Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Pada latihan basket terakhir, wasit meminta kami cukup bermain santai tanpa kontak fisik keras. - At the last basketball practice, the referee asked us to just play casually without hard physical contact.

time expressions (days, dates, events): pada hari Senin, pada tanggal 5, pada rapat kemarin
abstract “occasions” or “instances”: pada kesempatan ini, pada pertandingan itu

Here, pada latihan basket terakhir treats the practice as an occasion in time, so pada is the standard, slightly more formal choice.

About alternatives:

Di latihan basket terakhir – often heard in casual speech, and people will understand it, but it sounds a bit less “textbook correct” because di is more strongly associated with physical locations.
Latihan basket terakhir, wasit… (omitting pada) – also possible in spoken Indonesian; starting directly with the noun phrase is common in informal storytelling.

For clear, neutral Indonesian (especially in writing), pada latihan basket terakhir is a very natural choice.

In latihan basket terakhir, what exactly is modifying what? Could we say latihan terakhir basket?

Structure:

latihan = practice / training (head noun)
basket = modifies latihan → basketball practice
terakhir = modifies the whole phrase latihan basket → the last / most recent basketball practice

So the hierarchy is:

latihan basket = basketball practice
latihan basket terakhir = the last / most recent basketball practice

Latihan terakhir basket is not natural. It sounds like “the last practice of the basket”, which doesn’t make sense. In Indonesian, the normal order is:

head noun → noun modifiers → adjectives
latihan (head) + basket (modifier) + terakhir (adjective)

Is basket alone a normal way to say “basketball practice”?

Yes. In everyday Indonesian:

bola basket = basketball (more complete, somewhat more formal)
basket = common, informal shortening

So:

latihan bola basket and latihan basket both mean basketball practice.
In context, latihan basket naturally means basketball practice, not practice with a (shopping) basket.

If the sport isn’t clear from context, people may say bola basket, but in sports contexts basket is very normal.

Does terakhir mean “last ever” or just “most recent” here?

On its own, terakhir is ambiguous in a similar way to English last:

latihan basket terakhir can mean:
- the most recent practice (default reading), or
- the final practice (the last one before something ends), depending on context.

In this sentence, with no extra context, listeners usually interpret it as the most recent basketball practice.

If you really want to emphasize “final,” you might say:

latihan basket yang terakhir sebelum pertandingan
latihan basket terakhir kalinya (more clearly “the last time we ever practiced”)

How does meminta work in wasit meminta kami cukup bermain…? Why is there no word meaning “to” before bermain?

Pattern:

meminta = to ask (someone) to do (something)

The common structure is:

meminta + person (object) + (untuk) + verb phrase

Examples:

Dia meminta saya datang lebih awal.
= He asked me to come earlier.
Guru meminta mereka mengerjakan PR.
= The teacher asked them to do homework.

In your sentence:

wasit = subject (the referee)
meminta = asked
kami = object (us)
cukup bermain santai tanpa kontak fisik keras = what we are asked to do

Indonesian does not need a separate word like English to before the verb. The bare verb (bermain) is enough.

So wasit meminta kami bermain… literally is the referee asked us play… but is understood as asked us to play….

Is untuk missing before bermain? When would I include untuk after meminta?

Both forms are grammatically correct:

wasit meminta kami bermain santai…
wasit meminta kami untuk bermain santai…

Usage:

Without untuk – very common, especially in spoken or neutral Indonesian; slightly shorter and more natural in many cases.
With untuk – a bit more explicit / formal; often seen in writing, instructions, or when you want to clearly mark the start of the verb phrase.

In this sentence, adding untuk:

Pada latihan basket terakhir, wasit meminta kami untuk cukup bermain santai tanpa kontak fisik keras.

is correct, but the original without untuk is already smooth and natural.

What nuance does cukup add, and how is cukup bermain santai different from bermain cukup santai or hanya bermain santai?

Here cukup means roughly just / it’s enough to:

cukup bermain santai ≈ just play relaxed; it’s enough if you simply play relaxed (and don’t do more than that)

Word order changes the meaning:

cukup bermain santai
- cukup modifies the action: it’s sufficient to (just) play in a relaxed way.
- Focus: what is allowed / required.
bermain cukup santai
- cukup modifies santai: play fairly/quite relaxed (degree of relaxedness).
- Focus: how relaxed you should be.
hanya bermain santai
- hanya = only / just.
- Very close in meaning to cukup bermain santai, but cukup carries more of an “it’s sufficient, don’t go beyond that” nuance, whereas hanya just limits it to that action.

In your sentence, cukup bermain santai suggests: that’s all you need to do; don’t start playing aggressively.

What part of speech is santai here, and how is it different from tenang or santai-santai?

In this sentence, santai functions like an adverb: to play in a relaxed / laid-back way.

Common uses of santai:

Adjective:
- orangnya santai = he/she is a relaxed, easygoing person.
Adverb-like (after a verb):
- bermain santai = to play in a relaxed way.
Verb phrase (reduplicated):
- santai-santai saja di rumah = just relax / chill at home.

Comparison:

santai – relaxed, laid-back, not strict or intense.
tenang – calm, not anxious or panicked. More about inner calm/stillness.
santai-santai – more clearly to hang out / chill (doing nothing serious).

So bermain santai = play in a laid-back, not-too-serious, non-aggressive manner.

Why is kami used instead of kita?

Indonesian distinguishes two types of we:

kami = we (excluding the listener)
kita = we (including the listener)

In the sentence:

wasit meminta kami…

the speaker is telling someone else what happened at practice. The listener was probably not part of that group, so kami (we, not including you) is correct.

If you are talking to your teammates who were there with you, you might naturally say:

Wasit minta kita main santai aja tadi.
(The ref asked us to just play relaxed earlier. – including the people you’re talking to.)

So kami vs kita depends on whether the addressee is part of the we.

How does tanpa work in tanpa kontak fisik keras? Could I say tidak ada kontak fisik keras instead?

Tanpa is a preposition meaning without. It is followed by a noun or noun phrase:

tanpa suara = without sound
tanpa persiapan = without preparation
tanpa makan pagi = without breakfast / without eating breakfast

In your sentence:

tanpa kontak fisik keras ≈ without hard physical contact

You can say:

tidak ada kontak fisik keras = there was no hard physical contact

but the structure changes:

tanpa kontak fisik keras = “without hard physical contact” (prepositional phrase)
tidak ada kontak fisik keras = “there is/was no hard physical contact” (full clause with ada)

Your original sentence is giving instructions in a compact way, so tanpa kontak fisik keras fits better.

In kontak fisik keras, why is keras at the end, and do I need yang (as in kontak fisik yang keras)?

Basic rule: in Indonesian, adjectives usually come after the noun they describe.

kontak fisik = physical contact
keras = hard / forceful

So:

kontak fisik keras = hard / forceful physical contact

About yang:

kontak fisik keras – short, descriptive, very natural here.
kontak fisik yang keras – also correct; yang highlights the adjective, sometimes with a slightly more specific or emphasized feel.

In this sentence, tanpa kontak fisik keras is already clear and smooth; adding yang is optional and not necessary.

Nuance of keras here:

keras in sports contexts = hard / strong / forceful (e.g., tekel keras = hard tackle)
It doesn’t mean “hard” as in “difficult” here, but “physically forceful.”

How do we know this sentence is talking about the past if there is no past tense marker?

Indonesian usually does not mark tense with verb changes. Instead, it uses:

time words: kemarin (yesterday), tadi (earlier), besok (tomorrow)
context and adverbs like sudah (already)

In this sentence, terakhir in pada latihan basket terakhir implies a specific previous practice that already happened. From context, readers understand:

this refers to the most recent practice, which is in the past relative to the time of speaking.

If you want to be even clearer about past time, you could add:

Pada latihan basket terakhir kemarin, …
Waktu latihan basket yang terakhir, …

But it’s not required; Indonesian relies heavily on context for time reference.

Can I change the word order or style, for example using minta instead of meminta, or moving the time phrase?

Yes, there is some flexibility.

Formal vs informal verb:
- meminta – more formal / standard.
- minta – common in everyday speech.
Informal version:
- Pada latihan basket terakhir, wasit minta kami cukup bermain santai tanpa kontak fisik keras.
Moving the time phrase: All of these are grammatical:
- Pada latihan basket terakhir, wasit meminta kami cukup bermain santai tanpa kontak fisik keras.
- Wasit meminta kami cukup bermain santai tanpa kontak fisik keras pada latihan basket terakhir.
Putting the time expression at the start is very common in narratives, but it can also go at the end.
Style variations:
- cukup bermain santai → bermain santai saja (more colloquial):
  - Wasit minta kami bermain santai saja, tanpa kontak fisik keras.

All these variations keep the same basic meaning but shift the tone between more formal and more conversational.