Pelita Jaya bounce back against Keilor

After a heartbreaking loss in their first game of the tour, Pelita Jaya came back with a statement win over the Keilor Thunder 88-67.

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Due to the timing of the exhibition, Keilor’s roster was a mixture of the 2024 season and many Youth League players given December is the middle point of the NBL1 South offseason. 

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While it was a less experienced group, they made the most of it with 10 different players scoring and playing excellent defence against the reigning IBL champions – holding them to 44 percent from the field. 

However, the Thunder’s shooting was ice cold, missing a staggering 10 of their 12 triples in the first quarter alone. Going on to only make 27.2 percent for the entire clash. 

Pelita Jaya overwhelmed Keilor with their roster of elite scorers, with three players scoring in double-digits. 

After a quiet game against Keilor, KJ McDaniels came out swinging. while he missed two ridiculous putback dunks, he still managed to make a massive impact with a game-high 23 points and 13 rebounds.

KJ MCDANIELS WENT NUCLEAR ??

Watch Pelita Jaya against the Keilor Thunder Live & Free via https://t.co/NEk1I7kIKG or the NBL1 App ? pic.twitter.com/zLSWpyGbEG

— NBL1 (@NBL1) December 17, 2024

While JaQuori McLaughlin and James Dickey III added 18 and 16 points respectively. 

One injury to monitor will be 24-year-old Yesaya Alessandro. Early in the second quarter, he dove for a loose ball, unfortunately having a Keilor player fall onto his leg. He was carried off the court and did not return for the remainder of the game. 

Pelita Jaya will have a quick turnaround to their next clash against the NBL1 South champions, the Eltham Wildcats, on Thursday. You can watch the game from 7:00pm AEDT live and free via NBL1.com.au or the NBL1 App. 

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