Bengawan Solo Knight Sets Record 14 Consecutive Victorys, Beats Pacific Caesar Surabaya 90-81

Kentrell Debarus Barkley (left) with his partner Taylor Johns (left) tried to put the ball into the ring (photo: dock. between)

The Bengawan SoloNESS continues to show its dominance at IBL 2024 by recording its 14th straight victory after defeating Pacific Caesar Surabaya with a score of 90-81 in the 13th week match which took place at Sritex Arena Solo, Sunday, May 19.

This 14 consecutive winning record is the longest winning record in the history of IBL competition. Kesatria became the only team to successfully defend their successive victory after Dewa United Banten and Pelita Jaya Jakarta had to give up their winning record to stop. Dewa United with 12 consecutive wins were stopped by Pelita Jaya, while Pelita Jaya, who recorded 13 consecutive wins, was abolished by Prawira Harum Bandung.

In the match against Pacific Caesar, Kesatria almost lost their streak of winning record as the visitors managed to take the lead in the fourth quarter. Pacific, who trailed by 11 points in the first half, rose by scoring 27 points in the third quarter, cutting the margin down to two points (67-65) remaining. At the start of the fourth quarter, Pacific had turned things around to 67-69. However, Taylor Johns of Kesatria managed to save his team by scoring 7 points in a row, restoring Kesatria's lead to 74-73.

Turnover is a major problem for Pacific in the middle of the fourth quarter, where they made three turnsovers used by Kesatria to widen the gap to 80-73. Kesatria managed to take advantage of 15 mistakes made by Pacific to score 25 points. Since then, Kesatria has continued to lead until the end of the match.

Kentrell Barkley became the star of Kesatria's victory by scoring 32 points, 10 rebounds, and 6 assists. CJ Gettys added 18 points and 12 rebounds in 19 minutes, while Taylor Johns Jr. scored 15 points. Local player Ferdian Dwi Purwoko also contributed with 12 points and 8 rebounds.

The Pacific, which was not strengthened by Jaylyn Richardson, put a big burden on their two foreign players. Blevins' margin scored 28 points, while Stephen Hurt recorded 21 points and 14 rebounds, despite a full 40 minutes.

With this victory, Kesatria ranks third in the standings with 14 wins from 15 matches (14-1). On the other hand, Pacific has only won one victory from 16 matches which put him at the bottom of the standings.