Mahaka Satria Muda wins 1st Kobatama title

Mahaka Satria Muda wins 1st Kobatama title

JAKARTA (JP): A free throw from Amran A. Sinta in the
remaining 11 seconds resulted in Mahaka Satria Muda (SM) claiming
victory in the 1999 A Mild Kobatama National Basketball League's
final on Sunday.

Home favorite SM crushed the hope of Surakarta-based Bhinneka
Sritex 57-46 to win the league for the first time since Kobatama
was staged in 1994. Bhinneka was the 1997 finalist and finished
fifth in the following year when SM was the bottom finisher.

Amran scored 14 points, made 12 rebounds and five assists to
earn him the Most Valuable Player's title. I Made Sudiadnyana of
Bhinneka, who scored 22 points, made eight rebounds and three
assists on Sunday, was crowned the league's top scorer.

"I'm very proud because it is the first time that we have won
Kobatama. We were one of the semifinalists in 1996 but at that
time we hired foreign players," said Amran, 27, after the match.

SM players poured mineral water over the head of their coach,
Rastafari Horongbala, after the referee blew the final whistle.
Rastafari was hugged by senior players, Wahyu Widayat and Fictor
G. Roring, who could not stop their tears.

"I'm proud of my players because they could cope with the
pressure during the match. The fact that they have never entered
the final has helped boost their motivation to win this match,"
said Rastafari.

Fictor, who is also a former national player, said: "Entering
the Kobatama's final four is amazing. And winning the Kobatama is
really a miracle."

Bhinneka was downed 24-34 in the first half, but Sudiadnyana,
whose nickname is Lolik, equalized the score to 44-44 at 6:27 of
the second half.

The agony was just starting when Wahyudi made a technical foul
at 4:15 of the second half and the referee awarded free throws to
SM. Amran successfully made the throws to pass Bhinneka 46-44.

Bhinneka was discouraged but managed to score the last two
points by free throws from its senior player Lie Tjui Tek at 38.1
seconds.

"I am very disappointed. But that's all what we got," Lolik,
also a national player, said amid a horde of fans who were asking
for his autograph.

SM left behind a bitter tantrum on Saturday when it was
declared a finalist after opponents Panasia Indosyntec declined
to continue the match in the remaining 59.6 seconds of the second
half.

Panasia walked out on Sunday and gave third place to its
longstanding rival Aspac of Jakarta. None of Panasia team showed
up when the club was called to receive the fourth rank trophy.

Apology

Panasia's chief of general affairs, Suwandi Bing Adi,
apologized on Sunday for withdrawing from the semifinal. By way
of explanation, he said a decision by the referee was unfair.

"We don't want to accept the decision. We want a transparent
explanation so basketball fans know what happened in the national
competition. We want to be professional, but we felt disappointed
for the incident," he said.

Team manager Danny Kosasih added: "The club's councilor Awong
Hidjaja will decide whether we should take part in the 2000
league. He told me that there was no longer sportsmanship in
Saturday's match. I can say nothing, he never looked so enraged."

The Indonesian Basketball Association (Perbasi) official in
charge of Kobatama, Doedie Gambiro, said that Panasia had not
sent a written statement declaring that it would withdraw from
next year's Kobatama.

He also said that Perbasi would consider applying sanctions to
referee Hadi Wasito and match supervisor.

"If they are proved to have falsified the decision, we could
delay licenses," he said. (ivy)