Jakarta Monas tripped up by Jakarta 46 BNI

Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

After getting off to an excellent start in the 2005 Proliga Volleyball championship with a defeat of women's defending champions Jakarta Electric PLN on Friday, Jakarta Monas Bank DKI suffered a letdown on Saturday.

Jakarta 46 BNI easily overcame its challenge 3-0 (17-25, 18- 25, 17-25) for its second win of the tournament after defeating Yogya Tomkins on Friday.

In the first game, Jakarta 46's foreign players from Belarus and Germany worked together to block the attacks of Jakarta Monas' Siti and Magnamee.

The foreign contingent kept up the good work in the second game, but local players Wati, with a powerful spike, and Dwi Sari helped BNI stay ahead.

In the do-or-die third game, Jakarta Monas substituted most of its players and built up a 7-3 lead.

But Jakarta 46 responded with a series of quick spikes to go ahead 12-10, never looking back as it went on to triumph.

Jakarta 46 head coach Sukirno said he instructed his players to make good blocks against Siti and Magnamee.

"It works, that was the key to our victory today," he said.

Jakarta Monas head coach Yopie H said his team was affected by going the distance against Jakarta Electric.

"We had no strength at all today," he said.

In the previous match on Saturday, women's Gresik Phonska Bank Jatim defeated Bandung Art Deco Bank Jabar 3-1 (25-21, 25-22, 24- 26, 25-22). On Friday night, men's Yogya Tomkins thrashed Jakarta Electric PLN 3-0 (25-20, 25-21, 30-28).

Separately, in Cebu, the Philippines, the national men's team secured a slot in the second round of the 2006 World Volleyball Championship qualification after defeating the Philippines 3-0 (25-15, 25-20, 25-21).

Indonesia earlier beat Tonga and Macao by a 3-0 scoreline. On Sunday, Indonesia will play Chinese Taipei for the top spot of the group.