Kobatama gets two foreign feferees

Kobatama gets two foreign feferees

JAKARTA (JP): Two international referees from the Philippines
will be working the third leg of the Kobatama basketball league
at Senayan Basketball Hall, after the local referees failed to
impress in a match of the second leg in Semarang, Central Java.

Ary Sudarsono, organizer of the Kobatama, told a press
conference yesterday that Rolando Omampo and Daniel Bayais will
be the referees for the third round, which is due to kick off
today and finish on June 19.

"We're inviting them here in anticipation of protests like the
one we had in Semarang," he said.

On May 18, CLS Ardiles led 111-109 against IM Texmaco. CLS's
Craig Lee Johnson was waiting for the ball when IM's player Lucky
Pitonoan got into position in front of him.

Johnson suddenly knocked Lucky down, but neither of the
referees, Sutisna or Bramasto, took any action. IM protested, and
Bramasto gave a technical foul to Johnson.

The CLS players walked off the court, with only two minutes
and 15 seconds left, in protest at what they considered an unjust
decision. IM won the match on "walk out".

Ary said that Omampo and Bayais are also scheduled to hold
"refereeing clinics" for Kobatama's local referees, and will be
giving local officials the benefit of their wisdom.

Meanwhile, it was announced that Bima Sakti Nikko Steel has
sent home two U.S. players, Erick Brown and Tod Bernard. Brown
was sent home for of his "undisciplined" attitude while the team
could not find the right position for Bernard.

Bima Sakti will field Americans Keith Nelson and Terry Boyd in
the third leg tournament to replace Brown and Bernard.

Aspac is still out ahead after completing the first leg in
Surabaya, East Java, and the second leg in Semarang. Aspac has
collected 17 points by winning eight of its nine matches,
followed by Panasia Indosyntec and Bima Sakti with 16 points
each. (yan)