India's Women are FIBA Asia 3x3 Basketball Champions; Men out in QFs

Maybe a change in the format of the game was all that Indian basketball needed for their big boost.

India hasn't had any memorable success in international basketball for long stretches of its history. But ever since FIBA has begun to promote the newer, 3x3 format of the game, India has gone all in, addint their best players in the 3x3 rosters and seeing some dominant results, particularly in the Women's division.

And now, India's Women are officially on top of the Asian 3x3 Basketball ladder. India won gold at the inaugural FIBA Asia 3x3 Basketball Championship in Doha (Qatar), defeating Mongolia 21-14 in the final game on May 16th. This win marked India's third consecutive gold medal in the 3x3 format of the game, after winning gold at the South Asian Beach Games in Sri Lanka and at the Asian Beach Games in China last year.

India - featuring the likes of Geethu Anna Jose, Anitha Paul Durai, Manisha Dange, and Pratima Singh - came in as one of the favourites of the tournament, and justified the hype by winning all six of their games with relative ease en route to the championship. Jose, India's biggest basketball superstar, was named the 'Best Player' of the tournament!

Post the win, Jose said that the India squad "achieved what we set out to do," and Anitha Pauldurai added that "it was a team effort that helped India’s win."

India's Men's team won two of their three group stage games but lost in the Quarter Final to eventual silver-medalists Saudi Arabia.

Qatar, the home team who featured two teams in each division of the championship, saw their 'Maroon' side win the gold in the Men's division, beating Saudi Arabia in the final. They were undefeated in the tournament.

The two-day tournament tipped off in Doha on May 15th, featuring 16 Men's teams and 10 Women's teams. Notably missing from the participants were teams from Asian powerhouses like China, Korea, Japan, and Chinese Taipei in contention for the Women. China, Asia's strongest basketball-playing nation, didn't take part in either division.

India's Women, in Group B of the Women's division, kicked off their campaign on Wednesday with an easy 20-6 win against Lebanon. They continued this form with wins over Mongolia (21-9), and Nepal (21-4). Their game against Qatar (grey) was cancelled. On Thursday, India faced off against Qatar in the Quarter Final, and completely dominated the hosts to cruise to a 21-5 victory. India defeated Hong Kong 21-8 in the Semi-Final, and their closest contest didn't come until the finale itself when they defeated Mongolia 21-14. In a format of the game that lasts only 10 minutes of playing time, India did marvelously to defeat each opponent by an average of 11.3 points per game.

The Men's field was much tougher, and the relatively-younger four-man squad representing India - Ajay Pratap Singh, Ranbir Singh Virdi, Arjun Singh, and Pratham Singh - had a good run despite getting knocked out at the Quarter-Final stage to Saudi Arabia, who defeated them 16-5 on Thursday evening. India went 2-1 in the Group Stage a day earlier, defeating Indonesia (21-13) and and Turkmenistan (19-17), but losing to heavyweights Iran 21-14. The Final of the Men's tournament was held between Qatar and Saudi Arabia and won by the home side in a thrilling 19-17 contest.

Iran (Men) beat Jordan 19-8 to finish third place, and in the Women's division, the third-place game was decided in a low scoring game woman that went in favour of Turkmenistan over Hong Kong 10-8.

Final Standings

Men

Gold: Qatar (Maroon)
Silver: Saudi Arabia
Bronze: Iran

Women

Gold: India
Silver: Mongolia
Bronze: Turkmenistan

Dream Team All Star Selection

Men

Boney Watson (Qatar)
Fadel El Zubi (Jordan)
Moosa Nabipour (Iran)

Women

Geethu Anna Jose (India)
Nigyara Nagiyeva (Turkmenistan)
Lea Abi Ghosn (Lebanon)

Congrats Ladies, and congrats Geethu, who continues to be the Boss of Indian hoops - and one of the most-feared competitors in Asian hoops. We hope that the Men can begin to duplicate the success in the coming years too. India's Women can look ahead to now taking part in the 3x3 FIBA World Championships. But the most important step ahead should be to start focusing this new-found confidence and success on the official 5x5 version of basketball so India can start making some more waves in Asian and in the rest of the world, too!

Team India (Men & Women) contend at 1st FIBA Asia 3x3 Basketball Championship in Qatar

We know who the best basketball teams in Asia are. And now, for the first time, Asia’s top sides will contend amongst each other in an official FIBA tournament to reveal who will emerge as the strongest country in the game’s strongest side in the 3x3 basketball format. Worldwide, there has been increased attention on 3x3 hoops – from international tournament to inner-city competitions – and we’ll see the format competed at the top Asian level on May 15-16 at the 1st FIBA Asia 3x3 Basketball Championship for Men and Women in Doha (Qatar). Both of India’s Senior Men and Women’s teams have qualified for the tournament.

On April 24 in Kuala Lampur (Malaysia), FIBA Asia held the draw for the inaugural edition of the 2013 events, which included the 3x3 Championships in Doha and the U18 3x3 Championships that will be held next week in Bangkok (Thailand). For the Doha 3x3 Championship, India’s Men have been drawn in Group B along with Indonesia, Turkmenistan, and Iran, while the Women have been drawn in Group B with Qatar Grey, Mongolia, Lebanon, and Nepal.

A total of 16 men’s teams (from 15 nations) and 10 women’s teams (from nine nations) will be taking part in the inaugural tournament. Hosts Qatar will be fielding two teams for each division.

Despite being minnows in many recent FIBA Asia Basketball tournaments, India has actually enjoyed quite a successful recent history in 3x3 competitions at Asia level. India's Men and Women both dominated the South Asian Beach Games in Sri Lanka two years ago where they both won gold medals; and more importantly, India's Women's team won gold at the 3rd Asian Beach Games in China against the hosts last year.

Here are India’s Rosters for this tournament. Each team has four players; three starters and one off the bench.

India Men: Ajay Pratap Singh, Ranbir Singh Virdi, Arjun Singh, Pratham Singh.

India Women: Geethu Anna Jose, Anitha Paul Durai, Manisha Dange, Pratima Singh.

The group stage of the tournament will be held on Wednesday, May 15, and the knockout stages will be held on May 16th. Here the Schedule for India’s group stage games on May 15 (all timings Doha):

Men

- 4 PM: India vs. Indonesia
- 6 PM: Iran vs. India
- 7:20 PM: India vs. Turkmenistan

Women

- 4 PM: Lebanon vs. India
- 6:40 PM: India vs. Qatar Grey
- 7:20 PM: Mongolia vs. India
- 8 PM: India vs. Nepal

The first thing to note from the list of participating teams in either division is that Asian basketball heavyweights China aren't taking part in the competition, and neither are Korea and Japan Women. Nevertheless, there will still be some big challenges for India to survive if they hope to make history at this first-time tournament. The Men's team - which consists of younger, more inexperienced players rather than India's Senior level veterans - will face a major powerhouse in Iran in the group stage, and will have to look out for other challenging sides like Lebanon, Jordan, Japan, Qatar, Chinese Taipei, and Philippines ahead.

India's Women's side could have a real chance at a podium finish. Without the big four of China, Korea, Japan and Chinese Taipei in contention, India could be considered as one of the early tournament favourites. With experienced superstars Geethu Anna Jose, Anitha Paul Durai, Manisha Dange, and Pratima Singh leading the way, this team will be aiming for gold.

37th Kerala State Junior (U18) Basketball Championship to tip off at Kurivilangad today

The 37th Kerala State Basketball Championship for Junior Men and Women (under 18) will tips off today at the St Mary’s Boys High School at Kuravilangad. The championship will be held from May 14-19 and organized by the Kuravilngad Basketball Club under the auspicious of Kottayam District Basketball Association.

14 Boys' teams and 12 Girls' teams will be taking part in this six-day championship, which will be played on a league-cum-knockout basis. The Championship will help to pick Kerala's representative teams for the National Junior Basketball Championship, which will be held in Bhubaneswar (Orissa) in September.

Kottayam (Boys) and Kollam (Girls) are the tournament's defending champions.

Groupings

Men

Group A: Kottayam, KozhikodeThrissur, Kasargod

Group B: Ernakulam, Alapuzha, Pathanamthitta, Thiruvanathapuram

Group C: Wayanad, Idukki, Kollam

Group D: Kannur, Malapuram, Palakkad

Women

Group A: Kollam, Alapuzha, Palakkad

Group B: Kannur, Thiruvanthapuram, Wayanad

Group C: Thrissur, Ernakulum, Kasargod

Group D: Kottayam, Kozhikode, Malapuram

Olympiacos win Euroleague Basketball Championship for 2nd Consecutive year

For the second consecutive season, Greek club Olympiacos beat the odds and reached the pinnacle of European club basketball as they retained their Euroleague Basketball title after defeating Real Madrid at the O2 Arena in London 100-88 in the Final. This was Olympiacos’ third Euroleague title in their history and the third consecutive year that the championship was lifted by a Greek after, after Panathinaikos won in 2011.

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Indian-Origin players to have played NCAA D1 Basketball

No Indian national has yet had the experience of playing basketball at the highest collegiate level in the world, the NCAA Division 1 in the United States. But that said, there is no shortage of our larger Indian diaspora - specifically Indians who grew up in North America - who have represented at that level in some shape or form. The world paid attention as Canadian-Indian Sim Bhullar had his breakthrough playing in the national-tournament for New Mexico State this season. It's time we compile a list of all others before Bhullar who have played a little (or a lot) D1 ball in the past, or our still playing at that level in the present.

This post grew out of popular demand, demand to showcase that players with desi genes certainly have the potential to take the next higher step in hoops. I've been able to collect the names of the list through past research and experience and the aid of some very helpful readers. I thank Rahul Desai for the idea and for getting me started and Sunpreet Sher Singh for suggesting more names to add to the list.

I'm looking to add the names of all Indian-origin D1 basketball players to the list. Being slightly tanned, enjoying the occasional Tandoori Chicken, and having a man-crush on Aziz Ansari doesn't count; You gotta have some desi in your DNA. First generation, second generation, third generation, born in India or abroad, full India, half Indian, one-fourth Indian, whatever. Hopefully, a talented player from India will one day get the opportunity to represent the country at this highest college level, too.

The list isn't perfect and it definitely isn't complete. Please contact me to notify me of any errors and suggest any further names that I'm sure to have missed.

Indian-origin players to have played NCAA Division 1 Basketball (In last-name Alphabetic order)

• Pasha Bains (Clemson, Wyoming): 1998-2001
  
• David Bagga (Arizona): 2005-09
  
• Vishal Banipal (Idaho State): 2011-12
• Sim Bhullar (New Mexico State): 2012-
• Manroop Clair (Hawaii): 2012-
  
• Sandeep Dhaliwal (Columbia): 2009-10
  
• Shaminder Gill (Washington State University): 2001-05
  
• Tony Gill (Pacific): 2012-
• Robin James (Rutgers): 1991-95
  
• Sanjay Lumpkin (Northwestern): 2012-
  
• Arjun Ohri (New Jersey Institute of Technology - NJIT): 2009-12
  
• Timir Patel (Houston-Baptist): 2007-08
  
• Andy Saharan (University of California-Riverside): 2010-11
  
• Manny Sahota (Cornell): 2010-
  
• Sam Singh (Bradley University): 2004-10
  
• Dipanjot Singh (Univeristy of Illinois at Chicago): 2009-11
  
• Sai Tummala (Arizona State): 2013-
  

To learn more about some of these players, check out my in-depth feature and interview with Pasha Bains, considered by many to be the greatest Indian-origin player ever. Youngster Manroop Clair is also mentioned in that story. I've written a lot about Sim Bhullar and his brother Tanveer; here is my most recent feature recapping Sim's first season at New Mexico State. Here is an old Q&A with Timir Patel, and this is an even older post and video of Manny Sahota. 

Delhi (Boys) & Kerala (Girls) win 2013 Youth National Basketball Championship in Kolkata

Kerala Girls continue their stronghold on the Youth (under-16) division of basketball in India, winning their fourth consecutive Youth National title in Kolkata on Tuesday evening after a blowout Final victory over Tamil Nadu. Kerala’s victory was followed by a heart-stopping finale for the boys’, as Delhi survived a furious comeback from Rajasthan to win the title.

The 30th Youth (U16) National Basketball Championships for Boys and Girls saw 25 boys’ and 24 girls’ teams from all across India descend to Kolkata (West Bengal) for the scintillating eight-day tournament, which concluded on May 7th. The tournament was organized by the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) and the West Bengal Basketball Association (WBBA).

It was another night of celebration for Kerala’s Girls’ squad, who are seemingly unbeatable at this level of the game in India. They won all seven games in this tournament behind consistent play by Nimmy Mathew, Mayukha KJ, and the rest. In the final, Kerala came storming out the gate in the first quarter against neighbours Tamil Nadu and kept building on that advantage to post a mammoth win of 83-47. Mayukha led the balanced Kerala scoring attack with 17 points in the Final. V Rachel had 17 points for TN.

The boys’ final upped the ante as the two finalists – Delhi and Rajasthan – fought each other till the very end. The game was tied at the end of the first quarter and Delhi held a slim three-point lead at halftime. A strong defensive third quarter saw Delhi extend that lead to nine, but Rajasthan came storming back in the fourth to outscore Delhi 23-16. In the end, the boys from the nation’s capital survived to win their second title in three years, 79-77. Sunil (27) and Bitto (23) led the way for Delhi, surviving a dominant performance by Rajasthan’s Mahipal Singh (30 – the leading scorer in the tournament – and Yogesh Kaneriya (16).

The third and fourth place matchups were also held on Tuesday. In the Boys’ game, Rahul Mehla (26), Prabhnoor Singh (19) and Jaipal (17) led the way in a blowout win over Haryana, who were led by Sonu Kumar (16). In the Girls’ game, Riya Verma (28) and Divya P (26) were the stars for Chhattisgarh who defeated Karnataka 82-73, despite the best efforts of rising young star Lopamudra TK (34) and Bhandavya HM (28).

The Semi-Finals of the tournament were held on Monday evening. In the Boys’ game, Sunil had 27 points for Delhi’s high-scoring 86-74 win against Haryana. Arjun Pandit (16) and Shon Suresh Kalangutkar (16) added to Delhi’s score, while Naveen Sheokand had 22 for Haryana. In the second’s Men’s Semi-Final, Rajasthan were led by their unstoppable duo of Mahipal Singh (33) and Akhilesh Kumar (30) as they defeated Punjab 92-82. Prabhnoor Singh (21) and Rahul Mehta (21) led the way for the losing side.

Kerala played in a high-scoring Semi-Final against Karnataka, winning 81-70. They fell back in the first quarter but bounced back with a strong 25-7 run in the second. Mayukha KT had 29 points, Vimmy Varkey had 17, and India Nelson had 16. Bhandavya HM scored 26 for the losing side. Y. Srividhya had 23 points to lead Tamil Nadu in the 68-51 win in the second semi-final over Chhattisgarh. Riya Verma led Chhattisgarh with 18.

Final Scores

Boys: Delhi (Sunil 27, Bitto 23, Vishal Gupta 14) bt. Rajasthan (Mahipal Singh 30, Yogesh Kaneriya 16, Akhilesh Kumar 15) 79-77 (18-18, 26-23, 19-13, 16-23).

Girls: Kerala (Mayukha KJ 17, Nimmy Matthew 15, Aneeta PV 15, India Nelson 15, Vimmy Varkey 13) bt. Tamil Nadu (V. Rachel 17) 83-47 (26-17, 20-16, 20-7, 17-7).

Third/Fourth Place Matchups

Boys: Punjab (Rahul Mehla 26, Prabhnoor Singh 19, Jaipal 17) bt. Haryana (Sonu Kumar 16) 93-47 (21-5, 26-8, 24-18, 22-16).

Girls: Chhattisgarh (Riya Verma 28, Divya P 26, Vandana Ariya 14) bt. Karnataka (Lopamudra TK 34, Bhandavya HM 28) 82-73 (24-19, 20-15, 21-19, 17-20).

Final Standings

Boys

1. Delhi
2. Rajasthan
3. Punjab
4. Haryana
5. Maharashtra

Girls

1. Kerala
2. Tamil Nadu
3. Chhattisgarh
4. Karnataka
5. Maharashtra

The Reluctant MVP

LeBron James won his fourth MVP award in five years, putting his name amongst the list of some of the game's greatest ever players. At the rate he is going, he is certainly on course to becoming the most decorated MVP in NBA history, but the superstar may be aiming for the bigger prize, to win more championships. MVP awards can be subjective to the definition of 'valuable' to the beholder, but a champion is always the most valuable to them all.

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