SEA Games 2017 Preview: Indonesia

Indonesia has solidly planted themselves as the largest threat to Philippines thrones in these past two years, with two consecutive Silver Medals in SEA Games 2015 and SEABA 2017.

Can they make it a Gold in SEA Games 2017?

[อ่านภาษาไทย คลิกที่นี่เลยครับ]

Overview

While Thailand held a lead and lost it against the Philippines in SEA Games 2015, Indonesia hung close to the champions but constantly nipping at their heals. They must have felt that they were doing something right, so much similar to Thailand, they retained the core and have worked here and there with it.

Mario Wuysang is still going at 38-years-old and judging from his performance in SEABA 2017, it doesn’t seem like he’s about to stop soon as he’s returned for this SEA Games. Arki Wisnu and Sandy Kurniawan are also back in the backcourt which returns Filipino-Indonesian Biboy Enguio. The experiment with Jamarr Johnson looked promising for a while, but didn’t work out as Indonesia immediately replaced him (With Enguio) in their training camps after SEABA.

According to reports, Indonesia has had a lot of time bonding and tuning up competitively. They’ve had two separate training camps in the United States and Lithuania (where they played against the Estonia National Team).

The holdover core (also including Christian Sitepu and Andakara Prastawa) is a solid contending core already, but the addition of young bloods and shift of style makes this an intriguing team.

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Players

First Name	Surname	DOB	Team
Kevin Yonas Argadiba	Sitorus	17/07/1994	Satria Muda Pertamina
Mario	Wuysang	05/05/1979	CLS Knights
Hardianus	Lakudu	07/03/1992	Satria Muda Pertamina
Andakara Prastawa	Dhyaksa	16/08/1992	W88 Aspac
Christian Ronaldo	Sitepu	27/10/1986	Satria Muda Pertamina
Abraham Damar	Grahita	08/10/1996	W88 Aspac
Arki Dikania	Wisnu	15/03/1988	Satria Muda Pertamina
Diftha	Pratama	06/11/1989	Garuda Bandung
Sandy Febiansyah	Kurniawan	16/02/1986	CLS Knights
Firman Dwi	Nugruho	16/10/1990	CLS Knights
Ebrahim Enguio	Lopez	31/01/1988	N/A
Vincent Rivaldi	Kosasih	17/06/1996	W88 Aspac

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Schedule (According to Malaysia Time GMT +8)

20/8 08:00 PM vs. Vietnam
22/8 15:45 PM vs. Singapore
23/8 15:45 PM vs. Cambodia
24/8 15:45 AM vs. Laos

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Player(s) to Watch

Player	Notable Stats	Competition	Team
Mario Wuysang	20.9 MPG, 11.0 PPG, 5.3 APG	SEABA ‘Chip 2017	Indonesia
Abraham Grahita	19.4 MPG, 11.3 PPG, 30.6 3P%	SEABA ‘Chip 2017	Indonesia
Vincent Kosasih	10.1 MPG, 6.5 PPG, 7.0 RPG	IBL	W88 Aspac

Watch Mario “forty in two years” Wuysang work his magic.

Abraham Grahita is another player to watch as an explosive scorer and only 20 years old. He still struggles to be consistent (as every 20-year-old does) but when he explodes, he can really burst out scoring.

The final mystery piece of this puzzle is Vincent Rivaldi Kosasih. The young big man rarely played in his rookie year with W88 Aspac due to commitments with studies in China (correct me if I’m wrong here), but it appears that he played well enough in those short spurts to grant an NT roster spot. Indonesia is going to need some size down low, even if it seems they will try to go small and Kosasih fills in that need.

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What to Expect

We shouldn’t be expecting the same style of play from this Indonesia National Team compared to SEA Games 2015 or even the SEABA 2017 squad. The SEA Games 2015 squad had more size (Adhi Pratama, Rony Gunawan) and the SEABA 2017 squad ran through too many eligibility issues to figure out what to do.

AND THEY STILL FINISHED IN SECOND PLACE.

This team will have had more time to play with each other and they are projected to be playing at a faster and more fluid pace.

Indonesia will need to stay composed in their early game (tournament opening game!) against a Vietnam team they’ve never seen play together, but the rest of their schedule seems pretty easy to go through.

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3 Key Points

1. Respect Your Elders
   We’re all here thinking that Wuysang has got to slow down at some point, but he’s still chugging along like your dad’s car that somehow seems to have outlived everyone else’s dad’s car that you’re stuck with.
   Prastawa hasn’t showed that he’s ready to run the Indonesia offense (even after 2 straight major tournaments) and Lakudu is still far away, so Indonesia is going to be relying a lot on how far Wuysang keeps their offense going.
2. Perimeter Defense
   It’s difficult to judge Indonesia on their perimeter defense, considering that they did beat every team other than the Philippines in SEABA 2017. But it is still concerning that they seem to lack a definite perimeter wing lockdown defender.
   Maybe they’ve found someone designated to play that role since then, but it could prove to be a thorn in their quest for a medal repeat if they haven’t.
3. Big Men Production
   Indonesia’s offence will mainly come from their perimeter players, so it’s going to be important for their big men (Sitepu, Kosasih, Nugruho) to play efficiently enough to force keep the defence grounded.
   If defences aren’t pressured to stay near the paint, it’s going to make life a lot much harder for Wisnu, Enguio, and most importantly sharpshooting Kurniawan.

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Bottom Line

Indonesia is conveniently structured for a chance at a second straight trip to the Finals. The schedule is in their favor as well, if they can over come their biggest threats early. If things go as projected, Indonesia will have decent rest before their semi-finals clash should they advance.

They certainly have the tools, experience, and preparation to have fans considering the possibility of someone overtaking the throne. It’s borderline impossible for them to not make it to the semis and they should at least set their target for nothing less than a finals appearance. These are the standards that are set for Indonesia basketball right now.

Can they set the bar even higher this time?

More Previews

Philippines
Indonesia
Singapore
Thailand
Malaysia
Cambodia
Vietnam
Myanmar
Laos

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