Indonesian cagers in Serbia

Serbian coach Rajko Toroman is busy fortifying the Indonesian basketball team getting ready for the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games next month and even if fresh recruit Lester Prosper is back in Jakarta, it’s full steam ahead with a 20-day training camp in Belgrade.

The 14-man Indonesian squad left for Serbia last Thursday and will be gone for 20 days. The schedule lists playing nine games with first division Serbian teams. Former PBA import Denzel Bowles was initially in Toroman’s roster as a naturalized player but cancelled out for still unclear reasons. There was talk that 6-4 guard Brandon Jawato, who is half-American, would take Bowles’ place but it appears that Prosper has been offered the spot.

Jawato, 26, was born in Santa Monica, California. His parents are Nyoman Jawato of Indonesia and Belinda Van Dorn of El Segundo, California. He averaged 21.5 points as a high school senior in El Segundo then enrolled at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Jawato averaged 13.2 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.6 assists with the CLS Knights in the ABL last season.

Prosper, 31, is from New York and saw action in four years with the Old Westbury varsity in the NCAA Division III. The 6-10 left-handed center finished his collegiate career with 1,479 points, 1,016 rebounds and 251 blocked shots, posting 20 double-doubles. As a senior, Prosper averaged 19.6 points and 13 rebounds, shooting 83.9 percent from the stripe. He played in Sweden, Slovakia, Canada, Colombia, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Panama and England before signing with Columbian in the PBA for the recent Commissioner’s Cup. Prosper, who has a British Virgin Islands passport, averaged 33.6 points, 16.9 rebounds and 1.7 assists in seven games with the Dyip.

Prosper hooked up with San Miguel Beer as a second import alongside Dez Wells in the Terrific 12 tournament in Macau last month. He averaged 14 points and 10.3 rebounds in four games as San Miguel finished fourth in the competition that also included PBA teams Blackwater and TNT.

Toroman said Bowles had personal issues which he couldn’t resolve. “He had some problems,” said the former Gilas coach. “From the beginning, he was not happy. Nothing changes. Our goal is to improve Indonesian players. It is a learning process for us. Our immediate goal is the FIBA Asia Cup. The SEA Games is one station to reach the main goal which is the FIBA World Cup.”

A report from Detiksport of Indonesia said: “During the process of naturalization, (Bowles) did not pass due to his attitude and mixture (chemistry) with the team. He had a hard time adapting. Efforts were made by him but it didn’t work out. The decision was not to get him because of his performance and (his) emotional and mental state had changed.”

Toroman said Prosper arrived last week. “He’s not going to Serbia,” said the coach. “He will try to fix his papers and practice in Indonesia with Satria Muda. I don’t think it is the time to win the gold in the SEA Games. The Philippines will play at home and they are stronger than us.”

Toroman admitted that Indonesia lacks dominant players. He singled out three Indonesians who could play a major role in the SEA Games – 6-2 Mei Joni, 6-1 Prastawa Andakara and 6-0 Kaleb Ramot Gemilang. Joni, 30, averaged 7.9 points and shot .471 from deep in the Jones Cup this year. Gemilang, 28, is another deadly three-point gunner and hit .579 from beyond the arc, also at this year’s Jones Cup where he averaged 11.6 points. Andakara, 25, was on the Indonesian team that finished eighth at the Asian Games last year.

Indonesia took the silver medal in basketball in the last two SEA Games. In the previous SEA Games in 2017, the Philippines crushed Indonesia, 94-55, in the final. The Philippine team was made up of Mike Tolomia, Von Pessumal, Kevin Ferrer, Carl Bryan Cruz, Troy Rosario, Almond Vosotros, Toto Jose, Baser Amer, Ray-Ray Parks, Kiefer Ravena, Kobe Paras and Christian Standhardinger. In 2015, the Philippines trounced Indonesia, 81-52, in the preliminaries and repeated in a much-closer final, 72-64. The Philippine team was composed of Ravena, Rosario, Scottie Thompson, Amer, Glenn Khobuntin, Vosotros, Norbert Torres, Marcus Douthit, Mac Belo, Jio Jalalon, Ferrer and Prince Rivero.

For this year’s SEA Games, coach Tim Cone has named Thompson, Rosario and Standhandinger to the 15-man pool from which 12 will be chosen to comprise the final lineup. The others in the pool are Jayson Castro, June Mar Fajardo, Marcio Lassiter, R. R. Pogoy, Japeth Aguilar, L. A. Tenorio, Art de la Cruz, Greg Slaughter, Stanley Pringle, Vic Manuel, Chris Ross and Matthew Wright. Castro suffered a soleus muscle strain in his right calf during a game last Friday and has given up his spot on the national team.