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)