JAKARTA – The Indonesian Patriots don't want to be just complementary contestants at IBL 2022. They want to be worthy of being taken into account in the highest level national basketball championship.
This season, the team, which is a program of the young elite Indonesian national team formed by Perbasi, is filled with the majority of new faces. However, their presence should be wary of other competing teams.
Only five names were part of last season's squad of the 17 players registered this season. They are Ali Bagir Al Hadar, Aldy Izzatur Rahman, Mario Davidson, Dame Diagne, and Serigne Modou Kane.
"There is nothing different from this team from last season. The spirit is the same and the cohesion is the same. The only difference is that the current players are younger," said Bagir in a statement obtained by VOI.
This season Bagir and his colleagues joined the Red Division. In this division there are Satria Muda, West Bandits Solo, Bima Perkasa Jogja Tangerang Hawks, Bumi Borneo Basketball Pontianak, Satya Wacana Saints Salatiga, and Pacific Caesar.
This season, the most senior player in the Indonesia Patriots squad is 22 years old. The four players who are at that age are Aldy Izzatur, Ali Bagir, Andrew William, and Rheza Saputra.
Meanwhile, there are the two youngest players born in 2005, namely Dame Diagne and Serigne Modou Kane. This composition is different from last season's squad, where the average player is Bagir's age.
As the most senior player in the Patriots team, Bagir also asked his teammates to enjoy every match. In particular, they will be Indonesia's hope for becoming the forerunner of the national team.
"Everyone must play more enthusiastically and enjoy every game. Moreover, this season there are many matches that will help the process of maturity in playing," he said.
IBL this season will present more matches due to changes in participants from 12 to 16 teams. If last season there were 96 matches, then this season a total of 176 matches will be played.
The number of matches became an opportunity for the Patriots to be able to compete with other participants. Moreover, last season they presented a spectacular record, being a team that was untouched by defeat during the first round.
"If you look at last season's record, there is indeed a burden to look at this season. But the situation is also different. In the past there were no foreign players and now all clubs use foreign players. But I am ready for criticism if later achievements are beyond expectations," said Bagir.
The Patriots will be led by coach Milos Pejic. This name has held the Satria Muda Pertamina Jakarta for two seasons.
Perbasi also appointed three other coaches to accompany Pejic. They are Ricky Gunawan, who is known as the coach of the West Java PON team. There is also Roland Robinson Yossy Lengkong, who is the coach of the North Sulawesi PON team. Finally, there is the name of Anas Wahyudi as the third companion.
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