JOHOR BAHRU (Malaysia) - Dewa United Banten leaned on their heavy hitters to repel Hi-Tech Basketball Club in overtime, 99-94, to stay unbeaten in the BCL Asia-East 2026 Wednesday at the Arena Larkin Indoor Stadium.
Troy Gillenwater finished with 35 points and 7 rebounds, while Joshua Ibarra came through with 24 and 19 as the bruising tandem provided stability in extra time to save their side from a humiliating meltdown.
All 14 of the reigning IBL champions' points in OT came from the two, as they made sure to avert disaster after seeing their team squander a lead as big as 23 points, which they erected during the third quarter.
Ibarra got in rhythm and scored six straight as a response to Accheaus Fields' game-tying jumper early in OT, then came Gillenwater with a perfect trip to the line to give themselves a 95-87 lead with 1:52 remaining.
Their Thai foes did cut the gap to just three twice inside the game's final 47.4 but their failure to secure the rock hurt their chances, and Gillenwater would go on to ice the game through free throws with 4.2 ticks left.
Eventually, the Indonesian ball club would chalk up their third victory in as many outings, thus maintaining their hold of the Group A lead after dealing the BTL representatives their second loss in three outings.
"I think we showed character," lauded head coach Agustin Julbe, as his men managed to take down the same team they beat in the season opener. "We showed pride. And we played much better to close the game."
Rio Disi supplied 12 points in the win, while lead point guard DJ Cooper displayed his elite playmaking yet again by racking up 14 of the team's 24 assists, which he laced with 5 points and 8 rebounds, as well as 6 steals.
Disi himself was actually responsible for giving Dewa United an 85-82 lead following a perfect trip to the foul line with 7.5 remaining in regulation but Hi-Tech showed extreme grit behind lead guard Freddie Lish.
Lish stole the ball from Hardianus Lakudu, ran downhill, and then pulled for a three-pointer which he nailed to tie things up at 85-all with 1.5 seconds, eventually sending the game into OT as they stopped Gillenwater.
That big shot by the vet capped what had been a stupendous fourth-quarter showing for Hi-Tech, as they erupted for 35 big points - 16 more than what the opposition had - to extend the game into five more minutes.
But then, Gillenwater made up for that failure to manufacture a shot by opening OT with a perimeter jumper off a Disi find, before Ibarra came in to help to create a formidable duo that soon brought Dewa United home.
"We had the game pretty much taken care of in the first half, came out of the third quarter too relaxed, let them get a glimpse of glory and make adjustments and make a run off it," reflected the 31-year-old Ibarra.
"Nonetheless, the team pulled it together in overtime," the Mexican big man added.
Now, the team is off to a very quick turnaround as they will be taking on home team Johor in 24 hours (Wednesday, April 16, 20:30 local time), looking, of course, to repeat against the Southern Tigers.
Lish led Hi-Tech with 24 points. Fields finished with 22 while Spencer Rodgers made 15 as the troika bannered the second-half rally. The comebacking Emmanuel Ejesu chipped in 10 points and 6 boards in the loss.
"Fighting hard together as a team, staying together in the second half, knowing that we needed to do better than we were in the first half, listening to Coach," said Lish, when asked about their takeaways from the bout.
Now at 1-2, Coach Pachakorn Lertlaokul & Co. will look to bounce back against Johor on Friday, hoping to keep the MBL side's number after taking them down in the first OT of the season last March 28 in Indonesia.
"It was a lot of positives for us. It's enough for us to build on the next game," Lish said.
FIBA