Bima Sakti downs Pacific 71-61

Bima Sakti downs Pacific 71-61

SURAKARTA, Central Java (JP): Bima Sakti Nikko Steel opened
the action at the 1999 A Mild Kobatama National Basketball League
on Wednesday with a 71-61 win over bottom finisher Pacific Bank
Swadesi.

In the second game, defending champion Panasia Indosyntec
played Cahaya Lestari Surabaya (CLS) at Bhinneka Basketball
Stadium. The game was unfinished at press time.

The fifth series, which will end on Monday, features five
teams from the Eastern Division: Panasia, Bhinneka Sritex, Cahaya
Lestari Surabaya, Bima Sakti Nikko Steel and Pacific.

Panasia has won nine games in the five series, losing only one
contest to the Western Division's runner-up Mahaka Satria Muda in
the third series in Surabaya, East Java.

Division runner-up and hometown favorite Bhinneka Sritex will
face CLS on Thursday. Bhinneka, which boasts two members of the
national team on it lineup, has won seven games and lost two in
nine outings.

Bima Sakti and CLS are trailing Bhinneka but shooting for a
berth in the final four. Both teams have four wins and six
losses.

In the women's league, Bhinneka Sritex romped to a 93-40
thrashing of Merah Putih Medco of Jakarta. Sahabat Surabaya
trounced Yogyakarta's Mataram Utama 65-30 and Rajawali Bandung
defeated Rajawali Sakti Surabaya 79-43.

Pacific, which finished seventh behind Bima Sakti in the 1998
league, led 39-29 in the first half.

After the break, however, Bima Sakti changed its strategy to
put the pressure on Pacific, which appeared to weaken because it
was unprepared for the stepped-up pace.

Bima Sakti coach Armin Johan acknowledged that he instructed
his team to raise the tempo because one of his top players, Oei
Teng Khun, suffered a knee injury in the second half.

He said he assigned Sudiro to mark Pacific's top player Pek
King-Dhay.

"I sacrificed Sudiro to block Pek King-Dhay's movement. And
the strategy worked. We were able to make up the deficit."

Pek Khing-Dhay scored 21 points and five assists but Bima
Sakti's center, Hendy, was rated the most valuable player on the
day with 20 points and two assists.(44)