Panasia outshines CLS 85-67
JAKARTA (JP): Bandung-based Panasia Indosyntec met little opposition in its third match against Wismilak Citra Lestari Surabaya (CLS) of East Java, which it beat 85-67 in the third leg of the 2000 Nuvo Kobatama national basketball league on Wednesday.
The result vaulted former four-time champion Panasia to second on the league standings and made it the only non-Jakarta club to have ensured a berth in the final four in November.
Jakarta-based Aspac leads the pack, while other Jakarta clubs, Mahaka Satria Muda and Indonesia Muda Texmaco are third and fourth respectively.
Panasia was given an early scare when CLS came charging in the first three minutes. But experience helped Panasia regain ground and fight back.
After ending the first quarter with a narrow 20-16 lead, Panasia immediately strengthened its defense and fielded its towering players to cover the key zone area.
The strategy worked well and Panasia only allowed CLS, who had won only one of its three previous games, to score 20 points against its 30 in the second quarter.
Lim Ping Wen scored 11 points in the second quarter out of his total 17 points for Panasia, while the tallest player in CLS, Ronny Agustinus, poured 13 points.
Djuwanda of CLS scored the most goals during the match with 18.
Lim earned the Most Valuable Player tag for his outstanding performance during the match.
CLS stepped up pressure in the third quarter, but Panasia displayed dominance in its three-point shootings. Panasia scored nine out of 21 chances while CLS only made five.
Panasia built up a commanding 69-50 lead going into the final quarter as CLS seemed to run out of steam.
A two-minute break was enough for CLS to regain its feet. Its last-ditch comeback earned it 17 points in the fourth quarter, compared to Panasia, which managed only 16.
Panasia's coach Dedy Kuskanto expressed his hope that his team could win at least one more match in the final leg next month.
"If we can score one more win, we are going to secure a place in the final four," he said after the match.
He said he was poised to test his players' skills against Aspac and Mahaka Satria Muda.
"Aspac and Mahaka have a band of well-skilled players and all of them have various offense and defense rotation. While IM's playing rotation can be easily spotted and the team only field the same players in many matches," he said.
Earlier, Surabaya-based Pacific Caesar escaped a relegation threat with a landslide 122-86 victory over Bima Sakti Nikko Steel of Malang.
Pacific will need at least four more wins to make it to the final four in November. "It means we have to make a clean sweep in the final leg if we are to qualify for the final four," Pacific team manager Willy Winoto said.
With two wins and one loss, Pacific sits just above the bottom team Bima Sakti.
Sulaiman scored 33 points for Pacific but made no assists. His teammate Putu Dony Hermawan was named the MVP of the match after scoring 28 points and making six assists. Alfin Jerry had 23 points for Bima Sakti. (ivy)