Incident mars last day of Kobatama league

BANDUNG (JP): Unruly spectators marred the final day of the 2000 Nuvo Kobatama basketball league's fourth leg on Friday, forcing a half hour delay to the start of the third match of the day.

The incident began when star-studded Aspac of Jakarta beat home favorite Panasia Indosyntec 70-62 in a top-of-the-table match played before a crowd of more than 5,000 who had been flocking to the Padjadjaran Basketball Hall since midday.

The dejected home fans threw plastic bottles at Aspac players and overturned an advertising hoarding which bore the sponsors' name. Several youngsters tried to set fire to a bench, but the fire failed to take hold.

Aspac players gathered in the middle of the hall holding their bags over their heads amid a hail of bottles. Security guards were deployed to escort the Jakartans out of the hall.

After some 30 minutes, the spectators became calmer and this allowed the organizers to begin the third match between another Jakarta club Bali Jeff Citra Satria Pelita and Wismilak CLS of Surabaya, which Bali Jeff won 84-79.

Only 40 security personnel, half of whom were police, guarded the matches.

Earlier in the day, Dwidasa Mitra of Jakarta escaped relegation after a convincing 104-96 win over Bima Sakti Nikko Steel of Malang, East Java.

Bima Sakti's fate will be decided in the last match between Pacific Caesar of Surabaya and defending champion Mahaka Satria Muda in the day's closing event, starting at 9:45 p.m.

If Pacific beat Mahaka, which has failed to win any of its four matches in this leg, Bima Sakti will be relegated. In a reverse scenario, Pacific will have to go down to the first division for next season's competition.

This year's league semifinalists have all been determined: Aspac, Panasia, Mahaka and Indonesia Muda (IM) Texmaco.

The win over Panasia allowed Aspac to confirm its domination of the league, finishing on top of the table with 15 wins and only one defeat. Panasia came second with 13 wins and three losses.

Chief of the event's organizing committee, Anhar Iskandar, lashed out at the home fans for the incident.

"I did not expect to see the hall crowded by so many enthusiastic fans. The tickets were sold out but many of them forced their way into the venue. The west door was destroyed and we were forced to sell extra tickets," he said.

He added that around 2,500 tickets per day were sold, while the hall could accommodate up to 3,000 spectators.

The league director, Doedi Gambiro, said he would decide on possible sanctions against the host after receiving a comprehensive report from the match supervisor and the technical officials. (ivy)