Indonesia ends plan to field Denzel Bowles as naturalized player

MANILA, Philippines—Denzel Bowles won’t be playing in the 2019 Southeast Asian Games after the Indonesian national team dropped him as its naturalized player ahead of the regional games.

According to Indonesia website Detik.com, it was the head coach Rajko Toroman’s decision to drop Bowles due to his failure to adapt to his teammates.

“His mentality changes and that creates some instability,” said team manager Maulana Fareza Tamrella in the report.

“Denzel also needs to adapt with the national team but the team could not possibly wait any longer so it was immediately decided that he would be crossed out.”

Bowles is a familiar face in Philippine basketball, having won a championship in the 2012 PBA Commissioner’s Cup with the Purefoods franchise. He last played in the PBA with Rain or Shine.

Indonesia was originally set to bring in Brandon Jawato but the team now awaits the player’s response since he has an existing contract with another club that will end in November, the month the SEA Games start.

“We’re still waiting from a response from Brandon because he still has a contract with another team,” said Fareza.