Aspac Win?

Aspac’s Semifinal Shocker Sets Up All-Jakarta Finals

The road to success in the Indonesian Basketball League, like most things in the country, goes through Jakarta. Three-time defending league champion Satria Muda Britama’s presence in the IBL finals was expected. Less so was that of two-time champion XL Aspac, which had to beat regular-season runner-up Garuda Flexi to reach the finals.

Satria Muda and Aspac are fixtures in the finals, having contested all but two grand finals since the league started in 2003. Aspac beat Bhinneka Solo for the 2003 crown, and Satria Muda topped Garuda Flexi in 2008 for its third straight and fourth overall title. Aspac manager Irawan Haryono said on Wednesday that the team’s run to the finals was unexpected. “A lot of people doubted us after we released several stars and decided to bank on the juniors,” he said. “But now we’re in the finals again.”

Aspac earned the chance to reclaim its crown after beating Garuda Flexi 69-65 in overtime at C-Tra Arena in Bandung, West Java. The result kept with the trend of close games in the series, with Aspac winning Game 1 55-54 before losing Game 2 65-60.

Coach Tjetjep Firmansyah’s faith in youth quickly paid dividends. Having dumped older players such as Mario Wuysang to Garuda and Andy Poedjakesuma to Pelita Jaya, Aspac turned to young forward Rizky Effendi and guards Dirk Matthew Mario Gerungan and Xaverius Prawiro. Rizky, 22, led Aspac with 19 points in its Game 3 victory. Irawan said the team’s youngsters could play without pressure against city rival Satria Muda, which he called the best team in the country.

“I know that young players tend to be erratic, but we’re the underdogs now so we will play without a heavy burden,” he said. “We asked the squad to just enjoy the games and do their best.”

While Satria Muda is the league’s in-form team of recent years, Aspac can lay claim to more long-term success. It won Kobatama, Indonesia’s previous top-tier league, eight times, including a three-peat from 2000 to 2002. “This is our first step to once again becoming the top club in the league. We will do just that,” Irawan said.

Satria Muda, meanwhile, cruised into the finals with a 2-0 sweep of Nuvo CLS Knights.

“We don’t care who we’ll fight in the finals,” coach Fictor Roring told state-run news agency Antara. “We’re ready to retain the trophy.” Satria Muda hosts the first two games of the best-of-five series at Britama Arena on July 25 and 26. Aspac will host Games 3 and 4 at Gelora Bung Karno Basketball Hall on Aug. 1 and 2, with Game 5 returning to Britama Arena on Aug. 3.