VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

VOINews, Jakarta - A board member of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA), Erick Thohir, has reiterated Indonesia's readiness to welcome international basketball players who will compete in the 2023 FIBA World Cup from August 25 to September 3.

This readiness can also be seen in the completion of the Indonesia Arena — the country's biggest indoor stadium, capable of accommodating 16,000 spectators — at the Gelora Bung Karno complex in Jakarta.

"Within a month, the 2023 FIBA World Cup will draw the world's attention to Indonesia," Thohir said in a statement received on Friday.

Indonesia now has a new magnificent indoor stadium that is ready to welcome the Spanish national team, the top-ranked and the current defending champion of the tournament, he added.

"That being said, we must be ready to properly host the championship in the hopes of demonstrating Indonesia's positive reputation to the world," he said during a dinner with representatives of the countries scheduled to compete in the World Cup in Jakarta on Thursday.

The dinner was organized by the Indonesian Basketball Association (Perbasi) and attended by the Spanish Ambassador to Indonesia, Francisco Aguilera Aranda; the Lebanese Embassy's Charge d'Affaires, Vazken Kavlakian; Iranian Charge d'Affaires, Mahdi Rounagh; the Brazilian Embassy's Deputy Chief of Mission; and the Canadian Embassy's Charge d'Affaires, Mark Strasser.

Thohir was accompanied by the 2023 FIBA World Cup local ambassador, Raffi Ahmad, chairperson of the 2023 FIBA World Cup joint management committee, and deputy secretary-general of Perbasi, Rufiana.

"I saw great enthusiasm expressed by the representatives of friendly countries. They are keen to watch their national basketball teams competing in the Indonesia Arena. After all, the FIBA World Cup constitutes a quadrennial event with a level comparable to the Olympics," he said.

Thohir, who is also serving as the State-Owned Enterprises Minister, asked Indonesian sports enthusiasts, especially basketball lovers, to make the most of this rare opportunity by directly coming to witness the matches of world-class basketball players, including those playing in the prestigious US-based National Basketball Association (NBA) championship.

"This is a rare chance. Even though we are co-hosting with Japan and the Philippines, it should be noted that nothing guarantees us that we will have a similar opportunity to host a Basketball World Cup in the coming one or two decades," he added.

He also referred to Indonesia's experience as the host of the 2018 Asian Games as well as its designation as the host of the upcoming U-17 FIFA World Cup.

"This is our chance to demonstrate Indonesia's progress to the eyes of the world," he said.

A total of 32 countries will compete in this year's edition of the FIBA World Cup, which will be co-hosted by Indonesia, Japan, and the Philippines.

Indonesia has designated Jakarta as the venue for the preliminary round matches of Group G comprising Spain, Iran, and the Ivory Coast, as well as Group H — Canada, Latvia, Lebanon, and France.

The NBA players who will take part in the 2023 FIBA World Cup in Jakarta are as follows:

Group G

• Brazil: Raul Neto (from Cleveland Cavaliers)
• Spain: Ricky Rubio (Cleveland Cavaliers), Santi Aldama (Memphis Grizzlies), Usman Garuba (Atlanta Hawks)

Group H

• Canada: Jamal Murray (Denver Nuggets), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (OKC Thunder), RJ Barrett (New York Knicks), Dillon Brooks (Houston Rockets), Lu Dort (OKC Thunder), Nickeil Alexander-Walker (Minnesota Timberwolves), Kelly Olynyk (Utah Jazz), Dwight Powell (Dallas Mavericks), Oshae Brissett (Boston Celtics), Cory Joseph (Golden State Warriors)
• France: Frank Ntilikina (Dallas Mavericks), Nicolas Batum (Los Angeles Clippers), Evan Fournier (New York Knicks), Rudy Gobert (Minnesota Timberwolves)
• Latvia: Kristaps Porzingis (Boston Celtics), Davis Bertans (OKC Thunder)

Ticket sales for the 2023 FIBA World Cup opened online on the federation's website on July 11, with the cheapest tickets priced at Rp100,000 (approximately US$7). (Antaranews)