JAKARTA – The Indonesian basketball national team is optimistic that it will win against Saudi Arabia and Jordan in the second window of the 2023 FIBA World Cup Qualification Group C Asia zone.
Indonesia is scheduled to face Saudi Arabia on Thursday, February 24 tomorrow. After that Rajko Toroman's squad will face Jordan three days later.
"Very optimistic that we can win, especially since we have been together for more than two years and of course we understand each other. The key is, against them, we must not lose focus at all during the match," said basketball player Andakara Prastawa in an official statement received.
On paper, Indonesia is not the favorite. Currently the Red and White team is ranked 91st, while Saudi Arabia and Jordan are ranked 78th and 39th respectively.
In addition to quality, the two candidates against Indonesia are also physically superior. Almost all the players in the Arab and Jordanian squads have tall posture.
Indonesian national team guard Abraham Damar Grahita said that even though there was hope of winning, it was rather difficult for him and his teammates to conquer the two matches. The reason is that some Indonesian players have not competed for two weeks due to a spike in cases in the IBL which made the organizers suspend the competition.
"Only, basketball is round, so let's give our best. It's not easy to take the win, but the opportunity is always there," said Abraham.
Meanwhile, Assistant Coach Wahyu Widayat Jati ensures that the chemistry between the players has improved. All players also understand the game system that the coach wants so that there is no problem with the strategy.
"The problem is the player's fitness problem because some players have just recovered from COVID-19 and the rest are mostly not training intensively because of the impact of the virus. We must always fight in playing because of the good name of the country," he said.
The Indonesian basketball national team has lost twice in the 2023 FIBA World Cup Qualifiers in Group C Asia Zone. The two defeats against Lebanon in the first window took place at the end of November last year.
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