Saudi Arabia vs Indonesia – Preview & Prediction (Sep. 13, 2026)

So far, Saudi Arabia have proven they are no pushovers as they did lose both of their games in this tournament, but they showed great resilience against a better Japanese side and should secure third place today with a win over the group outsiders Indonesia. Two best third-ranked teams in the three groups secure progression to the knockout stage, which would be a very solid achievement for a team like Saudi Arabia. The Saudis are an average team but have two star players like imposing center Mohammed Alsuwailem and dangerous scorer and shooter from Europe, Muhammad Abdur-Rahkman, so it comes as no surprise they mounted a comeback versus Japan in the second round. It looked like Japan were going to coast to a victory, leading by 16 points at halftime, but Saudi Arabia showed great poise and used their experience and veteran leadership to only lose by six points (86:80). South Korea beat them routinely by 16 points (82:66), but the Koreans are one of the main title favourites with their NBA player Lee Hyunjung and the best team at the Asian Games besides China. Today, the Saudi team has a terrific opportunity for a solid and convincing victory as they should dictate the tempo and outscore Indonesia with their superior class.

Despite losing to South Korea and Japan, who are better teams than them, the Saudis still had in the back of their mind they can finish as the third-placed team in this group with a win over the main outsiders Indonesia. They are clearly the better team and we would price them as strong double-digit favourites because Indonesia have been horrific in this tournament.

Because of the flooding and the inclement weather in Nagoya, certain teams like the Philippines and Indonesia have been affected by this weather problems. The Philippines didn´t train ahead of their opening game, while Indonesia had a long and grueling trip to the arena for their opener versus Japan. This affected the Indonesian team, which got blown out 98:53. In their second clash, they took on the South Koreans and were only down by nine points at halftime. However, they suffered a complete meltdown and collapse in the second half losing by a massive margin of 54 points (102:48). Indonesia had high expectations for this tournament assembling a roster with four imports (Derrick Xzavierro, Anthony Beane, Dame Diagne and Lester Prosper) along with all of their main domestic pieces led by Yudha Saputera, but they have been very disappointing so far and look very poor on the court. They might keep up with the Saudis for two quarters, but in the end, they should get outscored and beaten by double-digits.

We and the public expected much more from this heavily reinforced Indonesian team. However, some of their imports didn´t play a single game for a month prior to the Asian Games, which is affecting their form. On paper, they should have enough to compete with Saudi Arabia to the end, but we doubt that will happen because the Indonesian team has been atrocious and is playing subpar basketball.