JAKARTA (Indonesia) – Prawira Harum Bandung stunned Hong Kong Eastern Basketball 53-50 in a winning start to their Basketball Champions League Asia (PCL Asia) Round 2 campaign at the Britama Arena on Tuesday night.
The reigning Indonesian Basketball League (IBL) champions lost star player Brandon Francis 15 seconds into the third quarter due to a disqualifying foul. However, it was an opportunity for the entire team to play collectively and quickly get back at their Round 1 tormentors.
Pravira went on an 18-5 run throughout the quarter to lead 44-38 in the final period and the momentum never left their side on their way to joining another IPL team in Belita Jaya Basketball. 2 opening night winners.
Antonio Hester top scored for the hometown team with 19 points and 15 rebounds. James Gist missed a double-double outing with 9 points and 13 rebounds en route to an efficiency of 21 (EFF) with 3 assists, 4 steals and 3 blocks.
Indira Muhammad had 8 points, while Yuda Sabutera added 7 points as the Spitfire guards hit two three-pointers each to help pull off a third-quarter turnaround.
Sabutera nailed a trey, followed by a layup by Muhammad for a 37-34 lead with 4:13 left. 43, Gist made a jumper late in the game.
They now look forward to their encounter against Belita Jaya on Wednesday, April 24 at 20:00 local time, with the winner assured of a rightful place in the BCL Asia.
Meanwhile, Chris McLaughlin led Hong Kong Eastern with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Yiu Pang Yip was the only scorer in double figures in the slump with 12 runs.
The reigning Hong Kong A1 Division champions tried to come back to within a field goal at 52-50 following Dominic Gilbert's conversion with 35.4 seconds left, but were prevented from coming back by being separated by Saputera and Prawira's lockdown defense.
Hong Kong Eastern will look to bounce back from their defeat against NS Matrix Tears on Wednesday at 17:30 local time.
A strong start for Belita Jaya
Meanwhile, Belita Jaya put on a show in front of the home crowd by overcoming the Deer 94-79 in the previous day's Round 2 opener.
JaQuori McLaughlin helped set the tone early with his outside shooting before helping KJ McDaniels and Justin Brownlee break away in the second half as the 2022-23 IBL runners-up took an early lead in the single round-robin stage.
The win kept the group as the only undefeated team in the qualifiers. It can be recalled that coach Johannes Wiener's wards finished Round 1 with a 3-0 record.
Former NBA player McDaniels had a game-high EFF of 29 with 24 points to go along with 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals and a block in 32 minutes for Belita Jaya.
McLaughlin scored 21 points, including 12 in the first quarter alone, all of which he made from beyond the arc (4-of-4) to help his team lead 27-16. He also collected 3 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 blocks for 27 EFF.
Andakara Prastava Diaxa contributed 16 points on four triples, while Brownlee contributed 11 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, a steal and a block in a turnover-less performance that saw Belita Jaya lead 17 points, 77. -60, early in the fourth quarter.
On the other hand, NS Matrix's leading man, Ding Chun Hong, finished with 24 points on a 6-for-12 clip from deep. Jordan Tolbert helped him with 16 points and 13 rebounds.
Tyshawn Johnson had 15 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals, while Kuek Tian Yuan added 13 points and 8 rebounds for the Deer, which shot just 36-percent from the floor.
Statistics of the day
Points – 24 (KJ McDaniels, Belita Jaya Basketball; Ding Chun Hong, NS Matrix Tears)
Rebounds – 15 (Antonio Hester, Pravira Harum Bandung)
Assists – 6 (Jaghuri McLaughlin, Belita Jaya Basketball)
Steals – 4 (James Gist, Pravira Harum Bandung)
Volumes – 3 (James Gist, Pravira Harum Bandung)
Performance – 29 (KJ McDaniels, Belita Jaya Basketball)
Highlight of the day
FIBA
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