Day 2: Pelita Jaya seal ticket to BCL Asia proper; Taishaun Johnson keep NS Matrix in the hunt

JAKARTA (Indonesia) - Pelita Jaya Basketball blew past Prawira Harum Bandung, 88-67, to secure their place in the Basketball Champions League Asia (BCL Asia), Tuesday night.

 

In front of their fans at the BritAma Arena, the Indonesian Basketball League (IBL) side jumped to a commanding 29-11 lead in the first quarter and never let up en route to becoming the first team from the Qualifiers to secure their ticket to the tournament proper.

 

JaQuori McLaughlin bannered the balanced attack with a game-high 24 points on 8-of-14 field goal shooting, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and 4 steals for an efficiency of 25.

KJ McDaniels continued his fine play as well with a strong double-double of 15 points and 17 rebounds, along with 2 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block for a full stat line.

Reza Guntara made three of his five shots from deep and finished with 13 points, while Justin Brownlee and Brandon Jawato chipped in identical numbers of 10 points and 6 boards in the win that saw them lead by as many as 24 points, 62-38, during the third quarter.

Toting a 2-0 record, Pelita Jaya will look to end the Qualifiers unbeaten when they go up against the Hong Kong Eastern Basketball Team on Friday, April 26, at 20:00 local time.

Brandone Francis had 16 points to lead Prawira, who cannot replicate the comeback they pulled off to beat Eastern that saw the crew buck the ejection of Francis.

The reigning IBL champions, now at 1-1, will try to keep their BCL Asia hopes up against the NS Matrix Deers on Friday as well. Tip-off is scheduled at 16:30 local time.

Johnson nails game-winner

Meanwhile, Taishaun Johnson sank the game-winner as the Deers outlasted Eastern in overtime, 99-97, to keep their BCL Asia dreams alive in the double-header opener.

The 29-year-old reinforcement swished in a left-handed floater with six-tenths of a second remaining to tow the Malaysian side to their first win of the Qualifiers' Round 2, indeed a rousing bounce-back from a 94-79 loss to Pelita Jaya barely 24 hours ago.

His heroic act capped off a stellar night personally as Johnson finished with 31 points on 47.8-percent shooting from the field, alongside 6 rebounds, 9 assists, 3 steals, and 1 block for a 30 EFF to lead their comeback from a deficit as many as 20 points.

Huge as well was big man Jordan Tolbert, who contributed a full line of his own with 27 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 5 steals, and 2 blocks, netting a 27 EFF.

Ting Chun Hong produced 18 points, spiked by a pair of triples, together with 9 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, and 2 blocks as he helped the Deers stay afloat in OT.

Isaiah Eisendorf, on the other hand, led Eastern with 21 points and 7 rebounds in the monumental collapse. Chris McLaughlin had 16 and 12, while Siu Wing Chan added 14.

Stats of the day

Points - 31 (Taishaun Johnson, NS Matrix Deers)
Rebounds - 17 (KJ McDaniels, Pelita Jaya Basketball)
Assists - 9 (Taishaun Johnson, NS Matrix Deers)
Steals - 5 (Jordan Tolbert, NS Matrix Deers)
Blocks - 2 (Jordan Tolbert, Ting Chun Hong, NS Matrix Deers)
Efficiency - 31 (Chris McLaughlin, Hong Kong Eastern Basketball Team)

Highlight of the day

 

FIBA