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MANAMA (Bahrain) – There is a lot of action to unpack in Window 2 of the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers for Group A teams.
There will be a lot of new faces, so look, young and seasoned. There will be rivalries that will resume the action with higher stakes than ever. In short, there will be a lot of exciting action here in Group A.
Team to beat: Indonesia
The Philippines is the undefeated team here and Indonesia did suffers two defeats, but there may be no team more prepared for Window 2 than Indonesia in both of them the bubbles of Bahrain and Qatar.
Their Window 1 rising stars Abraham Damar Grahita and Andakara Prastawa will be in attendance in Bahrain, ready to shake up their foes’ perimeter defense. Team leader and veteran Arki Wisnu will also be there to set the tone.
However, the most intriguing part of Indonesia in this second window will be its new recruits. We’ll get to that in a moment.
FIBA World Ranking, presented by NIKE
(Updated March 3, 2020)
| WORLD RANK |
COUNTRY | ASIA RANK |
COI | CURRENT POINTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30. |  Korea |
5. | DISEASE | 341.5 |
| 31. |  Philippines |
6. | FI | 334.3 |
| 92. |  Indonesia |
18. | IN A | 98.9 |
| 99. |  Thailand |
twenty-one. | THA | 90.8 |
Key match: Thailand vs Indonesia
These two teams have yet to meet in the Qualifiers so far. It probably doesn’t look like it when they meet for the first time on November 28.
Indonesia and Thailand have a longstanding rivalry over the past decade and have a chance to add fuel to the fire here. It’s a showdown that has stood out since the group giveaway, so fans will finally get what they want.
Coach Rajko Toroman has brought a tough team as mentioned above. Thailand will try to match that with stars like Chanatip Jakrawan, Nakorn Jaisanuk and Nattakarn Muangboon.
Click here for the full schedule of the Asia Cup Qualifiers.
Star: Chanatip Jakrawan (THA)
At a minimum, Thailand will need Jakrawan play like a star on this difficult stretch. Thailand will play three games in the next few days, so they will need everything they can get from their promising center.
The 23-year-old was one of the bright spots in his narrow loss to Korea with 15 points and 5 rebounds. It has been Thailand’s key focus on both sides of the court through the Prequalification process.
There’s no better time than now for the big man to rise to the occasion, starting on November 27 when they take on the Philippines.
Player to watch: Lester Prosper (INA)
After suffering two losses in a row in the first window of the Qualifiers, Indonesia is in dire need of a win here in the Bahrain bubble. It’s a good start, they’ve managed to get Lester Prosper into the suit just in time.
Prosper is just what the doctor prescribed for Indonesia as they lacked a lot of size and muscle in the paint in those first two losses. The 32-year-old brings that to the table, as well as a contagious energy you can expect to see from the team.
Be sure to see him in action for Indonesia for the first time when Indonesia takes on Thailand on November 28.
Familiar face: Kobe Paras (PHI)
For someone who hasn’t played for the Philippines senior men’s national team in a FIBA competition, it sure looks like we’ve seen Kobe Paras for a long time.
A big part of that is because we’ve seen him star in the youth national team and in FIBA 3X3 events. Now, we will finally see how he takes on the greats.
You may already be used to seeing Kobe Paras in the Philippine national team jersey. You’ll have the chance to see him don that proud Gilas kit once again, this time with a chance to qualify for the biggest stage in Asian basketball at stake.
FIBA
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