Panasia rebounds to beat Aspac 61-56

Panasia rebounds to beat Aspac 61-56

By Ivy Susanti

SURABAYA (JP): Defending champion Panasia Indosyntec edged
arch rival Aspac 61-56 on the second day of the third series in
the 1999 A Mild Kobatama National Basketball League on Thursday
evening.

Eastern division champion Panasia was down 23-33 at the end of
the first half, but rebounded in the final minute of the game to
steal victory at the Pacific basketball stadium. The Bandung club
is undefeated in five games.

Western division champion Aspac suffered its first loss after
reigning in the division's standings in the past two series.

Panasia's coach Dedy Kuskanto said that his team was initially
slow to adjust to the fast play of the Aspac players.

"They had many opportunities to score but they failed to
execute well due to the pressure. Aspac has a very solid defense.
But in the second half, we applied a new strategy by upping the
momentum to earn points. Aspac players seemed to feel the
pressure," he said.

Dedy was optimistic Panasia would finish in the top four.

"We have targeted winning four of five games in this series.
With this win, our ambition to reach the top four is wide open.
At this stage, players in all the clubs have the same level of
skills, so we have to perform well."

Aspac coach Tjetjep Firmansyah said his players' teamwork,
especially in passing, was below standard and enabled their
opponents to make quick interceptions.

"We lost so many balls. Some players passed the ball when they
shouldn't have. Panasia's players found it easy to take the
ball," complained Tjetjep, who coached the national team for the
1999 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games.

He praised Panasia's defense and said its players were patient
in their attempts to penetrate the Aspac defense.

Panasia's power forwarder Antonius Joko Endratmo was the star
of Thursday's game, scoring 23 of his team's points and making 14
rebounds overall.

The good-looking player said he wanted to prove to local fans
that his team could beat Aspac.

"The Western division clubs are known for their aggressive
play, but in the Eastern division we win our games easily," he
said.

Joko said he was able to play well because the Aspac players'
marking was focused on center and playmaker Saut Lambok Johnson.

"Lambok is very good in the center, which duped our opponents
because they only guarded him tightly and ignored my moves," he
said.

Veteran Aspac players Tri Adnyana Adiloka and teammate Rommy
Tanaka scored 12 points each.

Friday's games will feature Cahaya Lestari Surabaya against
Siliwangi, Bima Sakti Nikko Steel meets Indonesia Muda Texmaco
and Bhinneka Sritex Solo squares off against Mahaka Satria Muda.