Team India head to Hong Kong for 22nd Super Kung Sheung Cup

It's been a barren few months in Indian men's basketball, devoid of international action since the summer. India were knocked out in the first group stage of the 2019 FIBA World Cup Qualifiers, and, as a further insult, weren't supported by our own Olympic Association (IOA) to participate in the 2018 Asian Games. India's lack of success has been glaring for this period - and for much longer - as the team hasn't won a major international game for nearly two years.

This week, India finally has the opportunity to change some of those glaring statistics. Team India has headed to Hong Kong for the 22nd Best Mart 360 Super Kung Sheung Cup International Basketball Invitational Championship, set to be held from December 11-16 in HK's Queen Elizabeth Stadium in Wan Chai. This competition will be India's chance to improve on their previous showing at the Super Kung Sheung Cup, back in 2016, when they finished at a best-ever third place.

India will be without a handful of talented Punjabi bigs in this tournament. Amjyot Singh and Palpreet Singh Brar are still serving their year-long ban handed by the Basketball Federation of India (BFI), but if eligible, Amjyot would have still been unavailable as he continues his second season with the OKC Blue of the NBA G-League. Satnam Singh is playing his first season for the St. John's Edge of Canada's NBL. Amritpal Singh is recovering from an injury.

But there is indeed some good news. After a lengthy injury layover, India's top playmaker Vishesh Bhriguvanshi will return to the national team for this tournament. Much-hyped young star of the NBA Global Academy in Australia, Princepal Singh will make his senior team debut in Hong Kong. Other important players like guard Akilan Pari, athletic forward Sejin Matthew, and big man Arvind Arumugam (captain for this tournament) will also be a part of the squad. The team will be coached by Sat Prakash Yadav.

Team India Roster

• Jeevanatham Pandi
• Loveneet Singh Atwal
• Pratyanshu Tomar
• Vishesh Bhriguvanshi
• Jatin Shokhanda
• Princepal Singh
• Anil Kumar BK
• Sejin Matthew
• Arvind Kumar
• Akilan Pari
• Arvind Arumugam - captain
• Justin Joseph
• Head Coach: Sat Prakash Yadav
• Assistant Coach: Aman Sharma
• Manager: Shafiq Shaikh

India's Preliminary Round Schedule - All timings IST

• December 12 - HK Eastern Long Lions vs. India - 6:15 PM
• December 13 - India vs. Thailand - 1:30 PM

Two-time winners from the USA, the Southern California Fukienese Association (SCFA), are likely to be favourites for the tournament again. Hopefully India can snag a couple of morale-improving wins here and give the players much-needed international basketball exposure.

India lose to Syria and Jordan; finish 0-6 in First Round of 2019 FIBA World Cup Qualifiers

Two more games. Two more losses. And the end of India's short, ill-fated road to the Basketball World Cup.

Entering the third window of First Round 2019 FIBA World Cup Qualifiers with four losses out of four, India lost their last two games this week to Syria and Jordan away from home, dropping to 0-6 and crashing out before the next qualifying stage.

A depleted Indian squad were led to these final two games by Head Coach Sat Prakash Yadav, former NBA draft pick Satnam Singh, experienced forward Yadwinder Singh, and other auxiliary pieces like Akilan Pari and Arvind Arumugam. Several of India's best players including Amjyot Singh, Amritpal Singh, Vishesh Bhriguvanshi, Aravind Annadurai, and Palpreet Singh Brar missed the team due to injury or suspension.

After losing to Syria in Bengaluru 74-57 in an earlier window, India's game against the Syrians was a must-win on Thursday for a chance of survival. Although Syria held a comfortable lead early and were up by double digits until the third quarter, India made a bold comeback late into the game, coming within one point of the hosts. Alas, in the last few minutes, India's inexperience showed, and Syria were able to hold on to a 81-76 win. Abdulwahab Alhamwi led Syria with 19 while Michael Madanly added 18 in the win. For India, the top performer was Satnam Singh, who contributed 18 points in the losing effort.

Jordan had defeated India 102-88 in Bengaluru earlier. On Sunday, at their home court, they won in an even more convincing fashion. Led by Ahmad HA Al Dwairi's 21 points, Jordan ran to a 22 point lead at halftime and continued to pressure India to win 114-70 by the end of the contest. Arvind Arumugam (23) and youngster Justin Joseph (17) were the high scorers for India.

Jordan finished top of Group C, with Lebanon at second place, Syria at third, and India last. The top three teams from the group will qualify for the next round.

For India, the silver lining of these disappointing losses has been the international experience gained by the players. Satnam Singh was India's most important and consistent player, playing all six games and leading the squad in accumulated minutes played, points, and rebounds. A group of young players got their first international outing, but the team as a whole looked disorganised and disoriented.

Team India will head home now and prepare for their next major international competition - the 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia from mid-August. Hopefully, a few more of the important pieces can return to the squad, the decision to unfairly ban a couple more players can be overturned.

Hosts Vijaya Bank win 3rd Mulki Sunder Ram Shetty All India Basketball Tournament in Bengaluru

A tantalizing finale between two 'bankmen' settled the 3rd Mulki Sunder Ram Shetty All India Basketball Tournament, a prestigious, invitational club basketball meet, in Bengaluru on Sunday, October 23rd. The host team Vijaya Bank (Bengaluru), a young squad that grew up leaps and bounds as the tournament progressed, defeated Indian Bank (Chennai) 86-82 in a tightly-contested finale. The victory gave the hosts their first every victory in the third edition of this tournament.

Held at the Kanteerava Indoor Stadium in Bengaluru from October 19-23, 2016, the tournament marks the memory of the Late Mulki Sunder Ram Shetty, a longstanding former Chairman of Vijaya Bank, who was instrumental in the growth of the bank through the 60s and 70s. There were 7 teams in the fray in this tournament, divided into two Groups. The top two teams from each Group progressed to the semifinals followed by the finals. Several top Indian international players took part, both from the senior and junior teams.

Two of those rising young international talents made their mark in a memorable back-and-forth competition in the final, Vijaya Bank's Arvind Arumugam and Indian Bank's Hariram Ragupathy. Indian Bank held a slight advantage earlier in the game, as his team led 45-43 at halftime. But a crucial third-quarter run turned proceedings in Vijaya Bank's favour, who outscored their opponents 23-14 in the period to take a lead. Ragupathy (34) and A. Surya (20) led a comeback for Indian Bank, but they fell short as Vijaya Bank won the final 86-82. Arumugam finished the final with a cherry on top of his fantastic performances all tournament with a game-high 38.

Earlier in the day, during the third/fourth place clash, Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu (SDAT) from Chennai relied on 28 points by Justin to defeat Kochi's Customs and Central Excise, who were led by international talent Basil Philip (18).

For his dominant performances, the winning squad's star Arvind Arumugam was named the tournament's MVP. Guruprasad Nayak of President's 11 (Karnataka) was named the Most Promising Player of the tournament. Vijaya Bank’s MD and CEO Kishore Kumar Sansi was the chief guest for the finale and he distributed the team and individual trophies and cash prizes.

Final Standings

• 1. Vijaya Bank
• 2. Indian Bank
• 3. Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu

Karnataka Men's basketball team in Malaysia for 3rd Penang Chief Minister Cup

Karnataka State's Men's basketball team will represent India at the 3rd Penang Chief Minister Cup International Basketball Championship, set to be held from June 3-7 at the Han Chiang Indoor Stadium in Penang (Malaysia). The championship will feature six teams from six different Asian countries. Karnataka took part in this championship last year and finished fourth out of the six squads.

This year, the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) has ensured that Karnataka sends a power-packed squad, which includes international stars Arvind Arumugam and Rajesh Uppar from the state as well as two international players from Chennai - Aravind A and Akilan Pari - who were given permission to join Team Karnataka by the BFI.

The participating teams in the 3rd Penang Chief Minister Cup are:

• Malaysia Dragons (Malaysia)
• Zhejiang Golden Bulls (China)
• Chien Hsin University of Science & Technology (Chinese Taipei)
• Karnataka State (India)
• PEA Basketball Club (Thailand)
• Blackwater Elite (Philippines)

Penang Basketball Association president Ooi Khoon Yeong added that basketball clinics would be conducted at selected schools by foreign coaches to mark the tournament.

Karnataka's Coach G Dilip, who played for India's 1980 Olympics Basketball team, told to Ekalavyas that the team was ready to prove their credentials. "The boys have trained well and I am sure they will perform very well," he said.

Karnataka Roster for 3rd Penang Chief Minister Cup

• Arvind Arumugam (Vijaya Bank)
• Rajesh Uppar (Vijaya Bank)
• Roby Thomas (Vijaya Bank)
• Karthickeyan S (Vijaya Bank)
• Ganesh S Gowda (Forest Sports Board)
• Chethan Kumar (Beagles)
• Mufeez Ahmed (Sports Hostel, Bangalore)
• Abhishek (NGV)
• Shivaraj Kumar (IBBC)
• Prajwal Shetty (Beagles)
• Aravind A (IOB)
• Akilan Pari (Income Tax)
• Head Coach: G Dilip

India out in Quarter-Finals of 3x3 Premier. EXE World Games; CanadaPrime win gold

India's National 3x3 basketball Men's team representing the country at the 3x3 Premier.EXE World Games 2015 performed well at the group stage on the tournament's opening day (Saturday, October 24) but were ousted in the quarter-finals on the second and final day (Sunday, October 25) by Japan. Japan went on to eventually lose in the final on Sunday to Canada Prime.

Held in Chengdu, China, 12 club and national teams from around the world took part in the two-day tournament. India's four-member squad in this shortest format of the game featured national team breakthroughs Akilan Pari, Vinay Kaushik, Gurvinder Singh Gill, and Arvind Arumugam.

India were placed in Group C of the qualifying round with Korea Jeonju and Japan Dreams. India played well in both games on Saturday, beating Korea Jeonju 20-11 and then running past Japan Dreams 21-12 to top their group.

Now qualified for the knockout stage, India faced another Japanese opponent - this time Japan's national team - in the tournament's quarter-final. Japan raced ahead to a 21-13 win and thus halted India's progress.

Canada Prime beat Japan in the final to win the tournament. 

“Barring Akilan, we are new to this format but still performed very well," said Arumugam, "We are happy to have made it to the knockout stages in our first attempt. If we familiarise ourselves with this version of the game, I’m sure we can become one of the top teams in Asia,” 

"Personally, I have gained a lot in confidence and experience over the last two days, since 3x3 is a lot faster than traditional 5 on 5," said Gill.

India's campaign at 3x3 Premier.Exe World Games begins today

High off their 8th place finish from the recent FIBA Asia Championship - the best in 12 years - four key members from the Indian men’s basketball team are all set to return to China to participate in the 3x3 PREMIER.EXE World Games 2015.

The squad, comprising of Akilan Pari, Vinay Kaushik, Arvind Arumugam, and Gurvinder Singh Gill, flew out to Chengdu, China to take part in the tournament, which is set to be held on October 24-25 at Chengdu's Ito Yokado.

12 teams from across the globe are participating in this shortest format of competitive basketball, divided into four Pools of three teams each. India is the only team coming under a national team banner, while teams from hosts China, Japan, Korea, Canada, Greece and Slovenia are also taking part.

India is placed in Pool C alongside Korea Jeonju and Japan Dreams.

The tournament is structured in a preliminary league cum knockout format. The top two teams from each Pool qualify to the knockout stages. The winners and runners up will be awarded prize money of USD 5000 and 3000 respectively, while a supplementary prize will also be given to the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the tournament.

Team India: Akilan Pari, Vinay Kaushik, Arvind Arumugam, Gurvinder Singh Gill.

Participating Teams: 

Pool A: Greece Tigers, China Turn Up, Japan Stars

Pool B: Japan National Team, China 30+, Slovenia SportClub

Pool C: Korea Jeonju, Japan Dreams, India.

Pool D: China Dalishuishou, Korea Busan, Canada Prime

India’s preliminary round schedule for 24th Oct*

Game 1: vs Korea Jeonju, 2:28 pm IST [4:58 pm local time]

Game 2: vs Japan Dreams, 4:25 pm IST [6:45 pm local time]

*Knockout rounds will be played on 25th Oct.