Yogyakarta, Indonesia, March 18, 2023 – Formidable Bandung Bank bjb Tandamata women’s volleyball team successfully defended their crown after defeating Jakarta Pertamina Fastron in a hard-fought five-set thriller 27-25, 25-22, 24-26, 20-25, 15-8 in the grand final of the PLN Mobile Proliga 2023 at GOR Amongrogo, Yogyakarta on Saturday.
Bank bjb’s successive two victories in the Proliga have matched the achievements of Surabaya Bank Jatim, which captured the title two times in a row in 2007 and 2008, and Jakarta Popsivo Polwan, which landed the title for consecutive two times in 2012 and 2013.
At the previous season, the team, owned by the West Java Regional Government, had won the highest Caste
Bolavoli competition in the country by toppling Gresik Petrokimia during the final match.
Bandung bjb’s face-off with Jakarta Pertamina Fastron was a highly-anticipated final showdown because since the beginning of the season, both teams were hot favorites, tipped for the eventual champions.
Jakarta Pertamina actually played more solidly in the first set, even almost winning when they were far ahead 23-18. However, Bank bjb did not give up and managed to withstand the opponent’s onslaughts to win five consecutive points to equalize the score 23-23. Even then the team, under the close guidance of coach Alim Suseno, bagged the hotly-contested first set 27-25.
The second set turned out to be a similar script. But Bank bjb, which relied mostly on powerful attacks from Medeline Jazmin and Ceren Kapucu, managed to win 25-22 and stretch it to the two-set lead.
Holding a 0-2 disadvantage, Jakarta Pertamina Fastron did not want to give up easily. Megawati Hangestri came up for the rescue and played with a more solid defense to extend her breath while helping her team take the tough third set 26-24.
Pertamina Fastron’s aggressive play continued in the fourth set, which they won 25-20, forcing the tie-breaker to determine the eventual winners..
The decider was tense. Pertamina Fastron got off to a confident start for a three-point clear to initially lead 4-1, but the title-holders Bandung bjb tried to narrow the margin. Their determination paid off handsomely when they equalized 4-4. Medeline Jazmin became a Bank bjb’s smashing machine after that when she utilised her sharp spikes to methodically puncture the rivals’ defence to move her team ahead 8-4.
Moments later, the reigning champions’s pace to win the title could not be denied by the strong…
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