Naturalized Johnson, Indonesian-American Wisnu yet to get go-signal to play in Seaba
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Thrilled to represent Indonesia in his first international tilt, naturalized player Jamarr Johnson’s road to the 2017 Seaba Championship was put on a screeching halt just before the tournament kicked off.
The 28-year-old big man, together with Indonesian-American forward Arki Wisnu, were held out from competing in Indonesia’s tournament-opener against Singapore on Friday.
“I was notified this morning during practice. It was shocking,” he said.
Johnson explained that the USA Basketball has yet to clear him, with the Indonesian Basketball Association still waiting for the decision from Fiba before finally allowing him to suit up in the regional tilt.
“The federation has already showed the documentation but we are just waiting for the US to reply. I’m waiting for that tomorrow,” he said.
Rather than be down, Johnson showed full support to his team as he was an active presence on the bench when Indonesia routed Singapore, 71-50.
But he’s hoping that the wait will end soon as he seeks to get the clearance and play sooner rather than later.
“I felt kind of disappointed at first but as they say, everything takes time,” he said. “Hopefully, it does not stagnate the process (of me) playing in the Seaba too much. I’m keeping my fingers crossed.”
