JAKARTA (Indonesia) – Indonesia hasn't participated in the FIBA Asia Cup since 2011, but they are close to making their way back to the biggest stage in the continent. The FIBA Asia Cup 2021 Qualifiers Draw revealed the teams that they will have to go through to in order to make their return.

Recently named head coach, Wahya Hidayat Jati, realizes that the path to qualification won’t be easy, especially being drawn against two of the best teams in the region.

“We are in the same group with Philippines and Korea,” Coach Wahyu says. “As we know they have strong tradition in basketball. They almost always participate in every basketball event in Asia. Since basketball has already become a sports industry in those country, Philippines and Korea have a higher level of competition compared to Indonesia. So I’d say that Korea and the Philippines are the strongest teams in our group.”

It obviously won’t be the first time Indonesia has faced the Philippines; the two nations have had played several times in the past in several tournaments. The Philippines are a step ahead – as evident from being the number one seed in the Group – but Coach Wahyu has no plans to roll over and give up.

“My expectations facing the Philippines,” shares Wahyu. “We will do our best since we had just rebuilt the team. I know the Philippines are a strong team but we will fight every possession on offense and defense to respect the game and the fans. So every chance we have, we are going to use it to win the game.”

While the Philippines and Korea will be the toughest opponents in the Qualifiers for Indonesia, they cannot overlook their other Southeast Asian rivals: Thailand. After many recent intense battles, the two teams will be facing each other once again with higher stakes on the line.

“Talking about Thailand, we have met them so many times in Southeast Asian events. In my opinion, we are at the same level with them and also have a 50-50 chance in this game,” Wahyu says.

At this point, future opponents aren’t Indonesia’s biggest concerns. As Wahyu mentioned, they are team that are in the process of a rebuild. Seasoned stars like Mario Wuysang and Christian Sitepu, among others, have already announced their retirement from international play. It’ll be up to the new wave to show up and make the nation proud.

“We have to show to the fans that we respect them, so we have to maximize our strengths and play with big heart, discipline, and teamwork as our team has obstacles in size and experience at higher levels of competition.”

FIBA