Aspac nears finals with 87-63 win

Aspac nears finals with 87-63 win

BANDUNG (JP): The odds-on favorite to capture the league title
this year, Aspac, is poised to secure a berth in the league
finals after a 87-63 victory over Citra Satria Pelita (CSP) in
fourth-day action of the 1999 A Mild Kobatama National Basketball
League's fourth series on Thursday.

Aspac is undefeated in three games in the series at
Padjadjaran basketball stadium here, while CSP has one victory
and two losses in its three games.

CSP found itself down early in the game, but managed to narrow
the margin to 28-32 late in the first half. However, Aspac was
too strong for CSP, which was relying on veteran guard Nano
Sukarma. Aspac went into the locker room at halftime with a 38-33
lead.

Western division leading Aspac is heavily favored to win its
final game against Siliwangi on Friday, in what, on paper, should
be a blowout. Also matching up on Friday are Mahaka Satria Muda
(SM) and Indonesia Muda (IM) Texmaco.

Aspac coach Tjetjep Firmansyah said he would start his top
players against prohibitive underdog Siliwangi, adding he did not
want to risk an upset by fielding his second team.

"Siliwangi has done a lot of running in the last two games,
but they have a weak defense and they don't have any good
rebounders," Tjetjep was quoted by Antara as saying.

Siliwangi coach Srigijanto said his team's chances of winning
either of its final two games against Aspac and IM were slight.

"Aspac has the league's top players in its lineup. We can only
hope for victory in the game against IM Texmaco. I hope my
players can raise their fighting spirit," he said.

Siliwangi is winless in 11 games in the league's four series
and will likely be relegated. Srigijanto said his players were
being groomed for the 15th National Games in Surabaya, East Java,
next year.

"My players are aggressive but they lack experience, so they
can't read their opponent's strategy," he said.

SM will look to stave off defeat in its game against IM by
inserting veteran center Fictor Gideon Roring into its lineup.
And IM will play top forward Rommy Chandra despite a knee injury
he suffered against Aspac on Monday.

"We will fight all out. We don't want to lose this game," IM
coach Hakiem Rachman said.

Not backing down from the challenge, SM coach Rastafari Madjid
said: "Our players have had enough rest to recover physically, so
we will field our full team." (43/ivy)