ULAANBAATAR (Mongolia) - Pelita Jaya wrap up their Group Phase campaign in Basketball Champions League Asia-East (BCL Asia-East) 2025 by disappointing home team Bishrelt Metal, 92-82, at the UG Arena, Wednesday night.
It was a closely-contested game early on with neither team claiming a double-digit lead, only until the late run by the visiting Pelita Jaya side.
"Very difficult game for us," said Pelita Jaya head coach Justin Tatum, who made his BCL Asia-East debut. "Metal did a great job of coming out and playing with confidence, shooting the ball.
"I feel that their coach had them prepared and ready to go. They shot the lights out and they really challenged us in many ways. They had us confused on many defensive options to where we had to dig down deep to finally get the win, so tip my hat to them.
"For us, it was a good chance to get this victory up on our belt."
Metal entered the fourth quarter with a seven-point lead (their largest in the game) before Pelita Jaya erupted for a 14-0 run - capped off by a thunderous slam by KJ McDaniels. The lead continued to grow to as much as 12 points and even as Metal pushed over and over again to get back up ahead, it was too late.
CJ McCullough logged his second straight double-double in BCL Asia-East in which is by far his best game in the competition to date: 27 points on 9-15 shooting from the field, 15 rebounds, and 5 assists for 37 EFF.
Despite the loss, Metal can hold their head high on going toe-to-toe with the Indonesian champions. Batkhuyag Azzaya (24 points, 5 rebounds, 9 assists) and Sukhbat Batzorig (21 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals) had what was arguably their best games of this campaign, signaling a bright future for themselves and the team.
They made the task of getting the win a bit tougher for Pelita Jaya and coach Tatum was quick to admit it.
"We had to find a way to pressure those guards. They were lights out from the three point line," said Tatum. "Once they built their confidence, they gave their teammates confidence as well. When they pass to their teammates, they were confident of making the shots as well, so the adjustments was more on ball pressure on those guys.
"Even sometimes trap them when they got their open looks, but we wanted to make sure that their two main guys felt our defensive pressure, find a way to wear them down. The last couple of minutes, it was tough for them to get their shots off and we were lucky that they missed a couple."
FIBA