We Asked Basketball Pros To Rate Ahok's Skills On The Court

Last weekend, Jakarta's Governor, Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, played a 2 on 2 game at Augie Fantinus's house in Tomang, West Jakarta. The governor, popularly known as Ahok, partnered up with Auggie, while his Vice Governor, Djarot Saiful Hidayat was paired Yossie, a musician.

Basuki Tjahja "Ahok" Purnama is a big fan of basketball, he's been caught on camera several times in the past shooting hoops at different events.

Ahok claimed that basketball is familiar territory for him, even thought he's a bit rusty. "I haven't played in ages. I was active in high school and played a bit during college. It's been 30 years since I played, it's crazy," said Ahok. His running mate, Djarot, said he never played basketball before.

Ahok's rustiness was on display for all to see. There were plenty of missed shots and some wayward passes, but if studied closely enough, you could tell that there was an experienced basketball player in there somewhere. Djarot on the other hands definitely wasn't lying about this being the first time on a court.

Even though Augie has declared his support for Ahok-Djarot, he's reached out to other candidates. "I invited Agus to play because I know he used to play basketball. I also reached out to Sandiaga Uno but got no response. The Ahok-Djarot team responded the fastest," said Augie to VICE Indonesia.

VICE Indonesia spoke with Augie Fantinus and Indonesian basketball star Christian Ronaldo Sitepu to evaluate Ahok's skills on the court.

Overall based on the 2 on 2 game, how did Ahok and Djarot fare in terms of technical skills?
You can see that Ahok knows how to play basketball since he got the basic moves down: lay-ups, one-two-steps. His jump shot has a bit of form as well. Djarot, on the other hand, you can tell he is a beginner. But he seems to be a fast-learner as during defense he positioned himself well, lowering his upper body.

Both seemed to be good team players. For example on one play Ahok passed to Augie who returned the ball for an inside pass before Ahok finished with a lay-up. That was sweet. Djarot, on the other hand, has the grit to become an athlete. Although he was struggling a bit, he tried his best. After a pass from Yossie, he managed to lay it under the hoop and scored, to which he followed up with "The score is 2-2 hey, so it's a deuce!" jokingly even though there's no such thing as a deuce in basketball.

Ahok seems to have a knack for shooting. He has done free-throws in a few inauguration events.
He understands the advantage of being tall and how it's an advantage in the game of basketball. Ahok bragged about his height a couple of times.

What about his free-throw and long distance shooting techniques?
They're okay. If he wants to become a serious basketball player, he needs a lot more practice.

What areas each of them excel at on court?
Ahok has his shooting, Djarot needs to learn a lot. His defense was not so bad because he lowered his body when guarding opponents. Perhaps age plays a factor here as well since he got tired pretty fast, overall, he's not bad.

What positions do they play if they were professionals?
Ahok would be a power-forward instead of center. This will allow him to shoot and run a bit. Djarot should learn how to be a shooter so he doesn't have to run.

What do they need to work on?
They need to limber up. There were some good moves but their physiques were not up to par. Like there were instances when they were gasping for air before even made a jump. They need to exercise more and do longer stretching. The need to practice their shooting and dribbling, perhaps they can do this at home with their children.

As a professional basketball player, who would you rather partner up with in an 2-on-2 game?
I'd probably pick Ahok [laughs]. But no, Djarot would be good too since he has grit.

What would you rate them out of 1-10 scale?
I'd give 7.5 for Djarot and 8 for Ahok.

How did Ahok do as your partner in a 2-on-2?
He definitely has some skills, as one can see from his lay-up, one-two-step and shooting. You can tell that Djarok was a complete beginner but he had a lot of luck going his way in that game.

As a basketball player, did you notice technical mistakes by either Ahok or Djarot?
Not really. A pass by Djarot was stolen by Ahok once but steals happen in every basketball game. Since they both haven't exercised in a long time, the 15 minute game really took a lot out of them.

As a team partner, what did Ahok excel at?
Ahok took advantage of large body. I gave him plenty of passes in the paint so he can easily score. Our winning shot was scored from right under the hoop. I mean he was either guarded by Djarot or Yossie, who is undersized, Ahok was the biggest of all of us.

The jokes didn't make it onto that short video. Just wait until the full video is out, and you'll hear things that came out of Ahok's mouth, trash talk is the best part of basketball.

Was it intimidating to play with the Governor and Vice Governor?
Not really since I always place anyone I play with as equal. Even if I lose the game, I still place myself as a basketball player. No intimidation or deliberately losing.

Were you scolded by Ahok?
No one was scolded by Ahok during the game, he's nice now and doesn't yell at people.

What should Ahok and Djarot work on?
They both need to exercise. They need some me-time.

What would you rate them out of 10?
Well I wouldn't give them shitty scores [laughs]. They both got an 8 from me since they each have their own positive qualities.