ULAANBAATAR (Mongolia) - The Broncos exact revenge from loss last year by defeating Pelita Jaya Basketball 85-79 to confirm a spot in the BCL Asia-East Final and a ticket to BCL Asia on Friday night at the MBank Arena.
The victory was sweet revenge for the Broncos who did not qualify for BCL Asia last year, in part because of a loss to Pelita Jaya in the Group Phase. That is all in the past for the Broncos, as they now only look ahead towards the bright future for the club and for Mongolian basketball.
"It’s just the next game for us, we want to be perfect. Right now we’re 7-0, but we come in every day with the same mindset to get the next one," said star guard Ian Miller. "I don’t think anybody was thinking about the loss last year. Everybody was just thinking about taking the next step forward."
"I'm really happy for this win," said Ariunbold Erdene, Broncos' head coach. "This was a really tough game. I’m really happy that we made a very big history in Mongolian basketball. I’m really proud of all my players. They did their best on the court."
Even though the Broncos led from start to finish, it was an exciting game for the rowdy home crowd as the two teams engaged in a shootout down to the final second. The home team led by as much as 14 points, but the visiting Indonesian championship pushed back time and again, making it a one point game on multiple occasions.
The Broncos tied a BCL Asia-East record, lighting up the Pelita Jaya defense for 16 made three-pointers led by 7 from Miller.
"It's the same shots we take every day and want to shoot in practice," said Miller. "So when we get in the game we feel comfortable to take these shots and make them. We all breath confidence in each other, so it’s easy for us to knock down these shots.
"When we got the fans supporting us like they were tonight as they do every game, it’s more energy and it’s more easy for us to knock them down."
Pelita Jaya had a hot-hand from deep themselves, even if only in the second half where they knocked down all of their 7 three-pointers.
"Giving up 16 threes was unfortunate for us. Playing catch up for the majority of the game was something that we did not expect to do," said Pelita Jaya head coach, Justin Tatum.
"We knew this was a tough environment to play in, but I tip my hats off to my guys for giving me 40 minutes of their best efforts."
Miller, who also recorded 8 assists, led the Broncos with 24 points, but had plenty of supporting firepower whether it was from Jordan Tolbert (16 points, 5 assists), Saruul-erdene Enkhbaatar (15 points, 5 three-pointers), and Azbayar Altangerel (10 points, 7 rebounds).
The fan favorite Altangerel was showered by MVP chants towards the end of the game and during the post-game interview.
Pelita Jaya's Chris McCullough led all scorers with a monster double-double of 28 points and 13 rebounds while Jaquori McLaughlin had 16 points and 12 boards. However, Pelita Jaya found their rhythm too late in the game to overcome their first half deficit.
The Broncos now head on to the Final to face The Taoyuan Pilots tomorrow May 31 at 9:00 PM (local time). Pelita Jaya will play for Third Place against the New Taipei Kings at 6:00 PM (local time).
FIBA