Indonesian Basketball National Team Ready To Combat In The Opening Match Of The FIBA World Cup

JAKARTA - The Indonesian men's basketball national team is in a combat-ready condition to face Lebanon in the opening match of the first Group C window of the 2023 FIBA World Cup Qualification at Zouk Mikael Arena, Lebanon, Saturday morning WIB.

The Assistant Coach for the Indonesian Elite National Team Wahyu Widayat Jati said the Red and White squad had prepared themselves well and had been acclimatizing or adapting to the weather in Lebanon since arriving from the United States on November 24, 2021.

"The weather here (Lebanon) is like in Malang (East Java). In the morning and evening it is cold. The afternoon is quite warm. So far, there is no problem with the weather," said Wahyu Hidayat, quoted from Antara, Friday.

Before leaving for Lebanon, Arki Dikania Wisnu and his friends underwent a training camp in Las Vegas, United States. During preparation, national team players are required to be able to bring out all their best abilities. Must be able to continue to play pressing throughout the game and play more aggressively.

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"We prepared ourselves during practice in Las Vegas to play even more aggressively on offense and defense in accordance with the playing system that the head coach had created. Hopefully we will have the opportunity to take a game against Lebanon," said Cacing, Wahyu Hidayat's nickname.

Even so, Cacing also said that Indonesia must be wary of Lebanon, which has a composition with two big men and a point guard who has good size and ability.

At the point guard position there are Ali Mansour and Jad Khalil. Then there is the Ater Majok center which has a height of 2.1 meters. That's not Mohamed Ali Haidar who also has a height of more than 2 meters.

"Their advantages will be of more concern than us. But we already know how to deal with them. We must be able to take advantage of speed and maximize shooting accuracy," he said.

In the first window of the 2023 FIBA World Cup qualification, the Indonesian men's national team has two games against Lebanon. The first is when they are the visitors on Saturday morning and the second is when they host on 29 November. Indonesia's home matches will all be held in Lebanon due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

To note, Indonesia has two paths to be able to secure tickets to the FIBA World Cup 2023. First, the FIBA World Cup 2023 qualification path and second by ranking in the top eight of the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup which will be held in Jakarta mid next year.

Indonesia's struggle in the 2023 FIBA World Cup is different from that of Japan and the Philippines, which went straight to the main round even though they were both hosts.

For now, the only thing that can be done is to fight first through the qualification path. Indonesia is in Group C along with Lebanon, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.

List of Indonesian men's national team players:1. Juan Laurent Kokodiputra (SG)2. Hardianus Lakudu (PG)3. Brandon van Dorn Jawato (SF)4. Abraham Damar Grahita (SG)5. Andhakara Prastawa Dhyaksa (PG)6. Muhammad Sandy Ibrahim Aziz (SG)7. Kevin Yonas Argadiba Sitorus (PF)8. Vincent Rivaldi Kosasih (C)9. Govinda Julian Saputra (SG)10. Lester Prosper (C)11. Widyanta Putra Teja (PG)12. Arki Dikania Vishnu (SF)

Coach: Rajko Toroman Assistant Coach: Wahyu Widayat Jati Assistant Coach: Johannis Winar Manager: Maulana Fareza Tamrella