BROWNLEE CELEBRATES 36TH BIRTHDAY WITH WIN IN INDONESIA

MANILA, Philippines: Justin Brownlee celebrated his 36th birthday by serving as one of Pelita Jaya's spark plugs as the Indonesian club team opened round 2 of the Basketball Champions League Asia with a 94-79 spanking of NS Matrix on Tuesday at the Britama Arena in Jakarta.

The sweet-shooting Gilas naturalized player had an all-around effort of 11 points, eight rebounds, four assists and a steal in a turnover-free game.

The 6-foot-4 Brownlee has been maximizing his time with Pelita Jaya to stay sharp as the resident Ginebra import will be leading the Philippine team under coach Tim Cone in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament this July in Riga, Latvia.

KJ McDaniels, who played for TNT, Meralco and NLEX previously in the PBA, led Pelita Jaya with 24 points, seven rebounds, three assists and three steals as the Indon club team broke the game wide open in the second half.

American guard JaQuori McLaughlin added 21 points, including 12 in the opening quarter after making all four of his three-point shots to help Pelita Jaya jump off to a 27-16 lead.

Indonesia men's basketball team veteran Andakara Prastawa Dhyaksa also had a solid night as he finished with 16 points for Pelita Jaya, which plays reigning Indonesia Basketball League champion Prawira Harum Bandung on Wednesday with the winner virtually assured of a spot in the BCL Asia proper.

Prawira kicked off round 2 by knocking down Hong Kong Eastern, 53-50 behind former Terrafirma reinforcement Antonio Hester's 19-point, 15-rebound effort.

Pelita Jaya reached the second round after scoring a three-game sweep of the initial phase in Mongolia.

2024-04-24T02:57:15Z dg43tfdfdgfd