Me, Basketball & Success - Hendi Widodo
Article by PK Ong
Hendi Widodo at the Paris Pigalle Basketball Court
Hendi Widodo is the young and dynamic Director of an Indonesia-based shipping company (since 2010) and runs a private investment holding (since 2015). He is in his 30s right now but is already a well-known businessman with successful businesses.
Hendi’s connection with basketball runs deep since 2011. In 2013, he sponsored his own team (WG Sonics) to play in Jammers International Men’s League and attended every single game in each season. His team featured a couple of National Team players and won the league championship title in March 2014. Though Hendi is a high-profile entrepreneur, he is a grounded person and stays humble on and off the court. His passion for the game could be seen at courtside where he was always cheering boisterously for his team during league matches.
We spoke to the man about the sport he loves and here’s what he shared about his thoughts on basketball and his success journey.
Editor: When and how did you first start playing basketball?
Hendi: I started playing basketball in secondary school. In 2011, I went to play pickup basketball with my friends at Cairnhill Community Centre. Back then, we only played 3X3 and 4X4 basketball casually.However, my friends told me if I wanted to watch REAL basketball, it’s 5X5. I didn’t go for basketball CCA in secondary school or university, so I didn’t know much about full court competitive basketball.
They told me about Jammers International Men’s League that they were playing in. So I formed and sponsored my own team in 2013 to play in the league. This is the WG Sonics team.
I learnt so much more about basketball when I played in Jammers League between 2013 - 2015. There were so many players and teams from different nationalities, including country teams like Japanese teams, Korean, Malaysian, Australian, American, Russian, Indonesian and so on. I learnt about different basketball cultures from playing with these teams. I really enjoyed the experience but because I had to travel overseas for work after that, I became inactive.
Editor: In fact, we are starting our new 2022 season with 9 teams this month and there are teams from Malaysia, Korea, Japan and so on.
Hendi: Nice! It’s great to hear that the league is rebooting after two years of pandemic.
Editor: What position do you play?
Hendi: Shooting Guard. Knowing that I’m not good at basketball, I use every opportunity to observe the good players on my team and it really inspires me to see basketball being played beautifully. I enjoy learning new things from them. Sometimes when I see players being injured and still trying hard on the court, I am motivated by their fighting spirit.
Editor: What were your best basketball moments?
Hendi: The best moment for me was when my team WG Sonics won the championship title in Jammers International Men’s League on 7 March 2014. We were trailing but made a stunning comeback in the 4th quarter to win the game. It’s such an amazing feeling when your team comes from behind and wins the game. You can’t orchestrate these events and it’s simply a priceless experience.
The process was crucial as we worked very hard during our training twice a week. Through the competition, I learnt a lot. Even if you are a bench player who doesn’t get many minutes, you are there in spirit to support the team. Some of them may feel unimportant but I would like to say that bench players support the team really well. The cheers, the consolation by the bench, these are all little but essential details that a lot of people can’t see.
WG Sonics Championship Team in March 2014
For many people, they just like to taste the vibe of winning but to me, I like to learn. Through competitive basketball, I learnt a lot. That’s the most important part. I value the learning experience from playing on my basketball team. To this day, my WG Sonics team still maintains a group chat that we continue to communicate every now and then.
Editor: What is basketball to you?
Hendi: Basketball is my inspiration in life, it’s a form of culture and way of life for me. A lot of people just focus on winning, but basketball taught me to do everything with determination and never to give up. It has become a way of life, learning about winning and losing, and imparting knowledge to one another. I deeply enjoy conversations with friends about basketball.
I feel that as a player I learnt many good values from basketball. It helps us in family bonding and respecting our elders. When you listen to your coach, you learn to listen to your parents as well. We also learn to respect our teammates, opponents and officials. When you respect the sport and people around you, you will excel in your everyday life.
Editor: Which aspects of basketball do you enjoy most?
Hendi: I thoroughly enjoy the thrill and excitement of competition. You can pay for certain experiences in life, but you can’t do it with competitive basketball.For one, you can’t control or trade nail-biting experiences in competition, like when two teams are neck-to-neck in the final seconds of a game. It’s all about ball sense, the feel of the court, the raw emotion and thought process of every player, how will they create their path to victory? When it comes down to the buzzer, it all boils down to luck, fate and destiny.
Why do I emphasise competition? It’s because competition gives people the drive to work hard towards their goals. Competition gives people recognition when they achieve their goals. But it’s not just the end result that matters. In my opinion, I feel that the process is the most important, not the result.
The key thing is the process when you train hard and bond with your teammates and coaches. It’s simply irreplaceable. Bonding and determination in career are two things I learnt from basketball.
A lot of people always give up very easily when they are placed outside their comfort zone. It’s the same as being on the basketball court. You need to stay in the game, fight against all odds and play till the final whistle. Once you give up, the game is over.
When you work with different clients and associates, it’s like working with different teammates on the basketball court. For example, when you play with different point guards, you will find that each will set a different rhythm and tempo from another.
Basketball is the only sport that I like. I watch F1 and EPL (soccer) but I just don’t get them as much as I understand basketball. A lot of my friends in real life… out of 10, maybe only 2 or 3 play basketball. So I can’t really discuss basketball with them when I watch the NBA.
Editor: Who’s your favourite basketball player and how has he/she inspired you?
Hendi: I missed the Michael Jordan days. But back then, we didn’t really have YouTube or much, so MJ did not have the benefit of social media in the early 90s. So for me, my favourite player is Kobe Bryant, for sure. I’ve watched Kobe since I was young so I was really depressed when he passed away. I practically watched him on YouTube growing up. What truly impressed me about him was his work ethic. He always reached the gym first at 4am and was always last to leave at the end of the day. That inspired me. Kobe has that killer instinct in him and I never saw him give up once.
Actually basketball helped me a lot in my career. You know there are times where you need to adapt to different industries and different people, not everyone works the same and not every season is the same. What basketball has taught me is that you have to keep adapting and don’t ever give up. You may be losing in the first and second quarters, you have to adapt and adjust, and in the end your team can still come back and win it.
It’s not just about the numbers. To me, I value the experience that my team can learn from. Be it win or lose, we learn. As we grow older, it’s not just about winning games and looking good on social media. You just want to gain more experience and hopefully I can impart my knowledge, whether it’s on or off the basketball court.
Teams that have good chemistry and all, that is the kind of thing that helps me a lot in my career. Sometimes you feel like giving up because it’s very tiring, or when you need to adapt to a new environment.
Basketball taught me that not everyday is Sunday, don’t worry if you are losing, there is time to catch up. I mean it’s all in the details. Something that’s kind of common sense, but a lot of times, people always miss out. Some people just forget to relate basketball to their careers. For me, it really helps a lot.
Editor: So, tell us about your favourite team.
Hendi: I always look at teams with good chemistry and they inspire me to do the same with my work teams. And not to give up till the final second.
I don't want to sound like a bandwagon fan but Golden State Warriors is my favourite team and Stephen Curry is my current favourite player. Steph may not be the greatest player of all time, it’s still MJ, LeBron or Kobe, but in my heart, he is one of the best ever.
Steph changed the whole game and that’s one thing I like. I haven’t been active in the basketball scene for the past 2-3 years due to a medical condition but I hear from my friends who have kids, and they tell me that every kid just shoots outside the three-point line or even half court nowadays, playing the run-&-gun strategy. In the past, players did pump fakes, play the post like how Kobe, MJ and LeBron played. Now all the kids just want to run & gun and shoot threes.
We Asians are smaller in physique so a player like Steph gives us hope. He shows us that it doesn’t mean that you are small-sized, you can’t play basketball. In the past, if you wanted to play basketball, you had to be tall. Yet, in the NBA today, the small-sized players like Trae Young and Steph are shining bright in a league of giants.
Seeing Steph Curry win championships and the MVP award inspires young players to want to become like him. Because he shows us that it is possible for even the smallest players to make the biggest difference.
Editor: Interesting that you should mention the Golden State Warriors because we organized an overseas basketball trip in partnership with the GSW Academy in 2018! We took a group of kids and their families to the USA to participate in a 4-day Warriors Camp, watch 2 NBA games, and even toured the Warriors’ training ground and office!
We even watched Steph, KD and the rest of the Warriors doing their pre-game warm-up at courtside right in front of us. It’s amazing!
Hendi: Wow, that must have been a great experience being up close and personal with the Warriors!
Editor: How do you think basketball has impacted you as a person?
Hendi: In the beginning, I only focused on winning. Growing older has taught me that it is more important to build and share a bond with my teammates. I feel that it is a priceless relationship because you can only get such a bond through team sports.
Facing different opponents each game also helped me adapt to facing different business clients in my career. Not every relationship will grow smoothly but if you put in the time and effort, things will work out. Having a healthy rivalry on the court is great. We can be rivals on the court but off the court we are all good friends. Sometimes, people bring the rivalry off the court and can’t even be friends in real life. In life, there’s no time for politics or bitter rivalries.
For me as a businessman, I know for a fact that businesses are not formed overnight. They are formed over relationships, just like how we form relationships on the court. I learnt all these through basketball. Most importantly, I think people who play basketball don’t give up easily. I think that kind of energy drives us in our career.
Editor: It’s great that you can relate basketball to your career. What are your thoughts on the progress of basketball in Singapore?
Hendi: I think that basketball has grown a lot, the NBA has grown a lot over the past few years. Singapore’s basketball scene has really developed since I started playing in Jammers League in 2013. Locally, there was only competition every now and then. Today, we have professional academies like yours (SG Basketball).
In the past, you could only learn basketball in school when you took it up as a CCA and learnt from your school basketball coach or teacher. There wasn’t any school like SG Basketball where you can learn it from professional coaches. Back then, we didn’t have that kind of opportunity. You guys did a great job in not just creating a league but also creating an academy where you can develop young talent. It helps to educate and share the basketball culture with everyone. I feel that basketball helps in teaching behaviour and life skills.
I felt a lot of people didn’t go through the right journey because they didn’t have access to an academy like yours. People could only go to the community centre or public courts to play. They just picked up basketball from the street and didn’t get the chance to learn proper skills and values.
Having an academy like SG Basketball is really great as it is a professional setup and provides a safe and conducive environment for children. As a parent, you don’t have to worry, because a professional academy will teach your kid well and take care of them during training and matches. When I have a kid, I hope that he or she will like basketball. If my kid is to learn basketball, I will bring him or her to your academy to learn and play.
I think that you (SG Basketball) have contributed a lot to the growth of the basketball community in Singapore. We need to have a healthy community for the sport to grow. I hope that in 10-15 years’ time, basketball will become even more popular.
Due to the accessibility of “live” games, information and highlights through social media and YouTube today, there is an increasing amount of new generation players who fall in love with basketball. That is definitely a good thing for this sport. Last but not least, I hope that I can contribute to this sport in my own way through Jammers League in the near future.
