HP Aspac shooting for seven for seven

Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

HP Aspac will seek to keep its winning streak going and remain atop the standings by beating fifth ranked IM Panasonic Telkomsel here on Thursday, the opening day of the seventh leg of the A Mild Indonesian Basketball League (IBL) 2005.

"Our team is in its best condition. We will try to win every game in Jakarta to maintain our clean record," HP Aspac player Riko Hantono, voted league MVP through the sixth leg, said on Wednesday.

HP Aspac leads the league with six wins, followed by Panasia Garuda and SM Britama, both with five wins and two losses.

Panasia is ranked second because it defeated SM Britama 50-44 victory in the fifth series in Lampung on April 10.

Aspac will also play Avian Bima Sakti and Angsapura Sania over the weekend.

Despite its opponents' formidable record, HP IM Panasonic Telkomsel is determined to cause an upset during the leg, to be held from through Monday at Soemantri Brodjonegoro Student Sports Hall in South Jakarta.

"We are ready to play against HP Aspac and CLS Good Day (on Saturday). We want to win the two games to help save our position in top four," head coach Raoul Miguel Hadinoto said.

IM Panasonic Telkomsel has booked four wins and three losses in the series.

On Thursday, Citra Satria will play SM Britama following the game between HP Aspac and IM Panasonic.

Other teams participating in the league are Bhinneka Sritex, Kalila and Citra Satria.

The Jakarta stop is one of the few where all 10 teams will compete.

After the Jakarta series, the IBL 2005 will continue in Malang (May 25-29), Medan (June 4-5), Palembang (June 4-5), Bandung (June 8-12), Semarang (July 2-3), Pontianak (July 2-3), Batam (July 9-10).

The semifinal will be held in Jakarta on July 21-24, with the final operating on a home and away format on Aug. 7 and on Aug. 14/15.