Finally a complete artillery for Indonesia after five long days of waiting
Naturalized Indonesian Jamarr Johnson and Indonesian-American Arki Wisnu have finally rejoined the Indonesian squad after receiving clearances from FIBA, making their tournament-debut Wednesday afternoon in their match against Myanmar.
And the two cagers, both former Indonesian Basketball League Most Valuable Players, are nothing but relieved as they finally made their way back to the team. They even made an immediate impact in Indonesia’s 123-50 victory.
“I’m happy about it. I’m just raring to get back on the floor,” said Johnson, who produced 17 markers and seven rebounds.
“Today was the first game in a long time so I’m just excited to be back and looking forward to tomorrow.”
“I’m happy that it’s finally over and me and Jamarr are cleared to play,” said the New York-born Wisnu, on the other hand, who scored seven markers on 3-of-3 shooting alongside two blocks in just eight minutes of action.
“We’re just ready to play.”
Wisnu and Johnson’s return could not be more perfect for Indonesia. The team is now fielding in an 11-man lineup — a squad that got complete just in the nick of time as they face Gilas Pilipinas tomorrow for the gold medal.
“[Their return is] good for us for facing the Philippines tomorrow. I hope they can give us more energy,” wished Indonesia mentor Wahyu Jati. “The last time, we just played with nine players, now we [will] play with 11 players.
“There’s more energy to us.”
With their hands full tomorrow, both American-born cagers vow to leave it all out on the floor in the whoe 40-minute stretch of the game.
“We’re gonna play our hearts out,” said Johnson, who stands at 6-foot-5. “I’m gonna play my heart out and I’m gonna do what I can to help our team win, whether that’s sacrificing my body or rebounding or scoring or whatever I have to do.
“I’m gonna do what I have to do for the game.”
“It’s just basketball, and we know the Philippines has a high reputation. But in 40 minutes of basketball, that can change,” the 6-foot-2 Wisnu stated.
“We’re ready to play our hearts out and let’s see what happens.”
And their head coach shares the same sentiments regarding the battle for supremacy they will be heading into.
“It’s hard to beat the Philippines. To be honest, it’s hard. But at least, we [will] try, we will not give up, we [will] try our best tomorrow,” Jati ended.
