Sananta spikes way into semis

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Mon, 04/17/2006 9:29 AM

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Jakarta P2B Sananta secured the remaining semifinal berth in the men's division of the Proliga Volleyball Championship 2006 with a 3-1 (21-25, 25-19, 25-20, 25-19) victory over Surabaya Samator in Bandung on Sunday, the final day of the season's opening round.

Sananta's victory cost last season's runner-up Jakarta Monas Bank DKI a spot in the final four. Jakarta Monas lost 3-1 to Samator on Saturday.

""My players were tired after a tough match against Jakarta Monas on Saturday. We tried to win this last match against Sananta but we failed,"" Samator manager Hari Trisnardjo was quoted by Antara as saying.

Sananta coach Benny Martarius praised his team for reaching their first semifinals.

""My team worked real hard to win their matches and it paid off,"" he said.

The top four teams in the men's and women's divisions will compete in the semifinals in Jakarta from April 28-30.

Defending champion Jakarta BNI Taplus leads the overall standings, followed by Samator, Bandung BSI and Sananta. BNI will meet Sananta, while Samator will face BSI in the semifinals.

In the women's division, Bandung Art Deco, Gresik Phonska, Jakarta Electric PLN and defending champion Jakarta BNI Taplus secured places in the last four.

BNI, however, was the last team to qualify and it could be difficult for the squad to defend its title.

The final standings in the men's division in 2005 were Jakarta BNI, Monas, Samator and Jakarta Electric. While in the women's division it was Jakarta BNI, Jakarta Electric, Bandung Art Deco and Monas.

Copyright © 2008 The Jakarta Post - PT Bina Media Tenggara. All Rights Reserved.