BANGKOK (Thailand) - Dewa United Banten secured the no. 1 spot in Group A of the BCL Asia-East 2026 following a tough 103-97 victory over the gritty Hi-Tech Basketball Club at the Nimibutr Stadium, Friday.
The Indonesian Basketball League (IBL) champs took the lead for good late in the third canto before rolling to a lead good enough to ward off the home team toward finishing their Group Phase run on a high.
Coach Agustin Julbe and his men snapped as well a two-game skid - both against Johor - and in the process concluded the preliminaries with a 4-2 card, giving themselves a favorable position for the Final 6.
"That was one of our goals," the veteran mentor said. "It's not only about the matchups because nothing's going to be easy in the Final 6, both groups are gonna be balanced. I think it's also more for ourselves mentally."
A total of five players finished in double figures in the win, with star forward Troy Gillenwater regaining his form as he went a perfect 9-for-9 from the line and tallied 25 points, alongside 5 rebounds and 6 assists.
Josh Ibarra registered another double-double with 23 points and 14 rebounds, which he laced with 2 steals and 2 blocks. Dio Saputra came through with 17 points, while Rio Disi delivered 16 to head the bench mob.
Star playmaker DJ Cooper flirted with a rare triple-double as he chalked up 10 points, 8 rebounds, and 14 assists, marking the sixth time in as many games that he finished in double digits in dimes. He also had 2 steals.
Cooper himself was key in keeping their foes at bay, converting buckets in back-to-back fashion to push their lead to 12 on both occasions, the last being at 96-84 approaching the final three minutes of the match.
He would also hit a triple with less than two minutes left for the 99-90 lead before Disi and Gillenwater joined hands to apply the final touches, making sure that no collapse whatsoever would take place.
Wasted by the loss, meanwhile, was the 34-point effort of Accheaus Fields to lead Hi-Tech, who fell to 2-3 but remained at no. 2 in the pool. Freddie Lish backed him up with 23 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists.
Eric Freeman had 19 points while Emmanuel Ejesu added 11 for the Basketball Thai League outfit, who will try to conclude their homestand with a win when they take on the Southern Tigers tomorrow night.
And that match will determine the final positioning of the Group A teams for the Final 6.
FIBA