SM, Aspac hot for IBL end duels

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Sat, 09/09/2006 7:44 AM

Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Satria Muda BRItama of Jakarta will meet arch-rival and defending champion Aspac Putra Riau in the final rounds of the 2006 A Mild Indonesian Basketball League (IBL) championships starting Saturday (today).

""Both teams have met in the final round for three consecutive years. Both already know each other's weaknesses and strengths,"" Satria Muda coach Fictor ""Ito"" Roring said Friday.

""This year, we topped the leaderboard from the start of the championships and we are upbeat about taking the crown,"" Ito said.

Aspac leads Satria 2-1 in the past three final meets with the club winning the title in 2003 and 2005, while Satria won in 2004.

During this year's competition, Satria beat Aspac in the first round 63-59 but lost in the second 69-66.

Aspac coach Tjetjep Firmansyah said Satria had prepared better and exhibited more solid teamwork than Aspac, which had to fight hard to secure its slot in the final by defeating Garuda Panasia of Bandung 2-1 in the semifinals.

""Perhaps, Satria is the best team in the country that has players with the full range of skills,"" he said. ""But we will see on the court. We will fight to win every game in the final round.""

Satria will host the first match at home in the Sportsmall BRItama Arena in Kelapa Gading, North Jakarta, on Saturday. The next match will be in Aspac's new home base at the Rumbai sports stadium in Pekanbaru on Sept. 17. In the best-of-three competition, any decisive final match will take place in Jakarta on Sept. 21.

For Aspac's newest player, Andrie Ekayana, the title quest will be an emotional high point.

""This is a much-awaited moment for me. I've never experienced a finals round and I want to be part of the winning team. That's my only reason to move to Aspac (from Bima Sakti of Malang). I am ready to win,"" the 24-year-old said.

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