Monas takes second victory in Proliga

Monas takes second victory in Proliga

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Jakarta Monas chalked up its second victory on Sunday after
defeating Jakarta Phinisi 25-20, 19-25, 25-14, 22-25, 15-11 in
the women's division of the 2004 Proliga volleyball competition
at the Bung Karno Basketball Hall in Senayan, central Jakarta.

Jakarta Monas beat Gresik Phonska Petrokimia also 3-2 on
Friday while for Phinisi it was its first defeat after it
overcame Jakarta Elektrik 3-0 on the opening day.

It was a tight battle between Monas and Phinisi on Sunday with
both teams dueling for the lead throughout the match.

Phinisi coach Sukirno conceded that Monas' foreign player
Christine Lambert played a pivotal role in her team's
performance, making it difficult for his team to penetrate into
Monas' defense.

Despite the victory, Monas coach Jopie Hehanusa said he did
not feel satisfied yet with the team's performance during the
game, including Lambert's performance.

"They were playing at 50 percent of their real strength,"
Jopie said as quoted by Antara.

Earlier, defending champion Bandung Art Deco got off to a
winning start in its defense campaign with a 25-9, 25-20, 24-26,
25-19 win over Yogya Gunadarma.

It was Gunadarma's second defeat following its defeat by
Phonska on Saturday.

Six men's teams and six women's teams are taking part in the
2004 season of the national semi-professional league to be played
in six series in five different cities.

The semifinals and final are scheduled for June 11 and 12 in
Jakarta at the Bung Karno Indoor Stadium. The league offers a
total of Rp 380 million (US$44,700) in cash prizes.

In the men's division, Bandung Telkomsel and Yogya Gunadarma
faced each other while Jakarta Phinisi took on Jakarta Monas in
the other match.

Surabaya Flame, which did not play on Sunday, topped the
standings, taking back-to-back victories over Monas on Friday and
Gunadarma on Saturday.