Wanting To Print History At The SEA Games, The Indonesian Men's Basketball National Team Ambitious To Stop The Hegemony Of The Philippines

Indonesian basketball player Michael Derrick (second right). (Photo via Antara/Aditya Pradana Putra)

JAKARTA - The Indonesian men's basketball team has the opportunity to make history at the 2021 SEA Games in Hanoi. The key is the victory over the Philippines in the final match, Sunday, May 22.

The Indonesian national team has the ambition to end the hegemony of the Philippines, which has always won in the last 13 editions.

Indonesia has actually ensured at least a silver medal at the 2021 SEA Games thanks to five wins in the five matches that have been played.

Currently, Andakara Prastawa and his friends are in second place, but are far behind in accumulated scores compared to the Philippines, which is at the top, even though both teams have collected 10 points.

Even so, Indonesia still has a chance to win a gold medal if it is able to beat the Philippines in the final match which will take place on Sunday at 15.00 WIB.

"We worked hard in training in Jakarta and we had a high target from the start to win a silver medal and silver is now in hand," said the coach of the Indonesian men's basketball team, Milos Pejic, as reported by Antara.

"We will play the last game against the Philippines. Everyone knows how strong Filipino basketball is, they are the best in Southeast Asia. But we will try to play together as a team," he continued.

Indonesia has never won a gold medal in men's basketball at the SEA Games since participating in 1977. The Red and White squad has always had to settle for silver behind the Philippines.

At the 2019 SEA Games, Indonesia even had to go home empty-handed after being defeated by Vietnam in the fight for the bronze medal, a result that was freefall compared to silver in the 2017 SEA Games Kuala Lumpur.