CLS Good Day has a bad one in close contest

Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

After a stunning upset of defending champions Satria Muda Britama on Friday, CLS Good Day was brought back to earth with a 51-54 defeat by Indonesia Muda Panasonic Telkomsel on Sunday in the seventh series of the A Mild Indonesian Basketball League 2005.

Although CLS Good Day's Agustinus played in top form, scoring 16 points and making 12 rebounds, teammates Ronny Gunawan and Charly Affandi gave substandard performances.

Indonesia Muda Panasonic Telkomsel's Lucky Pinontoan had 19 points, while Youbel Sondakh scored 12 to help their team win the game.

Indonesia Muda Panasonic Telkomsel came out fast, surprising CLS Good Day's defense and opening up a 17-7 lead in the first quarter.

CLS Good Day began to cope with the attack in the second quarter, with Agustinus and Faturrahman Adam playing key roles in scoring and also helping out on defense. The effort narrowed the score to 21-22.

But after the 10-minute break, Indonesia Muda Panasonic Telkomsel played more solidly in defense, while it also went for a combination of two and three point shots.

In contrast, their opponents appeared slow to react and committed mistakes on defense, with Indonesia Muda stretching its lead to 41-31 by the end of the quarter.

The fourth quarter was an intense scramble for points, with Agustinus, succeeding off fast breaks.

A valiant CLS Good Day attempt to force overtime failed in the dying seconds when Charly, off a free throw, was intercepted by an opposing player and lost the ball.

Indonesia Muda Panasonic Telkomsel team manager Jeffrey Tanasale said his players were guilty of lapses in concentration.

"It happened particularly in the second quarter, but luckily we could win the first and third quarters," he said.

CLS Good Day manager Ming Soedarmono said the key to the loss was the deficit at the end of the first quarter.

"That is the key," he said. "Besides, Charly and Ronny were below form today. But what can we say, that is the game.'"

On Saturday evening, Panasia Garuda defeated Citra Satria 59- 40.

With the latest results, Indonesia Muda Panasonic Telkomsel moves up to fourth place from fifth, with 14 points from five wins and four losses, while CLS Good Day is sixth with 11 points from three wins and five losses.

With HP Aspac atop the standings with eight wins and no losses, Panasia is still second with seven wins and two losses.