IM Texmaco comes back to beat Dwidasa Mitra
IM Texmaco comes back to beat Dwidasa Mitra
JAKARTA (JP): After a poor start, Indonesia Muda Texmaco (IM)
regained their form to beat league newcomer Dwidasa Mitra 92-75
on Sunday in the third leg of the 2000 Nuvo Kobatama national
basketball league.
In the second match of the day, Pacific Caesar Surabaya bagged
a narrow 86-85 win over another Surabaya-based team, Wismilak
CLS.
Guard Lucky Pinontoan made amends for his failure to execute
free throws that cost his team victory on Saturday by sinking two
of them to give IM a commanding 92-72 lead, with just 22 seconds
remaining.
Captain Andries Posumah shot a three-pointer for Dwidasa to
reduce the deficit three seconds before the final buzzer.
IM remained in fourth place after Sunday's victory, but team
manager Lexi Rohi said his squad would win in Tuesday's match
against Aspac. IM lost to Aspac 48-71 in the first leg in Malang,
East Java.
"We will try our best to beat Aspac. We will still have one
day to consolidate our stamina and strategy. We have to win
because we want to ease our way to the final four in November,"
he said.
Lexi said that his team had aimed to win three out of four
games in the series. But lady luck was not on the club's side
when it lost to Mahaka Satria Muda 66-68 on Saturday.
Aspac team manager Irawan Haryono said his team was ready to
face IM. He also expressed hope that IM could perform its best.
"Three Jakarta teams -- Aspac, IM and Mahaka -- are basically
equal in ability. But I don't know why IM players are a letdown
every time they play us. Maybe because we normally beat them; but
it's not a reason not to play well," he said.
Dwidasa, making its debut in the first division, was quick to
begin with but a lack of good shooters blew away its brave effort
to notch up a win.
Team manager Andre Mamuaya blamed the team's poor performance
on the absence of coach Ersa Putra.
"Our coach left for Malaysia for a family commitment. In his
absence, our players relied too much on Andries, giving him many
things to do inside the court. He had to control his own play
while at the same time he had to direct his teammates," Andre
said.
Pacific's South-Korean coach Sung Jae-sik said his team was
short of good center players.
"Our players are still young. But they are improving
gradually," he said, adding that his club had a good chance
against Bima Sakti on Tuesday.
Late on Saturday, Aspac maintained its winning streak by
outclassing Bali Jeff Citra Satria Pelita (CSP) 92-87.
Aspac tops the league's standings, followed by Mahaka Satria
Muda and Panasia Indosyntec. On Monday, Aspac will meet Mahaka,
while Dwidasa plays CSP. (ivy)