HP Aspac to play Satria in IBL finals
HP Aspac to play Satria in IBL finals
Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
HP Aspac of Jakarta will meet defending champion Satria Muda
of Jakarta in the finals of the Indonesian Basketball League
after defeating Bhinneka Sritex of Solo in their second semifinal
game 72-68 here on Sunday.
Last year's runner-up Aspac sealed a 2-0 win overall following
their convincing 91-38 on Friday.
However, while the first game saw a dominant display of
basketball by Aspac, the second was much tougher with Bhinneka
battling hard throughout.
Bhinneka surprisingly wrested an early charge to lead at 18-11
with their attacking initiative while shoring up their defense
under the ring.
Aspac fought back in the second quarter with an intensified
offense to overtake the lead 33-27 thanks particularly to an
outstanding performance by Mario Wuysang and Rico Hantono.
Bhinneka refused to bow down. Their tightened defense once
again frustrated Aspac players who ended up trailing by a point
at 49-48 at the end of the third quarter.
Bhinneka maintained the lead at 55-54 before Ali Budimansyah
provided his team with a boost in the remaining seven minutes.
Ali's inspiring run put Aspac back in front 56-55 and it
sealed the game and a ticket to the finals with a 72-68 victory.
"It was a tight game today. Bhinneka players employed a good
defense to limit our shooting range," Rico said after the match.
Commenting on the finals, Rico said, "It will be tougher
against Satria Muda. They are a strong crop." Satria also cruised
to the finals with a 2-0 win over Panasia Garuda.
Bhinneka coach Edi Santoso said his players had tried hard to
win the second game, however, the opponents proved stronger.
"That's a game. One team must win and the other must lose. We
have to accept defeat with big hearts. Aspac players are in
stronger mental form than ours."
The finals, which employ the best of three, will be held on
Aug. 7 at Kelapa Gading Sport Mall and Aug. 14 at Senayan
Basketball Stadium. If necessary, a third game will be played on
Aug. 15 at Senayan.