Bhinneka, Panasia make winning start in A Mild

SURAKARTA, Central Java (JP): Bhinneka Sritex drubbed Cahaya Lestari Surabaya 73-54 before a vociferous home crowd on Thursday during the second day of the 1999 A Mild Kobatama National Basketball league's fifth series.

CLS was still licking its wounds from a 38-82 humiliation to defending champion Panasia Indosyntec on Wednesday night at Bhinneka Basketball Stadium.

Panasia will likely face a tougher test against Bima Sakti Nikko Steel on Friday. Panasia beat the Malang-based club 53-43 at home in the second series despite Bima Sakti's 39-33 lead in the first half.

Bhinneka, which ranked second in the Western Division behind Panasia with a win-loss record of eight and two, is unlikely to face much trouble against Pacific Bank Swadesi on Friday.

In the women's league, CLS clobbered Jakarta-based Merah Putih 72-32, Rajawali Sakti won 60-54 against Mataram Utama and home favorite Bhinneka defeated Bandung-based Rajawali 74-68.

Bhinneka benefited from the leg and backbone injuries sustained by CLS' top center Hari Suharsono, which forced him to return to the bench before the first half ended 39-30 in Bhinneka's favor.

Hari was invited to join the training program for the 1999 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games but he was eliminated in the selection process.

Bhinneka's assistant coach, Hartono, said luck played a commanding role in the team's win.

"Hari's injury killed CLS' chances," he told The Jakarta Post after the match.

He said he instructed his top player I Made "Lolik" Sudiadnyana to play aggressively. He was his team's top scorer with 30 points.

"We saw that Lolik was only marked by a CLS player who was much shorter," he said. Lolik, a national team player, is 188 centimeters tall. (44)