Jakarta (MidLand) – Pelita Jaya Jakarta coach Johannis Winar praised his player Kevin Mc Daniels who performed brilliantly in the team’s victory in the first match of the second round of the Basketball Champions League (BCL) Asian Group A qualifiers .
Playing at the Britama Arena, North Jakarta, on Tuesday (23/4), Pelita Jaya won convincingly 94-79 over Malaysian team NS Matrix Deers.
Appearing as the main player, Kevin Mc Daniels appeared superior in that game, leading Pelita Jaya with 24 points, seven rebounds and threes in 32 minutes and 24 seconds while he was on the court.
“I am very grateful to Kevin who is the leader of the game and brings energy,” praised the coach who is familiarly called Coach Ahang after the match against Kevin at Britama Arena on Tuesday.
Read also: Pelita Jaya opens BCL Asia qualifiers with 94-79 win
“It wasn’t easy, but with Kevin’s leadership we managed to keep the team going. We know he’s tired too,” he added.
“He showed the hard part there, working hard. On offense, on defense, he gets the whole team there,” he continued.
Playing in the second round of BCL Asia qualifiers until Friday (26/4) means Pelita Jaya will play five games in one week after the two 2024 Indonesian Basketball League (IBL) games that ended in a 101-1 win 67 over Bima Perkasa on Friday (19/4) ago and 98-80 over the Borneo Hornbills last Sunday (21/4).
Seeing Pelita Jaya’s busy schedule, coach Ahang said the victory against NS Matrix Deers did not come easily.
“It’s not easy for us, especially with our schedule,” he said.
Pelita Jaya player Andakara Prastawa also said the same thing. The 31-year-old basketball player is also grateful that the rotation implemented by his coach in the midst of a busy schedule has so far managed to end in a victory.
“Yes, like yesterday during the (Bima Perkasa) Jogja match there were several young people playing. “Yes, fortunately we have 17 players who can play, so it is up to the coach to decide what the rotation will be,” Prastawa said.
Read also: Andakara Prastawa is grateful that Pelita Jaya won in the first match
This win against MS Matrix Deers put Pelita Jaya at the top of the Group A standings with two points, with a 1-0 record.
Pelita Jaya will play again on Wednesday (24/4) when they face the Indonesian team Prawira Harum Bandung who also won the first match with a score of 53-50 against the Hong Kong East Basketball team.
The two teams will meet at the Britama Arena, Wednesday (24/4) at 20.00 WIB.
“We just focus. We control what we can control. “As for what Prawira can do, we can’t control it,” coach Ahang said about preparing for the match against Prawira.
“So what we can control is how we get healing. “Rest well, eat well, stay focused, just focus on our system,” she concluded.
Also Read: Prawira beats HK Eastern by a narrow score of 53-50
Reporter: Zaro Ezza Syachniar
Publisher: Teguh Handoko
Copyright © MidLand 2024
Quoted From Many Source
