No surprises as Jakarta 46 BNI teams into finals

Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

Heavily favored Jakarta 46 BNI men's and women's teams lifted their games when it mattered on Friday to advance to the finals of the 2005 Sampoerna Hijau Proliga volleyball tournament.

Men's team Jakarta 46 BNI was too strong for Jakarta Electric PLN, winning 3-0 (25-23, 25-22, 25-18), while its women's team also came through 3-0 (25-19, 25-22, 25 -22) over Jakarta Monas Bank DKI.

In the other women's semifinal, defending champion Jakarta Electric PLN recouped from a first game setback to beat Bandung Artdeco Bank Jabar 3-1 (23-25, 27-25, 25-19, 25-11).

The other men's semifinal, pitting Jakarta Monas Bank DKI against titleholder Surabaya Samator, was still in progress at press time.

Jakarta 46 BNI's men and Jakarta Electric PLN were closely matched during the first game, with both teams keeping the points short by going for spikes.

After taking the first game, Jakarta 46 BNI showed its mental edge by coming back from behind.

Jakarta 46 BNI's David Cameron Lee from the U.S. and Brazilian Joao Eduardo Paula scored a number of points at the start of the game, and were supported by a strong defensive line.

Through powerful spiking by Brazilian Paulo Desar and M. Ufron, however, Jakarta Electric PLN was able to take leads of 14-13 and 18-16.

The golden opportunities were frittered away, however, as a flood of errors allowed the steadier Proliga leaders back into contention.

Robby Meilala of Jakarta 46 BNI, third ranked spiker in this year's preliminary matches, took it to 19-18 with a lightning quick smash, a shot that effectively changed the match.

In the third game, Jakarta 46 BNI players dominated with a seamless attacking and defensive strategy, leaving their opponent increasingly frustrated.

"We're glad to win the semifinal because we have a good team in defense and offense," Edu said at the postmatch media conference.

"We hope to win the final in a more exciting match."

Jakarta Electric PLN coach Suseno said his players gave its best, but the best team won on the day.

"We had a good chance when we took the lead several times in the second game but some of our players played inconsistently, giving easy points to our opponent," he said.

"The opposing team was steadier than us."

Meanwhile, Jakarta 46 BNI women's team head coach Sukirno said the semifinal was tougher than the score indicated.

"We are the better team, but Jakarta Monas Bank DKI gave us some difficulties in the semifinal."

Disappointed Jakarta Monas Bank DKI player Siti Nurjanah criticized the performance of foreign players Candace Magnamee and Colleen Smith of the U.S.

"I hope our manager could select better foreign players next year," she said.

The finals will be held on Sunday starting at 1:30 p.m.