Find Article by Date
Mon, 25 Jul 2005

JP/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.