Johnson, Wisnu’s clearing came at perfect time for Indonesia

MANILA, Philippines — It is a case of the right pieces coming at the right time for Indonesia.

And head coach Wahyu Widayat Jati couldn’t be more pleased as they are now armed to the teeth going to their final game in the 2017 SEABA Championships, where host Gilas Pilipinas is waiting.

Jamarr Johnson, the squad’s naturalized citizen, and Indonesian-American Arki Wisnu have finally joined their team on Wednesday afternoon after being cleared to play by FIBA.

“It's good for us for facing Philippines tomorrow,” Jati said shortly after whipping Myanmar. “I hope they can give us more energy tomorrow.”

Johnson immediately made an impact in his first game of the tournament as he finished the game with 17 points—the second best among his team.

Wisnu, for his part, played limited minutes. He was only able to register seven markers in under nine minutes of action.

But despite that, Jati remains optimistic, saying “Arki is still adjusting.”

“It's hard to beat Philippines,” he added. “To be honest, it's hard. But at least we try, we not give up, we try our best tomorrow.”

“I'm just raring to get back on the floor. Today was the first game in a long time so I'm just excited to be back and looking forward to tomorrow,” Johnson said.

“It's just basketball, and we know PH has a high reputation, but in 40 minutes of basketball, that can change,” Wisnu added.

“I'm happy that it's finally over, and me and Jamarr are cleared to play,” he continued.

Both Johnson and Wisnu missed the first four games of the tournaments due to paperwork issues. Claims of them represented United States in the international arena has delayed their suiting up for Indonesia in the tournament.
“We're gonna play our hearts out. 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,” said the New Jersey-born Johnson.

“At the end of the day, it's basketball for us and we're ready to compete,” he closed.