India’s All Star Weekend: Basketball stars shine on courts dedicated to Harish Sharma

If you were an outsider to India’s hoop universe looking for a weekend crash course to everything in Indian Basketball, then the last couple of days in Mumbai were your chance: Over three dozen of the most talented and famous Men and Women Indian basketball players descended to the Mastan YMCA basketball courts in Nagpada for the 3rd Indian Basketball All Star Showcase, held from May 3rd-5th.

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Punjab Police & Southern Railway become Federation Cup Champions in Kochi

Considered underdogs despite the talent they possessed, Punjab Police had the last laugh after winning the final of the 26th Federation Cup All India Basketball Tournament at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium in Kochi on Sunday night against the star-studded ONGC side 72-59. Meanwhile, Southern Railways continued their complete dominance over Women’s basketball in India after they demolished a spirited Chhattisgarh in the Federation Cup final 95-57.

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26th Federation Cup tips on a high note for Southern Railway and Chhattisgarh Women

An exclusive collection of India’s finest club and state teams tipped off the 26th edition of the All India Federation Cup Basketball Championship for Men & Women at the Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium in Kochi (Kerala) on Wednesday. Champions of the Women’s division last year Chhattisgarh continued their hot streak with a big win on their opening game, while perennial contenders Southern Railway also started strong in their first match-up.

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China wins FIBA Women's ABC; India finish 6th

China continued their dominance over Asian basketball, especially in the Women's division, by bagging the biggest title in the region once more. China's stars Nan Chen and Miao Lijie came up big in the crucial moments of the game and took their side to a 65-62 win over Korea and clinch the gold medal in the 24th FIBA Asia Basketball Championship for Women in Omura, Japan, on Sunday.

This was China's 11th victory in this competition, which has been held 24 times. Their opponents in the final, Korea, have won the gold 12 times. China have now won the FIBA Asia Women's Championship five out of the past six times. The two finalists, with 23 of the 24 golds in the tournament's history shared between them, are certainly familiar with each other, as this was their fourth consecutive meeting in the final of this competition.

The final was a close, up-and-down game, in which neither team refused to give the other much breathing space. After trailing by 2 points at the end of the third quarter, China pulled away in the fourth, hitting some crucial baskets, for the emotional three point win. Miao Lijie, who was named MVP of the tournament, paced China with 20 points, Me Zengyu added 19, and Nan Chen had 17 for China.

Earlier on Sunday, hosts Japan beat Chinese Taipei 83-56 to finish third in the competition.

Meanwhile, a rebooted Indian side, with its experienced American coach Pete Gaudet, didn't exactly show many performances to write home about. India had been handed the gift and the curse of playing in 'Level I' of the competition, with all the powerhouse sides in Asia, for a chance to play meaningful games and win the tournament. While India have proven to be stronger than the majority of Asian teams in this tournament in recent years, there is still a wide gulf when it comes to competition against the best. The Indian team lost all five of their Preliminary Round games, but won a playoff against Malaysia to qualify for Level I again in the 2013 Championship and return with a 1-5 record.

India played their first game against Chinese Taipei, who started off slow, but quickly settled in and blew past us. Led by Liu Chun-Yi's 19 points, Chinese Taipei defeated India by 28 points, 81-53 - the only positive for India in this game was that the performance against the same rivals was better than what India showed at the William Jones Cup only weeks earlier. India were led, unsurprisingly, by the stalwart Center Geethu Anna Jose, who had 18 points and 8 rebounds in the game.

Eventual finalists Korea were next on the bill for the Indian Women: Once again, India started well defensively, as Korea held to a slim 17-12 lead at the end of the 1st quarter. However, India had offensive problems of their own, and no one but Geethu showed any capability of being able to score easily. Geethu had another dominant game - 27 points and 10 rebounds - scoring more than half of India's points on the night. It wasn't enough, as Korea used a 19-2 run to close the first half and cruise to a 83-47 win. Ajeong Kang had 17 points for Korea.

Things didn't get any easier for Gaudet's squad, as the very next afternoon, they faced China. China unleashed their giant Center Wei Wei - the tallest player in the tournament - to counter Geethu. Standing at 6 foot 9 inches, India had no answer for her, despite a surprisingly strong start (once more). The game was tied 12-12 at the end of the first quarter, and India led by 2 a few minutes into the second. But China woke up and completely flipped the game around, going on a 32-8 run in the third and then 27-12 in the fourth quarter, destroying India by 49 points to win 87-38. After the game, Gaudet conceded that his team threw in the towel in the second half. “There was a point at which we realized we couldn’t continue fighting hard and last the competition. I am glad we fought very hard in the early part."

Hosts Japan played India in their fourth game, and this time, India failed to notch a positive start, scoring only five points in the first quarter. Behind 22 points and 14 rebounds by Moeka Nagaoka, Japan saw no resistance from India, apart from a 16 point outing by Geethu. Japan won 79-51.

So far, each of India's opponents had been ranked far ahead them in the FIBA rankings, but when India (ranked 41) took on Lebanon (ranked 55) in the last Preliminary Round game, it was our chance to get a crucial victory and hope to improve on last tournament's showing by finishing 5th. Alas, it was not to be: Lebanon put the clamp on India's offense early and flew to a 17 point lead in the first quarter. India played well in the second quarter, but led their opponents run away again after halftime. A huge run in the fourth was still not enough to stop India from going down by 19, 71-52. Chada Nasr of Lebanon had 16 points and 10 rebounds, and Brittany Janelle Denson added 16 points with 7 rebounds. For India, it was again the Geethu lone show, as the Keralite scored 21 points to go with 9 boards.

Finishing at the bottom of Level I, it came down to a crucial playoff game against Level II top-finishers Malaysia for India to hope to remain in the competition. The game between the two closely-matched sides was as exciting as advertised, as the teams exchanged the lead during the first two and half quarters, before India began to pull away for good. For the first time India had a major high scorer apart from Geethu, as her Southern Railway teammate Anitha Pauldurai paced the side with 23 points and five assists. Geethu added 18, to go with 10 rebounds. Malaysia made a comeback in the fourth, but two clutch drives by Prashanti Singh sealed India's lone victory in the competition, 66-60.

India’s best player during the course of the championship was, not-so-shockingly, Geethu Anna Jose, who finished as the tournament’s third leading scorer (18.7 points per game) and sixth leading rebounder (7.2 rebounds per game). Geethu led India in points, rebounds, and blocks.

Siddarth Sharma has done a great job in compiling all the stats - totals and averages - of the Indian players in the six games that India played in the tournament in an article for SportsKeeda. Besides Geethu, the only other Indian player to average double digits in points was Anitha Pauldurai, who chipped in 10.5 points per game, and also led India with 2.7 assists per game.

The team returns back from Japan on Monday night, and will be relatively free of any major tournaments in the near future. Before heading to Japan, Gaudet only had a few months with the squad - we hope that by the time we return to this tournament in 2013, India would be ready to take the next step, and maybe win a game or two in Level I!

Final Standings

1. China
2. Korea
3. Japan
4. Chinese Taipei
5. Lebanon

Tournament All Star Team:

Miao Lijie (China) MVP

Choi Youn-Ah (Korea)

Yuko Oga (Japan)

Sin Jung-Ja (Korea)

Nan Chen (China)

Indian Women at 24th FIBA Asia Championship: A Preview

*Photos here are all from India's games at the 2009 FIBA Asia Basketball Championships in Chennai

There are at least half a dozen little cliched phrases bouncing around in my head right now when trying to describe the challenge that the Indian basketball team are soon about to face at the 24th FIBA Asia Championship for Women in Omura, Japan. Baptism by fire. Against all odds. Backs against the wall.

Because what India are about to face (actually, what they have already started facing, since I wrote this after our first game against Chinese Taipei), is their toughest, most brutal stretch of basketball in recent memory. India finished 6th at the FIBA ABC in Chennai in 2009, and it was good enough for us to qualify in the 'Level 1' of the championship this year. What it means that we will be playing most of our games against the best teams in Asia this time. India is ranked #41 in the world FIBA rankings; In the five days between August 21-25, India will play five games, against Chinese Taipei (rank 22), Korea (9), Asian Champions China (8), hosts Japan (15), and Lebanon (55). That means that, apart from Lebanon, each team we will face will be ranked far above us. Even Chinese Taipei, who are the lowest of the 'Big 4' in our group, defeated us by 45 points at the William Jones Cup a few weeks ago.

Indeed, its going to be tough pickings for India's new coach Pete Gaudet, who has spent barely two and half months at the helm of the team after a career that spanned 40 years in basketball, mostly holding on to assistant coaching roles in NCAA D1 colleges like Duke, Vanderbilt, and OSU. Gaudet got a chance to test the team out a little at the William Jones tournament in Taiwan two weeks ago, where India got just 1 victory - albeit a wonderful won - over the Korea 'Samsung' team.

The 2011 Women's FIBA ABC is divided into two levels: Level I and Level II. The two lowest finishers of Level I meets the top two finishers to determine which teams qualify for the top Level of the 2013 championship. The losers are relegated to Level II. India and Lebanon are likely to be these two teams. Level II consists of six teams all ranked below India (Indonesia, Malaysia, Kazakhstan, Singapore, Sri Lanka, and Uzbekistan). For India to remain in Level I in 2013 and have a chance to actually enter the knock-out stage of the tournament, they will have to beat a team that has finished in the top 2 from Level II.

There is of course the other possibility that India perform a miracle and finish in the top 4 of Level I. Unlikely, I know, but I still have to discuss the possibility: it that happens, we will enter the Semi-Final round of the championship.

As for our team: once again, everything India does will start and end with our inspirational, superstar Center, Geethu Anna Jose. Geethu was the best individual performer in the 2009 championships and is the only Indian to complete a trial with WNBA teams. The 26-year-old is just entering her prime, and with a coach like Gaudet who is an expert on post play (he actually wrote a book about it), Geethu should once again be India's superstar.

Point guard Akanksha Singh captains the team for the first time, and is one of the best ball handlers I've seen in India. Alongside her in the starting line-up will be India's former captain and Akanksha's older sister, Prashanti Singh, and their Delhi teammate, Raspreet Sidhu. Anitha Pauldurai, who was one of the best players for India at the William Jones Cup, rounds up the starting five. India's bench will really have to step up and I have a feeling that many of them will not be getting a lot of minutes at the FIBA ABC, forcing greater strain on the starters. Girls like Pushpa Maddu and Kokila Subramani have the potential to have good stretches. I'm also excited about 16-year-old Shireen Limaye, who made her Indian debut at the William Jones Cup and will become one of our best players in the future.

Yes, India will lose a lot, and yes, India will lose big, but let's not lose heart: India has qualified into Level I, and have 'earned' the opportunity to lose big against Asia's biggest, instead of playing less meaningful games against the second-tier teams. Even if we don't make it to the top 4, hopefully we can put up a good performance against Lebanon and in our qualifying round match against a Level II team.

Improvement will come step by step: We finished at 6th place in Chennai. I predict that our girls will be able to do one better, finish 5th this time around, and a better, badder team will return in 2013 after a couple of years with Coach Gaudet and aim for greater heights.

India Women’s basketball team finalised for Japan FIBA Asia Championship

The completed squad of Indian eves that will be leading the charge for India against some of Asia’s best basketball-playing nations has been announced by the Basketball Federation of India (BFI). India will send a 12 players, four officials, and two official FIBA referees as part of their contingent to the 24th FIBA Asia Championship for Women in Omura-Nagasaki in Japan from August 21-28, 2011.

The players that India will send Japan for this prestigious tournament will be the same who represented India at the William Jones Cup in Chinese Taipei last week, including India’s only player to get a WNBA trial, Geethu Anna Jose, and other stars like Anitha Paul Durai and Prashanti Singh. 16-year-old star Shireen Limaye is the youngest member of this squad. India finished at fourth place at the William Jones Cup.

Indian team for 24th FIBA Asia Championship for Women

Akanksha Singh (Delhi)

Anitha Paul Durai (Indian Railways)

Bharti (Indian Railways)

Geethu Anna Jose (Indian Railways)

Harjeet Kaur (Delhi)

Kruthika Lakshman (Karnataka)

Kokila Subramani (Tamil Nadu)

Prashanti Singh (Delhi)

Pushpa Maddu (Indian Railways)

Shireen Vijay Limaye (Maharashtra)

Smruthi Radhakrishnan (Indian Railways)

Sonika Ohylan (Delhi)*

Head Coach: Pete Gaudet

Assistant Coach: Abdul Hamid Khan

Trainer: Gopika Vijay Kachare

Physiotherapist: Sudhir Singh Rathore

FIBA Referee: Ceciline Michael Vino Vincent Francis Victor

FIBA Referee: Somasundaramoortyh Shanmugasundaram

*Sonika was a late replacement for Raspreet Sidhu, who was excluded from the team due to injury.

Asha Hegde (Delhi) have been selected as stand-by and will remain in camp with the National team.

India have been placed in Level I of the Championship, along with champions China, hosts Japan, Korea, Chinese Taipei, and Lebanon. In Level II, the teams are Malaysia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, and Singapore.

Hosts Japan will take on newly promoted Lebanon on the first day of the competition on Aug 21 with defending champions China taking on last edition’s runners-up and archrivals Korea. Chinese Taipei meet India to complete the day once proceedings.

India’s Preliminary Round Schedule

21st Aug, 2011 (Sunday): India vs. Chinese Taipei

22nd Aug, 2011 (Monday): India vs. Korea

23rd Aug, 2011 (Tuesday): India vs. China

24th Aug, 2011 (Wednesday): India vs. Japan

25th Aug, 2011 (Thursday): India vs. Lebanon

The Semi-Finals of the tournament will be held on 27th Aug, 2011 (Saturday), and the Finals on 28th Aug, 2011 (Sunday). Click here for Complete Preliminary Round Schedule.

About 24th FIBA Asia Championship for Women

Omura, a castle town from where Catholic saint St. Marina de Omura hailed will play host to the 12 top women basketball teams in Asia from Aug 21-28, 2011. Six teams will form the Elite Level I, from where the champions will be decided.

The champions of the 24th FIBA Asia Championship for Women will earn an automatic entry to the 2012 London Olympics. The teams finishing second and third will earn the opportunity to represent FIBA Asia in the FIBA Olympic Qualifiers.

Six other teams will play in the Qualifying Level II with the top two attempting to earn promotion to next edition’s Level I.

India were the hosts of previous FIBA Asia Championship for Women, which was held in 2009 in Chennai and won by China.

Taiwan Women win William Jones Cup; India return with a 1-3 record

Hosts Taiwan had no trouble dominating the home court at the Taipei Gymnasium between July 31-August 4, as they posted a perfect 4-0 record to top the five-team table and win the William Jones Cup. With the FIBA Asia Championship for Women only a few weeks away, this tournament served as a good warm-up for the participating teams, including the Indian Women's contingent who played their first competitive international games under new head coach Pete Gaudet.

India may have returned with just one win out of four, but their performance in that single win against the Korea Samsung side, coupled with a few stretches of good basketball against tough opponents in the other games, may have left Coach Gaudet with signs of optimism for the team's future.

India played their first game of the tournament against Taiwan World University Games (WUG) side. The game immediately became a showcase of the skills of India's Center Geethu Anna Jose, who continued to cement her position as one of the best players in all of Asia. While India started the game confidently, and trailed by just 1 in the first period, Taiwan WUG put the clamps down defensively on India, in the second, outscoring them 18-6 in the second quarter to hold on to a 35-22 half-time lead. The game became looser in the second half as both sides found the basket easily.

Trailing by 17 at the end of the third period, India made a brave comeback in the fourth quarter, in which Jose scored 13 points, outscoring Taiwan WUG all by herself. It still wouldn’t be enough as Taiwan WUG survived to win 71-64 in the end.

Taiwan WUG were led by the duo of Xu Qianhui (17) and Zhen Huang (16). Geethu Anna Jose had a big game for India in a losing effort, scoring 34 points and grabbing 18 rebounds.

In their second game, India faced hosts Taiwan, who had little problem brushing past India for a 45 point victory behind strong performances by Liu Jun (19 points) and Jiang Fengjun (16). Taiwan started strong, holding on to an eight-point advantage at the end of the first quarter, after which the game continued to slip away from India's hands. India trailed by 19 at the end of the half, and a confident Taiwan turned on their defensive screws to limit India to just 19 points in the second half.

For India, Jose was once again the best player, leading her side with 17 points.

After losing their first two games, India faced Korea Samsung on Tuesday. A weak first quarter, in which India only managed to score 9 points, didn't help in their bid to overturn their losing streak, and India found themselves trailing 32-24 at halftime.

But it was an inspired third quarter, in which India outscored their opponents 24-9, that proved to be the difference in the game. Hot shooting Prashanti Singh (16 points) and Anitha (24) led the way for India, overturning the score to India's advantage. Korea's fourth quarter comeback ended short, and India survived for a four-point victory.

The final game was against Japan: After India scored the first few baskets of the game, Japan took over the game completely, scoring quickly and with ease, and headed to a 31-16 first quarter lead, which was stretched to 57-26 by the end of the first half. Japan played good unselfish basketball, as five of their players scored in double digits.

India's performance, like the previous game, improved in the second half of the game, and in the fourth quarter, India shot well from the three-point line to stay neck-to-neck with Japan. But the damage had already been done, and Japan headed towards a 98-62 win.

Geethu Anna Jose led India with 16 points.

Final Standings

1. Taiwan 4-0

2. Japan 3-1

3. Taiwan WUG 2-2

4. India 1-3

5. Korea Samsung 0-4

Of course, there is still a lot of work to be done by Gaudet's side: the side will immediately return to camp in Delhi, as they now have only a little more than two weeks before the big challenge: the 24th FIBA Asia Championship for Women at Omura & Nagasaki in Japan from August 21-28th. In addition to the 12 players who went for the William Jones Cup, stand-in players Asha Hegde and Sonika will also join them for the camp.

India have been placed in a group with China, Korea, Japan, Chinese Taipei, and Lebanon in 'Level 1' of the FIBA Women's ABC.

Indian Basketball’s All Star Weekend in be held in Mumbai on April 8-9

Get ready for Indian basketball’s brightest stars to shine together: For the second year, the top Men and Women players in India will descend to the Mastan YMCA in Mumbai to take part in Indian Basketball’s All Star Weekend - India All Star - on Friday 8th and Saturday 9th of April, 2011. Organised by Ibrahim Lakdawala of Lakdawala Developer PVT. LTD., the two day event will host skills competitions on April 8th and the Men and Women All Star Games on April 9th, featuring the most talented players in the country divided into East and West sides.

India’s most popular and exciting players, from all over the country, have been invited by the organisers for this landmark event, which will be an opportunity for Indian hoops aficionados to see their favourite players in action against each other. “We had organised the All Star Game on a small scale last year,” said Lakdawala, a former national-level player for the country, who has been the brainchild behind the project, “But this time, we will be hosting a much bigger event.”

The events on Friday will include a three-point shooting competition for Men & Women and a Slam Dunk Competition for Men. The All Star Games will be held on Saturday evening: the participants in the two games will be divided into East and West sides. The all stars will include top-level players such as Jagdeep Singh, Yadwinder Singh, Trideep Rai, Vishesh Bhriguvanshi, Geethu Anna Jose, Anitha Pau Durai, Prashanti Singh, and Akanksha Singh.

“It will be a fun festival of basketball,” said Salim Shaikh, the co-organiser of the event, “We hope that our players will enjoy participating against each other. There will be a lot of exciting prizes for all the players.

“In addition, we will have a lot of merchandise for the fans, including T-shirts featuring their favourite Indian players,” Shaikh added.

The All Star Game will also mark as a fitting prelude to the Ramu Memorial Basketball Tournament, set to tip off at the Indian Gymkhana Grounds in Matunga, Mumbai, from April 10-17.

Indian All Star Teams

WOMEN

East

Anitha Pau Durai (Tamil Nadu) - Captain
Seema Singh (Chhattisgarh)
Sonika Ohylan (Delhi)
Raspreet Sidhu (Delhi)
Bharti Netam (Chhattisgarh)
Asha Hegde (Delhi)
Pushma M. (Chhattisgarh)
Anju Lakra (Chhattisgarh)
Savihta C.S. (Karnataka)
Manisha Dange (Maharashtra)

West

Prashanti Singh (Delhi) - Captain
Geethu Anna Jose (Tamil Nadu)
Divya Singh (Delhi)
Akanksha Singh (Delhi)
Varsha Verma (Delhi)
Kokila (Tamil Nadu)
Aakansha Singh (Chhattisgarh)
Sonam (Karnataka)
Sagarika Shyam (Karnataka)
Smrithi (Maharashtra)

MEN

East

Yadwinder Singh (Railways) - Captain
Vishesh Bhriguvanshi (Railways)
Trideep Rai (ONGC)
Anoop (ONGC)
Jai Ram Jat (Services)
Harish Koroth (IOB)
Shanmugam Sridhar (ONGC)
Arvind (Railways)
Arjun Singh (Railways)
Ajay Pratap Singh (Chhattisgarh)
Amrit Pal Singh (Punjab)
Murali Krishna R. (ONGC)

West

Riyazuddin (ONGC) - Captain
Jagdeep Singh (Punjab)
Shabeer (ONGC)
Mihir Pandey (IOB)
Jasjot Singh (Railways)
Narender Kumar (Services)
Mohit Bhandari (ONGC)
Gagandeep Singh (Railways)
Bobby Singh (Uttar Pradesh)
Talwinderjit Singh Sahi (Punjab)
Jaskaran Singh / Amjyot Singh (Punjab) – not confirmed yet

Indian Women's Basketball: Dream Team

So it's Republic Day over in India, and as we celebrate our constitution, we must also note another important crucial topic - the improving status of the Indian Women's Basketball team. Yes, the Indian Eves have had trouble recently in major international competitions such as the 2010 Asian Games or the 2009 FIBA Asia Championships, they are still a steadily rising force, with confidence and popularity at an all time high.

Just like I did with the Indian Men's team last week, I've decided to come up with a 'Dream Team' of my favourite Indian Women's players. I've based this on the performances of the squad over the past year and of the best players in some major tournaments such as the Senior Nationals.

Indian eves struggle with one major hurdle - the lack of height. Legendary player Geethu Anna Jose is the only one in my squad over 6 feet, and making it a lineup where even the 'big' players are around the 5'8" range. But hey, we have to work with what we have, right? I've tried to provide as much balance in terms of size and experience/youth as possible. And please, don't even start with any regionalism North/South bullshit: this is the INDIA team as I see it, period.

So, once again, if I was coach of the Indian Women's Sr. National Team, this would be my squad:

My Indian Women's Dream Team

Starting Five
PG: Akanksha Singh
SG: Anitha Pau Durai
SF: Prashanti Singh
PF: Sneha Rajguru
C: Geethu Anna Jose (Captain)
Bench
Harjeet Kaur
Raspreet Sidhu
Bharti Netam
Pratima Singh
Jeena PS
Raj Priyadarshini
Kokila

Also would like to give Honorable Mention to stars such as Pushpa M, Smruthi Radhakrishnan, Kavitha, Sangeeta Kaur, and L. Suganya.

Over to you: if you were Indian Women's Coach, what would be your 12-man squad?

Geethu Anna Jose - "Every time I enter the court, I want to play the best game of my life"

It's the first quarter of the Women's Final of the National Championship, the biggest basketball competition in India. A large crowd has come this cold, January afternoon to watch the hosts Delhi taking on their arch-nemesis, Indian Railways in the Final. Railways has defeated Delhi in the final of the Nationals for eight straight years, and they again boast the tournament's most formidable team, going undefeated and beating their opponents by over 50 points in each game. But this Delhi squad is going to be tricky; backed by strong home support and featuring superstars such as Prashanti Singh, Akanksha Singh, Shiba Maggon, and Raspreet Sidhu, this was going to be no cakewalk.

But the star of the show as Railways' six-foot-two center, Geethu Anna Jose, attracting attention from fans and opponents alike. India's finest basketball player was aiming for her seventh consecutive national title; her first as team captain.

But the game wasn't turning out the way Geethu had imagined. "When I had gone out, I wanted to score 50," she admitted, "But I missed three easy shots in the first quarter and started feeling the pressure. People say that ‘Nobody in India can stop Geethu', but I wasn't living up to those expectations in the game. I was letting them down in the Final! I was embarrassed and just wanted to sit on the bench."

It was Geethu's Railways and India teammate, Anitha P., who finally got the superstar to relax at halftime. "She told me to approach the third quarter like the first, to start all over again. After that, I was able to realise my mistakes, start improving, and played a completely bindaas, cool game."

Those who don't deal with the heady expectations that Geethu Anna Jose has put on herself may not realise her context through just her words. She reached double digits even in that ‘embarrassing' first half. She finished with her personal tournament-high of 29 points by the end, playing ‘bindaas'. Railways routed Delhi by 40 points in the final, 95-55. The team won each game by an average of 55.9 points each. Their closest game was a 37 point semi-final victory over Chhattisgarh; their biggest win was against Punjab in the quarter-final, by 101 points. It was Railways' eight straight crown; Geethu's seventh.

"I was surprised that it was such a one-sided game in the end," she says, "I looked at the score-sheet later and was shocked to see that I was the top scorer!"

Seven straight victories, but somehow, Geethu still manages to stay motivated for the National Championships. "This is the toughest competition in India and the one I enjoy playing the most. Yes, we have been winning a lot, but this is one tournament with so much talent that I believe that anyone can defeat us if we don't play hard. The victory in the final felt sweet because Delhi was a talented team that had been playing very well. I was especially happy to see that all the players in our squad played well in this championship." Apart from Geethu, players like Anitha P., Anju Lakara, and Renjini Peter stepped up big time for the champions.

"There is no problem with motivation," Geethu adds, "I want to improve myself in every single game. Every time I step on the basketball court, I want it to be the best game of my life. I want to become a better scorer and a better player."

It is perhaps this hunger for improvement that has Geethu wishful for tougher competition. Standing taller than most other opponents she faces, she believes that better defenses will get the best out her. "I want to test myself against other big players to see if I can face that challenge. In Australia, I face tall girls all the time, but there are not too many other tall opponents in the basketball scene in India. I hope that players with good size can be developed in the next generation of Indian players."

There has been no bigger basketball player in India - in stature, and in the Women's division case, in size - than Geethu. Born in the city of Kottayam in Kerala, Geethu, still only 25, has already had a legendary career. She started playing basketball at age 11, idolising the former Indian captain Ivy Cherian as a youngster. After representing Kerala in her youth, she was brought in to play for Southern Railways. The high-point of her career came when she became the first Indian to play professional basketball in Australia - Geethu was picked by the Ringwood Hawks, a lower division team in the Australian WNBL (Women's National Basketball League). Her potential realised, Geethu dominated in Australia, even winning the Most Valuable Player award of the league in 2008.

But her time in Australia was no trade-off for success back home. Geethu led the Indian National Team to new highs in tournament's in Thailand, Vietnam, the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Australia, the 2009 FIBA Asia Women's Championship in Chennai, and the recently concluded Asian Games in China, where the Indian basketball team featured for the first time in 28 years. In a young, steadily improving team, Geethu emerged as undisputed leader, winning top scorer, top rebounder, top blocker, and most valuable player honours in many of the tournaments she took part in. She was named India's captain for the FIBA Asia Championship.

It was the Commonwealth Games experience in Australia when Geethu first faced her on-court idol, Lauren Jackson. Jackson, an Australian, is one of the best women players on the planet. India faced Australia in their very first game, which resulted in a massive loss for India. "Jackson is the best," Geethu gushes, "She scored 40 points in 20 minutes, and I became a fan ever since!"

Fast forward four years, and Geethu and the rest of the National squad faced their toughest challenge as they headed to China for the Asian Games in November. Led for the first time by an American coach - former WNBA player Tamika Raymond - India's inexperience proved to be their downfall. India played against Asia's finest, and the tournament's two best teams, in their first two games - China and South Korea - and were blown out by each one. Their confidence shattered, the team went on to lose their final game too, against a relatively easier Thailand squad. India made a big comeback against the Thais, but Geethu noted that their opponents' zone defense in the end exposed India's inconsistent outside shooting.

"We really have to improve our game in India," Geethu lamented, "Yes, we may not have height, but we must harness our speed and our shooting ability to get the best out of the team. Each time a player puts on an India jersey, they have to find out some way to improve themselves so that they can be responsible for representing India the right way."

Still, the future is bright for the game in India. The Basketball Federation of India (BFI) has received sponsorship from IMG-Reliance, who have been helping develop leagues and have handed a bonus honorarium payment to India's best players. Geethu and seven others were part of the top category of players handed this honorarium.

"Now that we're getting paid, there are no more excuses and no one to blame," she jokes, "We just have to perform now. India still has a long way to go - the youngsters need improved coaching and improved knowledge of the game's fundamentals. A foreign coach like Tamika cannot make miracles happen in three to six months, and a good team cannot be formed if the players aren't always playing together. We need consistent good coaching and we need team unity to improve. It's a long-term process."

From Shiba Maggon, the Singh Sisters, Geethu's Railways' teammate Anitha P., TN's Kokila, and Maharashtra bigs like Shireen, Geethu is optimistic of the talent in India - it is the experience of big games that she feels will bring out the best potential out of these players. "If we have more small international tournaments in India, inviting squads which are closer to us in quality, we will not only learn more from them but also generate a lot of hype amongst fans for basketball in India," she says.

But her personal ambitions are higher, and further. Currently mulling over another offer to go back to Australia to the Hawks, Geethu is holding back optimistically as she hopes to get a try-out with the WNBA, the world's finest Women's basketball league. "I don't know if I can make it, but I want to try. It will be a big step if an Indian can even get a trial with the WNBA."

Geethu doesn't mince words about her growing legend. She has been India's best-known name in basketball for the better half of the last decade, and has admitted that although the pressure sometimes gets to her, the fame certainly doesn't. "It was great being recognised in China and elsewhere as a well-known basketball player - that is the feeling that basketball players should receive in India too, because they're superstars in their own right."

"Like the National Championships, there are great expectations of me from both fans and opponents when I play, and I have to change my attitude to be able to deal with it," she confesses, "On the court, there are no friendships, no Didis - It's my game, I'm the killer on court."

So, can anyone in India stop Geethu Anna Jose? "Of course!" she laughs, "I can be stopped very easily." After a pause, she adds, "But I won't reveal how!"

BFI hands honorarium payment to players, coaches, and support staff for outstanding performance

Press Release: The Basketball Federation of India (BFI) had recently announced that an honorarium will be paid to basketball players who are part of the country’s national system. Recently, the BFI distributed cheques of honorarium paid to Indian Basketball Players, Coaches and Support Staff for their outstanding performance during the months from October to ending December, 2010. The first three months of honorarium has been paid to 65 players, 7 coaches, and 10 members of support staff.

List for Honorarium

Category A

Rs.30,000/- per month per head for their outstanding performance during the last three months i.e. October to December, 2010.

Men

Jagdeep Singh (Punjab)
Yadwinder Singh (Railways)
Trideep Rai (Uttarakhand)
Vishesh Bhriguvanshi (Railways)

Women

Geethu Anna Jose(Railways)
Anitha Pau Durai (Railways)
Prashanti Singh (Delhi)
Akanksha Singh (Delhi)

Category B

Rs.20,000/- per month per head for their outstanding performance during the last three months i.e. October to December, 2010.

Men

Dishant Shah (Gujurat)
Hareesh Karoth(Tamil Nadu)
Eudrick Preira (Kerala)
Jay Ram Jat (Services)
Dinesh C.V. (Tamil Nadu)
Arjun Singh (Railways)
Bobby Singh (U.P.)
Amjyot Singh (Punjab)

Women

Raspreet Sidhu (Delhi)
Sneha Rajguru (Maharashtra)
Bharti Netam (Indian Railways)
Pratima Singh (Delhi)
Harjeet Kaur (Delhi)
Raj Priyadarshini (Tamil Nadu)
Jeena P.S. (Kerala)
Kokila (Indian Railways)

Category C

Rs.10,000/- per month per head for their outstanding performance during the last three months i.e. October to December, 2010.

Men

Ajay Pratap Singh (Chattisgarh)
Sambaji Kadam (Services)
Harpal Singh (Gujurat)
Harinder Singh Rathore (Rajasthan)
Rakesh Kumar Yadav (U.P.)
Barnet Carmel Joseph(Tamil Nadu)
Rajan Sharma (Punjab)
Jaskaran Singh (Punjab)
Shadab Khan (Railways)
Sunny Raut (M.P.)
Anant Singh (Rajasthan)
Kirti Goswami (M.P.)
Sunil Kumar Rathee(Delhi)
Shyam Sunder (Chhattisgarh)
Lovneet Singh (Punjab)
Harman Deep (Punjab)
Karan Josua (Karnataka)
B. Dinesh (Chhattisgarh)
Abhishek Singh (U.P.)
Kushmeet Singh (Punjab)
Amrit Pal Singh (Punjab)
Komal Preet (Punjab)
Pal Preet (Punjab)
Manpreet (Punjab)

Women

Smruthi Radhakrishnan (Indian Railways)
Pushpa M. (Indian Railways)
Madhu (West Bengal )
Soniya Joy (Kerala)
Reshma G. (Indian Railways)
Kruthka Lakshaman (Karnataka)
Amruta Bhuskute (Maharashtra)
Kavitha (Chhattisgarh)
Aruna Kindo (Chhattisgarh)
Sangeetha Mandal (Chhattisgarh)
Sangeet Kaur (Chhattisgrah)
Preeti Kumari (U.P.)
L. Suganya (Tamil Nadu)
Navneeta, P.U. (Karnataka)
Ashika Kuruvila (Karnataka)
Anjana, P.G. (Kerala)
Sara Vohra (Maharasthra)

Coaches

Rs.30,000/- per month per head for their valuable services rendered during the last three months i.e. October to December, 2010.

Ram Kumar
Rajinder Singh
Sat Prakash Yadav
S.K. Bhaskar
Sheeba Maggon
Prasanna Menon
Abdul Hamid Khan

Support Staff

Rs.20,000/- per month per head for their valuable services rendered during the last three months i.e. October to December, 2010.

Sudhir Rathore
Kunjul Gada
Nilesh Shah
Rajeshwar Rao
P.J. Sabestian
Zareen Zaidi
V. Senthilselvan
R.S. Gaur
Divya Singh
Sridhar

Interview with Bill Harris and Tamika Raymond: head coaches of India’s basketball teams at the Asian Games

American basketball coaches Bill Harris and Tamika Raymond have accomplished several historical feats over the last few months alone. The two became the first American head coaches of the Indian Senior Men’s and Women’s national basketball teams respectively. They led the Indian team into their first appearance in the 2010 Asian Games basketball tournament in 28 years. Under Harris, the Men’s team also won their first ever basketball game at the Asian Games, beating Afghanistan 83-76 in their pre-qualifying match-up.

The contract for both the coaches expires at the end of the month, and both Harris and Raymond will be returning to the USA after bidding farewell to the teams. The two have been working with the teams since the end of September/beginning of October at the Senior camp in Chennai. The Men’s team played a friendly game against Hong Kong before heading off to Guangzhou, China, for the Asian Games. After beating Afghanistan, the Men lost all their five group games to Qatar, Chinese Taipei, Iran, Philippines, and Japan.

Men’s coach Harris has over 30 years of experience as a head coach in the game of basketball across several institutions in the US. His most-recent previous appointment was with Wheaton College (1991-2009), where he had tremendous success posting the highest career winning percentage as a head coach in the institution’s history.

Despite India’s poor final showing, Harris showed his optimism and excitement for the experienced gained by the players. “This tournament was an opportunity for the players to compete against the best countries in Asia. While training, the Indian players got a chance to push themselves further than ever before and get a glimpse of their full potential if they keep working harder at it.”

“I am very proud of our win against Afghanistan,” he added, “It will also be a memorable moment for the players and for me, especially considering that we were the lowest seed in the competition and were not expected to beat them after the two losses to Afghanistan earlier this year [at the South Asian Games]. The win gave us the opportunity to qualify for the group stage and compete against Asia’s best.”

Both the Indian teams were amongst the youngest squads in the tournament, and the Men’s team was led by captain Vishesh Bhriguvanshi, who just turned 20. They also lost valuable players such as Trideep Rai to injury for three games, and leading scorer Jagdeep Singh also missed the last match against Japan. Despite this, Harris was impressed by the character that the Young Cagers showed in China.

“We played a good game against Iran, who are one of the strongest teams in the world,” Harris said, “After a bad first half, we played Iran even in the second period and lost only by 15 points. Against Philippines, we had a good first half, and were down only by one point then before letting them take a big lead in the second. Against Japan too, without two important players, we were able to stick close for three quarters. In The Japan game we were able to call upon Dishant Shah, who is at junior level, to start the game and play big minutes, which was very impressive.”

Harris was known to command a lot of respect amongst the players and brought a disciplined approach to the team during training in Chennai. “I have been tough and demanding on them, but they know that I did this because I cared for their success. During the training, they began to see gradually that they can develop into great players.”

Now, at the end of his tenure, Harris is leaving behind personalised training regimes for each of the players so that can continue to put in work into their ability. His only concern is that now without him, the players must become self-motivated to follow the regimes.

Discussing the future of the Men’s team, Harris stressed that it is important for the players to continue to strive for betterment. “The BFI and the NBA have to figure out a way to make sure that the national players can stay together and play together. I feel that India needs to get 20 of its best players for the national team and then keep them together all year round to train together, improve their team chemistry, and grow as a team.”

Harris said that it was hard to leave behind the team, who had become like a family to him. He will now be returning to US, where he is still undecided about his future but is looking forward to spending some time with this family.

Under Tamika Raymond, the Women’s team played a few practice games against professional teams from China in Chennai before heading to Guangzhou. There, they lost all three of their group games to China, South Korea, and Thailand. Raymond is a former WNBA player and NCAA Division I Assistant Coach.

“Getting beat that badly definitely wasn’t fun, but the kids learning so much is something that I wouldn’t trade for the world,” Raymond said, “For India basketball, sending a team to this tournament has been a great foundation to build upon.”

Raymond’s team was tested by the best in Guangzhou. They played first two games against China and South Korea, who were the two finalists of the tournament. China is ranked 4th in the entire world and South Korea 8th. After two big losses, India played well against Thailand in the third game before losing out by eight points in the fourth quarter.

One of the stand-out players for Raymond was Anitha Pauldurai, who played the most minutes for the team and showed much needed leadership and experience. Raymond added that Anitha showed a “coach’s mentality”, which was rare.

Another player for whom Raymond reserved special praise was Indian basketball legend Geethu Anna Jose. “Geethu is a very talented player, and has a great future,” Raymond said, “Unfortunately I don’t think that she has been challenged enough in India. To improve, she needs to play against other great players.”

Raymond added that the team’s point guard Akanksha Singh was the squad’s most hard-working player, showing great confidence and persistence against all the competition. She also mentioned youngsters such as Pratima Singh, Raja Priyadarshini, Sneha Rajguru, and Rajpreet Sandhu, who stepped their game up in China to offer the coach a pleasant surprise.

Raymond feels that the next stage for India to improve the quality of its basketball players is to focus on their conditioning. “To be as good as the teams we face, we first have to look like them,” she said, “We have the length, but we need the right kind of weight room training, nutrition, built, and strength to try and look like other strong teams such as China or Korea.”

“It was surprising at times that some of the basic training techniques that we worked with that players learn at a much younger age in America were new to these girls, but they enjoyed all the weight room training work that we did, where we worked particularly on their agility and fitness.”

Another factor that Raymond believes that India needs work on is improving their basketball IQ and their will to win. “It is not just important to play the game but also to think it,” she said, “They shouldn’t just play basketball; they should want to play smart and want to win. They should want to be great.” The players had to learn many things to improve their basketball IQ, such as plays and important defensive concepts.

Finally, Raymond feels that there is a need for uniformity in the coaching process in India, and a need for the coaches to be trained better, so that in turn they can pass on valuable information to the young players. This process, she feels, must start at the Junior level so that the players are comfortable with the system by the time they reach the Senior National team.

“The next stage for India should be to reach out again and bring in more quality coaches for their teams,” Raymond suggested, “The team’s future will depend on how much time they can spend together and on their future coach. It is sad that when the players return they get separated and go back to represent their separate regions and teams, and the lower level of play can hurt their development. In other countries, the national team stays and trains together to improve.”

“The NBA and BFI have a wonderful arranged marriage, and basketball in India can only get better!”

Raymond can be seen on ESPN in America, where she will be a sideline reporter for Women’s basketball. She added that there is a chance that she will also work at a few WNBA games when the season begins.

The secretary-general of the BFI Harish Sharma was very satisfied with Harris’ and Raymond’s work in India. “The American coaches came from a background of great work culture in basketball,” Sharma said, “Both of them have done well to improve the standard of basketball in India. It was good to see that, under them, our national players brought a level of much-needed discipline to their game. They improve their shot selection, and their defense improved tremendously under both coaches.”

“We want to hire more foreign coaches to replace them and lead the Indian senior teams for the next two or three years.” Sharma added.

Troy Justice, the NBA’s Director of Basketball Operations in India, who helped the BFI in bringing Harris and Raymond to India, confirms that the NBA will once again to an extensive global search for future national coaches for the Indian squads. “We will be looking not just for good coaches, but for coaches who will be right for India and will be committed whole-heartedly to India,” Justice said.

Anitha P. Won't Back Down

The Delhi Commonwealth Games may have missed out on a basketball tournament, but four years ago, the competition took place at the Games in Melbourne. Back in March 2006, the Indian Women’s team were baptised by fire in their very first game, as they played in the preliminary round against Australia, the hosts and the strongest team in the world. Australia made full use of their squad’s experience at the international level, and boasted by Lauren Jackson, one of the greatest women players in the world, they made mincemeat of the Indian team. The Australians went on to clinch the gold medal at the competition.

But during that blowout victory, the Indian eves, however outmatched, showed their bravest face against the world’s best. Leading the squad was a confident 21-year-old youngster that dared to challenge the world’s best player in her own court. Lauren Jackson (6 foot 4 in) may have scored 41 easy points against India, but the young and undersized forward Anitha Pauldurai (5 foot 6 in) from the Indian side didn’t back down, playing a game-high 36 minutes and leading her team with 21 points.

Four years later, Anitha remembers that game against Jackson as one of the most memorable nights of her life. Considering the way this 25-year-old has evolved her game, she can be sure that there will many more nights like that to come.


Anitha, a resident of Chennai, started playing basketball at the age of 11, but admits that early on, she wasn’t a fan of the sport. “I used to like volleyball and athletics more,” she said, “But when I was in school, the basketball coach recommended that I try the game. The more I played, the more interested I became in the sport.”

As she kept improving and working her way up the ranks, Anitha was also lucky enough to be part of a family that supported her ambitions. Her father, a retired police head-constable, gave her the green light early to do ‘whatever she liked’, and Anitha didn’t look back. “I didn’t really have a role model in the game,” Anitha said, “I just love sport and love to play. I joined the game of basketball, got good coaching, and so I continued.”

After years of success, Anitha now finds herself as in integral part of the Indian Sr. Women’s Team that is heading to Guangzhou, China, to take part in the 2010 Asian Games. The team is being coached by the former WNBA player and American head coach Tamika Raymond, who has seen great potential in the Tamil Nadu girl.

Anitha’s unique skill-set ensures that she can become a devastating weapon for India. She plays the small forward position in the team, or the “three” – but has the ability to control the ball and play point guard as well. This ability to switch between positions, her skill to drive in and attack the basket, and her high shooting percentage, all add up to create a great all-round player.


The team has spent the past month working with Raymond in Chennai, and is now ready to head out to China for the Asian games, which are set to kick off on November 12th. “I’m very happy to have Coach Raymond working with us,” says Anitha. “Her coaching style is very different. We know we are many years behind the world’s best, so we’re working hard with her to catch up. Our practices have been shorter, but extremely intense.”

The Women’s team is still searching for an identity, but Anitha hopes that a few practice games before the real tournament kicks off will help each player understand their role. Anitha is already looking forward to the challenge that the Indians can pose. “We have some good players,” she said, “Geethu has the potential to be in the WNBA. The rest of the squad is a young, exciting team. What they lack in experience they make up by aggression!”

Anitha seems to be the perfect archetype of the aggressive, confident, young Indian player. Her favourite move, she says, is to slash and drive in to the basket, wading by two or three defensive players, and scoring. She dreams of looking opponents in the eye and driving to score past them.

Be it competition like China, Korea, and Thailand that the Indian Women’s team will face in Guangzhou, or Lauren Jackson, the world’s best, one thing is for sure: Anitha P. won’t back down!