Two RI volleyball teams go to semis

Pariama Hutasoit, Contributor, Petitenget, Bali

Two Indonesian men's teams made it to the semifinals of the Asian Beach Volleyball Tour 2002 after beating their opponents in the quarterfinals on Saturday.

Agus Salim and Koko Prasetyo of the Indonesia One team defeated Greg Jury and Brendan Turner of Australia One team in a tight rubber-set match, 15-21, 21-13, 15-9.

Agus and Koko underwent some difficult times in the first set, but eventually managed to gain momentum in the second and third sets.

"We were not playing as we should in the first set. But in the following sets, we managed to strengthen our team's coordination and won," Agus said.

In the semifinals on Sunday, Koko and Agus will face Supriadi and Andy Ardiansyah of the Indonesia Two team. Supriadi and Ardiansyah made it to the semifinals after conquering fellow athletes Markoji and Irilkhun Shofanna of the Indonesia Three team in a clean straight set.

The other semifinalists were Thawip Thongkamnerd and Sataporn Sawangrueang of the Thailand One team, which will go up against Kirk Pitman and Michael Hynds of New Zealand for a place in the tournament's final.

Meanwhile, in the women's division, two Chinese women's teams and two Thai women's teams made it to the semifinals.

Han Bo and Sun Jing of the China One team will battle Ren Zhenping and Lu Wenfeng of the China Two team, and Kamoltip Kulna and Jarunee Sannok of the Thailand Two team will confront Rattanaporn Arlaisuk and Manatsanan Pangka of the Thailand One team.

Ni Putu Timmy Yudhani and Sitti Nurjanah of the Indonesia One team fell short of landing a spot in the semifinals after they were crushed in the quarterfinals by the Thailand Two team, 19- 21, 13-21, and by the China Two team, 20-22,19-21.