After SEA Games Gold, Indonesian Basketball Prepares For FIBA Asian Cup

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian national basketball team will not have time to rest after making history by winning the gold medal at the 31st SEA Games in Vietnam. The team must immediately prepare for the upcoming FIBA Asian Cup that Indonesia will host slated for July 21-24. 

The Indonesian Basketball Association (Perbasi) secretary-general Nirmala Dewi said to Antranews that the men’s team is eyeing the Asian top eight that will help earn the ticket to the FIBA World Cup in 2023. 

Dewi explains that the association had initially set the FIBA Asia Cup as its main goal to achieve in 2022 with the SEA Games used as a testing arena. 

“And it has been proven, we won the gold medal here,” said the secretary-general in Hanoi, Monday.

In the decisive match, Indonesia faced the Philippines, who both had five wins at the Thanh Try Gymnasium, Hanoi, Sunday, which was won 85-81. The Philippines had been a basketball champion from 1989 to 2019 and only gave up the title to Malaysia in 1979 and 1989. 

“We do not dare aim for gold [at the FIBA Asia Cup] as there are other strong teams such as China. But top eight is realistic,” Dewi explained. 

ANTARA

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