Eastern team beats westerner in all-star duel

YOGYAKARTA (JP): The eastern division basketball team beat the western division 95-79 in the 1999 A Mild Kobatama all-stars meet, in a packed Among Rogo indoor stadium on Sunday.

The one-day meet featured the ten favorite players selected by fans from five teams in each division. Ten other players were picked by coaches.

Both teams fought hard right from the start but by the end of the first half, the eastern division led the game by six points, 51-45.

The western division team tried unsuccessfully to bounce back in the second half. By the final 10 minutes, the eastern division were leading 76-58 and monopolized the game until the referee blew the final whistle.

Four players from defending champions Panasia Indosyntec -- Antonius Joko E., Kiki Susilo, Saut Lambok Jonson and I Gede Agus Wahyudi -- featured in the eastern division's line-up, accompanied by top shooter Pek King-Dhay from Pacific Bank Swadesi. The five substitutes were Agung Sunarko (Cahaya Lestari Surabaya/CLS), Johanis Winar (Panasia), Oei Teng-khun (Bima Sakti Nikko Steel), I Made Sudiadyana (Bhinneka Sritex) and Hari Suharsono (CLS). They were coached by Panasia's Dedy Kuskanto and managed by Panasia's team manager Danny Kosasih.

The western division team featured four Aspac players -- Menara Suwandi, AF Rinaldo, Riko Hantono and Tri Adnyana Adi Loka. Their teammates included Dwi Eriano, Bayu Radityo and Fictor Roring from Mahaka Satria Muda and Rommy Chandra and M. Rifky of Indonesia Muda Texmaco. They were coached by Tjetjep Firmansyah of Aspac and managed by Mahaka SM's team manager, Erick Thohir.

I Made Sudiadyana was named the most valuable player, scoring 18 points, followed by Agus Wahyudi and Joko with 15 points each. Rommy was elected as the best rebounder after collecting 14 points.

Doedi Gambiro, the Indonesian Basketball Association (Perbasi) official in charge of Kobatama, expressed his satisfaction over both teams performances, saying they had displayed a high level of technical skill.

Panasia, Aspac, Mahaka SM and Bhinneka are favorites for Kobatama's final round with three series of the league played.

Panasia and Aspac top the standings of their respective divisions, with Bhinneka in the eastern and Mahaka SM in the western.

The four clubs will have to struggle hard in the remaining three series to prove themselves fit for this year's title.

The basketball fans were also entertained by an A Mild Executives competition featuring coaches, team managers and artists. This time, the basketball officials team had to admit defeat to the celebrity team, which included rapper Iwa K, duo Didan and Denny Saba and a comedian from Project P, Yosi. (44/ivy)