Preview - Australia vs Indonesia - FIBA Asia Cup Qualifier

Australia opened its FIBA Asia Cup qualification journey with a come-from-behind win over South Korea on Thursday night. Now, the Boomers are set to lock horns with an Indonesia side that’s been left reeling from a 17-point defeat to Thailand.

The Boomers left their run to victory late in its qualification opener, but a 32-point final quarter was enough to see them to a 14-point victory.

Brisbane’s Josh Bannan impressed with a double-double in his senior international debut, while Boomers mainstay and former Perth Wildcat Nick Kay finished the game with a team-high 21 points.

Centre of Excellence duo Kye Savage and Josh Dent were the only two players not to hit the court against South Korea, while Next Star Rocco Zikarsky and Adelaide’s Nick Marshall played just two and three minutes respectively in their Boomers debut.

With South Korea currently ranked 51^st in the world, and Indonesia ranked 74^th, the early-morning clash in Jakarta could be a prime opportunity for Brian Goorjian to throw some of this squad’s youngest talents into the international fray.

Indonesia registered its best ever FIBA Asia Cup finish in the 2022 iteration of the tournament, and was led by the performances of naturalised forward Marques Bolden, who has recently earned a call-up from NBA G-League side Wisconsin to the Charlotte Hornets. He is absent from the current squad.

The Boomers and Indonesia faced off in the group stage of the 2022 tournament, and 14 points from Tyrese Proctor led Australia to a 25-point win, however Australia was trailing at quarter time on that occasion.

24-year-old Agassi Yeshe Goantara top scored for Indonesia in its 73-56 loss with 14 points, and the 6’1” wing also pulled down a team-high eight rebounds.

Dominican-born Lester Prosper is the tallest player on the current Indonesian roster at 6’9”, and he played alongside Melbourne star Jo Lual-Acuil Jr in Dynamo Lebanon’s recent run to the Lebanese Basketball League Finals against Duop Reath and Al Riyadi.

The clash will be played at midnight (12am AEDT, February 26) on Monday in Jakarta’s Indonesia Arena, and it will be broadcast live on ESPN via Kayo.