Pacific Caesar Surabaya secured its first win of the 2026 IBL regular season after defeating defending champion Dewa United Banten 97-87 at the Pacific Sports Hall.
Pacific Caesar's foreign player, AJ Bramah, believes the presence of new ammunition is key to changing his team's performance on the field.
"It was a very important win for us. I think the team is starting to find its way again, with my two new teammates. They were quite aggressive and also patched up our team's shortcomings," Bramah said after the match, as reported on the IBL website.
This victory is a momentum of revival for the team that is the pride of the Surabaya residents and extends Dewa United's negative trend, which has now suffered five consecutive defeats.
The match was intense when Dewa United equalized the score 75-75 in the fourth quarter through consecutive three-pointers from Patrick Nikolas and DJ Cooper.
Tensions rose again in the final two minutes when the score gap was cut to 81-85 after Dewa United's Troy Gillenwater scored four consecutive points.
Pacific Caesar head coach Andika Supriadi Saputra immediately took a time-out to calm his team's rhythm in the crucial remaining time.
