West Bandits Qualify for Playoff IBL Indonesia Cup 2022

West Bandits Combiphar Solo player Patrick Nikolas (Photo: Antara)

JAKARTA - West Bandits Combiphar Solo made sure to qualify for the playoffs after defeating Bumi Borneo Basketball Pontianak on the fifth day of the IBL Indonesia Cup 2022, Tuesday.

Competing at the Sritex Arena, Solo, Central Java, West Bandits silenced Bumi Borneo with a 70-53 victory in the "life-and-death" match between the two teams.

As reported by Antara, both Bumi Borneo and West Bandits have the same record. They lost against Prawira Harum Bandung, then won against Tangerang Hawks Basketball.

In other words, the Tangerang Hawks are now the caretaker of Group D. While Prawira is at the top of the standings, and the runners-up of Group D are the struggle between Bumi Borneo and West Bandits.

Bumi Borneo head coach Tondi Raja Syailendra fielded starters for this match, namely Rillo Agum Kumara, Leo Agus, Steven Orlando, Arion Tio, and team captain Raymond Syariputra.

While the West Bandits coach Pacevicius for this match chose the first five players, namely Nickson Damara Gosal, Christian Gunawan, Patrick Nikolas, M. Rizal Falconi, and Rio Disi, who is usually on the bench, rising to start replacing team captain Mei Joni.

West Bandits immediately step on the gas after the tip-off. They were 13-0 up in the first five minutes. The deadlock of Bumi Borneo was broken by Julius Caesar Wongso in the remaining four and a half minutes. After that, Bumi Borneo points continued to flow until the end of the first quarter.

Instead, turn the West Bandits deadlock in the next five minutes. Only Rio Disi added two points on a free throw that changed the score to 15-6. The first quarter ended with the score 15-10 to the West Bandits' advantage.

Entering the second quarter, Bumi Borneo performed better. They enter 16 numbers. Their performance has improved but has not been able to turn things around.

West Bandits' performance remained stable from the first quarter to the second quarter. West Bandits remain ahead by a 3-point margin (29-26).

The match became fierce in the second half. Starting in the third quarter, there was one after another in the acquisition of points. However, when the third quarter closed, the West Bandits led 50-44.

The distance of points that is not too wide, which is six points, makes Bumi Borneo still have a chance to win. However, it seems that this opportunity was not used properly by the Pontianak team.

On the other hand, the Solo team tried hard not to be ashamed of playing in front of their own supporters. West Bandits maintained consistency and improved shooting accuracy in the fourth quarter which saw him win 70-53.