Aspac routs Angsapura
Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Mighty HP Aspac continued its winning ways with a 78-48 drubbing of lowly Angsapura Sania in the seventh series of the 2005 A Mild Indonesian Basketball League here on Monday.
It was the ninth win in a row for the unbeaten Jakarta team. Despite the convincing victory, however, a team official appeared to be unsatisfied with the players' performance.
"Our performance today was not really that good because our bench players did not look confident," Mayckel SD Fernandus, the technical trainer for Aspac, said following the game.
Pointing to several perceived weaknesses on the team, Mayckel said Aspac was now just trying to secure a place for itself in the final four.
Aspac had a slow start against Angsapura Sania, struggling to a 9-7 lead early in the first quarter. But Aspac picked up the pace and ended the quarter with a 20-12 advantage, thanks to the outstanding play of veteran Ali Budimansyah, who was able to get the rest of the team involved in the game.
Aspac extended its lead in the second quarter and went into halftime with a sizable 46-25 cushion, thanks in large part to the mistake-prone Angsapura players who were unable to cope with Aspac's stifling defense.
The Aspac team never let up its pressure, constantly pressing and harassing their beleaguered opponents.
Entering the third quarter, Aspac went into an even higher gear and built its lead to 64-39 going into the final quarter.
Riko Hantono and Andy Poedjakesuma both had double-doubles for Aspac, with Riko scoring 13 points and 10 rebounds and Andy adding 11 points and 19 rebounds.
Angsapura's only consistent threat was Hidayat Natasasmita, who had 16 points in the losing effort. He received little support from his teammates.
Aspac rested most of its key players in the fourth quarter and its bench added 14 points in the quarter for a 78-48 victory.
Angsapura coach Freddy M. Gorey conceded his team was unable to compete with Aspac.
"We could not compete in terms of the quality of players and the way they play basketball," he said.
However, he said his team relished the challenge of improving its play and offering tougher competition in the future.
It was Angsapura's second straight defeat following its 71-58 drubbing at the hands of Bhinneka Sritex on Sunday.
Later on Monday, Kalila was scheduled to meet Bhinneka Sritex, while Citra Satria faced off against CLS Good Day.
Aspac was the winner of the first round of the league, with Panasia Garuda in second place with seven wins and two losses, followed by Satria Muda Britama with six wins and three losses.
Ten teams are participating in the league this season.