Pupuk Kaltim keeps title

SURABAYA (JP): The pretournament favorite Pupuk Kaltim team, led by world star Denny Sacul, retained the Pahlawan Cup bridge title after beating the Sekayu team 51-28 in the final at the Satelite hotel here Sunday night.

Pupuk Kaltim, which also included world beaters Berce Polii and Franky Karwur among its six members, lived up to its favorite status once the two-day event reached the semifinals on Sunday.

"We found all the teams we encountered from the beginning of the qualifying matches Saturday tough squads to crack," said Denny. He, Berce, Franky, Hengky Lasut and Eddy Manoppo have helped Indonesia dominate the Fareast Bridge Federation Championship several times in recent years.

On this occasion however they had to compete against each other as they were playing for their respective teams in what is one of the country's premier domestic competitions.

It was clear from the first few boards of the final that Sekayu, which fielded a relatively inexperienced team, would have to be content with second place.

The Prasidha team, spearheaded by East Java's leading players Indra Kusuma and Chris Patty, finished third.

"Considering that we were playing against such big names who are ranked among the best in the world, I think it was a good enough result for the Prasidha team to finish third," Mansjur Tandiono, the president & C.E.O of the Prasidha Group said.

The group came to the rescue of the annual event after Mansjur learned the event was scrapped last year -- after 10 years of sponsorship by PT Petro Kimia Gresik -- because no replacement sponsor could be found.

Mansjur said the Prasidha Group was honored when asked by the East Java branch of the Indonesian Contract Bridge Association to become the major sponsor of the championships held in conjunction with National Heroes Day, November 10.

After the inaugural event in 1983 was played in the Sidoarjo regency, the competition folded for two years before Petro Kimia stepped in 1986 and moved the venue to Gresik, an industrial center close to Surabaya.

As part of the Prasidha Group's sponsorship, the tournament moved to Surabaya itself.

The widely diversified group runs the largest instant coffee plant in southeast Asia in Sidoarjo, just outside Surabaya.

The bridge championship is the second sporting competition the group has sponsored. Last September it backed the Prasidha East Java Open Golf Championship, held at Ciputra & Keluarga Golf Club. (rsl)