Sweet Surprise Of The Basketball Hero That Overthrew Kazakhstan In The 2021 FIBA Asia Cup

Indonesian naturalized basketball player Kimberley Pierre-Louis (left) tries to score under the control of Kazakhstan's Zalina Kurazova (Photo: Antara)

JAKARTA - The Indonesian women's national basketball team overcame Kazakhstan 79-69 when opening their appearance in the 2021 FIBA Asia Women's Cup Division B in Amman, Jordan, Sunday local time.

The result was a sweet surprise for the Indonesian Basketball Heroes squad because Kazakhstan was predicted to be the main seed to win a promotion ticket to Division A.

Citing Antara, naturalized player Kimberley Pierre-Louis became the main engine of Indonesia's victory through his double-double record of 31 points and 15 rebounds.

Small forward Henny Sutjiono also contributed 21 points, followed by 11 points from center Gabriel Sophia, adorning Indonesia's aggressive appearance.

Zalina Kurazova scored 26 points, followed by Anastassiya Alishauskaite who scored 13 points for Kazakhstan, which was actually more efficient in converting 42 percent of attempts to score points throughout the match.

Although not seeded, Indonesia performed brilliantly in the first quarter. Indonesia even had a 19-point advantage over Kazakhstan in the 45-26 position in the final 50 seconds of the second quarter after winning a streak of 12 points without reply.

The first half of the match was closed by Indonesia with a 47-31 advantage which became a good capital to navigate the next two quarters.

Lin Chi Wen's players looked a little out of control in the next two quarters and the lead slowly chipped away.

Two free throws from Priscilla Anabel Karen at the end of the match were enough to lock Indonesia's victory, which will meet host Jordan in the Group B qualifiers on Monday night.