott Patterson of
Canada, 2.10 meters tall, and Morgan Wheat, 1.96 meters tall. The
two imported players together made a total of 49 points, or 65
percent of their team's total scoring.
"Yes, it was very easy for me to score," said Scott, who has
five-years professional experience in Europe, China, Japan, Hong
Kong and the United States.
Scott attributed his team's victory to good cooperation among
his teammembers. "My Indonesian teammates are very fast," Scott
said of his team's advantages."But they are sometimes too
emotional and play too fast, and, as a result, they make
mistakes," he added. (arf)
1st day complete results
Hadtex Bandung 57, Bima Sakti Malang 90
Pelita Jaya Jakarta 75, Glory Semarang 63
CLS Surabaya 66, Petrogres Gresik 49
Siliwangi Bandung 60, Aspac Jakarta 78
Today's program
Glory vs Siliwangi 4.30 pm
Petrogras vs Aspac 7.30 pm
Indonesia Muda vs Pelita 9.00 pm
Hadtex vs Pacific 10.30 pm