MANILA – Gilas Pilipinas vowed to not be complacent facing Indonesia Merah Putih when the two teams go to war in the 2021 FIBA (International Basketball Federation) Asia Cup Qualifiers at the Mahaka Arena in Jakarta, Indonesia tonight.
Gilas interim head coach Mark Dickel said that they cannot take the Rajko Toroman-mentored Indonesian cagers for granted even if the latter will play sans naturalized player Lester Prosper.
“I expect it to be a close game, a difficult game,” said Dickel. “But it will be really good for us. I feel like the last couple of weeks of practice, we made huge strides. Sunday is a chance to prove that.”
“Obviously, not having [Prosper] there helps us, but we are still going to play the game,” he added. “I’ll just be really happy if we play a good game. The result should take care of itself.”
With Prosper out, Dickel said he expects Indonesia to rely on a core that saw action in the biennial meet last December.
“Just their ball movement, they get really good shots, they don’t turn the ball over, they’re disciplined. These are all things that are difficult to play against especially if they hit shots. We are going to try to take them out of their patterns and sets a little bit and make it harder for their shooters,” said Dickel.
“They get good shots. Especially playing at home, if they hit a few, we can be in trouble. Our whole focus is being on what we are going to do defensively and offensively,” he added.
For basketball fans, our men’s national basketball team versus Indonesia will be the only game of the first window. The supposed home game against Thailand on Feb. 20 was postponed due to the scare of the corona virus disease.
The Indonesian squad, on the other hand, just came from a lopsided defeat against South Korea the same day that the country was supposed to face the Thais./PN
