FIBA Asia Cup 2021 Draw completed in Bengaluru - with a visit from NBA Hall of Famer Yao Ming

The Asian basketball world descended to Bengaluru - the new hoops capital of India - on Saturday, for the group stage draws of the FIBA Asia Cup 2021. India were of course one of the teams drawn into the qualifying draw. A number of great Asian basketball players were present for this event, including Basketball Hall of Famer Yao Ming, who made his third visit to India.

India were drawn in Group D alongside Bahrain, Lebanon, and Iraq.

2021 FIBA Asia Cup Qualifier Groups

• Group A: Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Korea.
• Group B: Chinese Taipei, Japan, Malaysia, China.
• Group C: Australia, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Guam.
• Group D: Bahrain, Lebanon, India, Iraq.
• Group E: Saudi Arabia, Syria, Qatar, Iran.
• Group F: Jordan, Kazakhstan, Sri Lanka, Palestine.

India will play each of the three teams in its group on a home and away basis over three qualifying windows - November 2019, February 2020, and November 2020. At the end of the three windows, the top two teams from each group directly qualify for the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup. The six third-placed teams qualify to participate in a final qualifier tournament in February 2021. The top four teams from that tournament will join the earlier 12 to complete the list of participating nations for the tournament.

Yao Ming, who was the star of China's basketball team, the Houston Rockets in the NBA, the Shanghai Sharks, and is now the chairman of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA), made his third visit to India as one of the dignitaries at the draft. Yao had earlier come to Kolkata in 1998 to represent China at the FIBA Asia U18 Championship. Two years ago, he visited Bengaluru for the FIBA Asia Women's Championship.

Also present at the draw ceremony at the Shangri-La Hotel in Bengaluru: Former Philippines star player Jimmy Alapag, Japanese women’s professional player Asami Yoshida, FIBA President Horacio Muratore, FIBA Secretary General Andreas Zagklis, FIBA Asia President Sheikh Saud, Basketball Federation of India (BFI) President K. Govindraj, and Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Vala.

In August 2017, Australia become FIBA Asia Cup champions in Lebanon, while a disappointing Team India were ousted in the First Round.

The General Assembly of FIBA's member federations was also held in Bengaluru on Sunday. Sheikh Saud Ali Al Thani was re-elected as President of FIBA Asia. India's BFI president Govindraj is the SABA (South Asian) sub-zone representative.

Naturalization in Basketball: Is India getting left behind?

Indian basketball is on a steady rise. The national team scored a tiny improvement - from 14th to 11th at the recent FIBA Asia Championship and there is cautious optimism about the young crop of talents that could help raise the level of the game in the future.

But there seems to be one major issue troubling Team India: all players in the Indian national team are Indians.

Don't be confounded. India is amongst the very small handful of regulars competing for Asia's most prestigious basketball trophy that doesn't have a single foreign naturalized player on their roster. At the FIBA Asia Championship in Manila, Philippines in August, Indian defense stumbled against names like Jerry Johnson of Kazakhstan, Gregory Stevenson (aka Moon Tae-Young) of Korea, JR Henderson (aka JR Sakuragi) of Japan, and CJ Giles of Bahrain.

FIBA rules allow every team to have only one naturalized foreign player on their roster, if the player had been naturalized after the age of 16. Once a player plays for a country in an official FIBA competition after the age of 18, he or she cannot play for anyone else.

This ruling has given the opportunity to several talented, mostly American players, who struggle to find roster slots in the NBA (much less have a shot at USA's stacked national team) to make their senior international debuts with foreign squads. From research done by HoopsHype, when all Men's FIBA competitions in advance of next year's World Cup come to an end in September, 66 players born in the United States could have potentially represented 37 different countries.

In the past, the USA have also boasted of several high-profile cases of naturalized foreign players that boosted their national team. Legends like Patrick Ewing (Jamaica), Hakeem Olajuwon (Nigeria), and Tim Duncan (US Virgin Islands) all naturalized to play for America. Young All Star Kyrie Irving has dual citizenship of Australia and USA, and has already made it clear that when his number is called, he will be playing for the latter.

There are several high-profile cases of naturalized players in Europe, too. One of the most famous is American turned Russian JR Holden. Holden may have never played in the NBA, but the 37-year old enjoyed a legendary career in the European leagues. He was awarded Russian citizenship by Vladimir Putin in 2003, led Russia to the gold medal at the 2007 EuroBasket, and was part of Russia's 2008 Olympic squad, too.

Congo's Serge Ibaka was granted Spanish citizenship in 2011 after living in Spain for a few years, and is now part of their stacked frontcourt. American Chris Kaman acquired German citizenship in 2008, since his great-grandparents were German, and has represented the German national team since the 2008 Olympics.

Closer to home in Asia, the plethora of naturalized stars playing for the various national teams became a key factor in the FIBA Asia meet. Most teams have one, and it's always an interesting story. Former UCLA forward JR Henderson played professionally in Japan since 2001 and applied for Japanese citizenship in 2007. To comply with Japanese naturalization requirements, Sakuragi taught himself to read, speak and write Japanese at a "rudimentary level". He chose the name 'Sakuragi' which translates to 'cherry blossom tree', but is also the name of a character on the popular Japanese manga series Slam Dunk.

At the FIBA Championship, the Philippines featured big man Marcus Douthit, Jordan had Jimmy Baxter, Chinese Taipei fielded Quincy Davis, Lebanon featured Loren Woods, Kazakhstan had Jerry Johnson, and Korea gave the slot to Korean-American Gregory Stevenson, who became Moon Tae-Young. CJ Giles played professionally in the Philippines, Lebanon, and Iraq, before finally settling in with Bahrain and joining their national squad. Former NBA journeyman Jarvis Hayes finds himself a citizen of Qatar, and has become one of the stars of their national team. Qatar have faced controversies in naturalization before: At the 2011 FIBA Asia Championship, they were disqualified from the tournament when five of their players were found ineligible without proper citizenship documentation.

Then there are some high-profile cases from the weirder side of things. Word is that Knicks F/C Amar'e Stoudemire, who has Hebrew roots from the mother's side of his family, is applying for Israeli citizenship and has been invited to play for their national team by President Simone Peres. Stoudemire is currently a part-owner of Israeli pro club Hapoel Jerusalem. Meanwhile, basketball's greatest underdog-turned-star, Jeremy Lin, sparked interest by both Chinese Taipei (where his parents are from) and China (where his grandparents are from). He was offered Taiwanese citizenship to play for the national squad. But if he does so, unlike the other countries mentioned above, he would have to first renounce his current, American citizenship, and then re-apply for it again. For now, the 25-year-old seems to have not given up on the American dream.

There are some significant exceptions to the trend. Two of the best teams in Asia: Iran (the winners of the 2013 FIBA Asia Championship) and China haven't needed naturalized talents to dominate basketball in the continent. China have a long history of basketball fanaticism and are always able to find decent talents amongst their 1.4 billion population. Iran have won the FIBA ABC three out of the last four times, and are riding high in the era of dominating big man Hamed Hadaddi. Without naturalization, both these countries have shown ways of remaining relevant and successful in Asian hoops.

Which brings us back around to good ol' Hindustan, the other naysayer refusing to take advantage of FIBA's naturalization rule. Like Taiwan, to become an Indian citizen, one has to surrender their foreign passport, but unlike Taiwan, one cannot apply for it again. India doesn't allow dual-citizenship. The rules for becoming an Indian citizen state that the foreigner must either have Indian descent, or if they don't, marry an Indian, and/or reside in India for about a dozen years. For those that don't wish to give up their foreign passports, the best that they can hope for is to become an Overseas Citizen of India (OCI), but it means that they cannot vote, run for office, and will not receive an Indian Passport. And - and here is the part that concerns us - they can't represent Indian national teams in any sports.

Over the years, a number of extremely talented Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) have expressed an interest and desire to return to India and get a shot at the national team. These include former Canadian College player of the year Inderbir Gill, former Houston-Baptist player Timir Patel, and Australian-Israeli-Indian player (and former NBA India employee) Eban Hyams.

There are a whole host of Indian-origin players - past and present - who have played NCAA Division 1 basketball. If they weren't asked to surrender their US or Canadian passports, there would be no doubt that a handful of them would love to continue their basketball journey in India and help the national team against Asia's finest.

Scott Flemming, the American Head Coach of India's national Men's squad who had the front row seat as India played against other Asians (and naturalized Asians) at the FIBA Championship, seems to think so too. In a recent interview, he is quoted to have said, "On the international level, if the Indian government would loosen the rules allowing top players of Indian descent that do not have a passport to participate in our national teams, we could be much more competitive. I witnessed the majority of the other countries allowing such players to participate on their teams at the Asia Basketball Championship. In addition to that, most of them had “naturalized” players who were primarily from the United States. Right now, this causes a significant disadvantage."

So is India clearly getting left behind, or is there a long-term advantage in importing foreigners into the Indian roster?

If there is one major drawback to the naturalization trend, it is that in many cases, the talented foreign (mostly American) players become more than the system itself. They are expected to produce big numbers and dominate on both ends of the floor. Their presence might win, say, two more games at a FIBA Asia tournament, but in the process, they can hinder the development of the domestic talent. It is a delicate balance in finding an NRI - or other - to play for India; he may help the progress of the team, but in the process, he may hurt the progress of his teammates. Having a professional-quality player can bring positive energy into practice and help raise the training and preparation of Indian teams to international standards, but isn't that what a foreign coach is already there for?

The slow progress of basketball in India is definitely a concern. Fans have waited long enough for local talent to develop (without outside boosts), and yet, that talent continues to produce similar results in international tournaments. Without that outside boost, we may never see a stark improvement. Or maybe the answer lies in finally launching a domestic basketball league that will help young Indians see a clear future in basketball, bring more professionalism in the sport, and help Indian scouts find and train players and take advantage of the billion-plus population the same way that China has.

For now, the debate rages on. This is a government matter, beyond just the world of sport, and it seems unlikely anytime soon that India will allow dual-citizenship the same way that other nations do. Until that day, we have to wait for home-grown talent to keep progressing, and maybe in the process, we will finally find a diamond or two in the massive Indian haystack.

"We had different players step up in every game," India's Coach Scott Flemming looks back at the FIBA Asia Championship

Nearly a month ago, India's Men's national basketball squad headed to Manila in the Philippines to take part in the 27th FIBA Asia Basketball Championship. Scott Flemming, who had formerly been a coach with the NBDL side Texas Legends, was named India's coach a year ago, and the FIBA ABC was his biggest international challenge yet.

After India finished a disappointing 14th at the FIBA ABC in Wuhan, Flemming was able to lead them to some improved performances in Manila. India lost their first game in an overtime heart-breaker to Bahrain even after holding a comfortable lead in the game's last minute. They bounced back with an impressive win over Bahrain, before losing to Kazakhstan in their final Preliminary Round Game. India were able to qualify for the second round where they played some of the best team's in the tournament, losing in all three games to Iran, China, or Korea. They weren't able to qualify for the Quarter-Finals, so next India played Japan in the 9-12th place game and lost despite holding a big first half lead. India were able to earn some revenge to Bahrain in the tournament's final game by defeating them in the 11-12the place matchup.

You can read my full India-centric review of the tournament here, where Iran won by defeating hosts Philippines in the Final, while India finished 11th with a 2-6 record.

To look back at the team's performances, I was able to get to get in touch with Coach Scott Flemming for a short interview. Coach Flemming spoke about India's evolving performances against tougher Asian competition, the individual performances of several Indian players, and on the improvements the team needs to make looking ahead to the future.

Hoopistani: What goals did you set out for the Indian squad before the tournament? Did you feel that the team was able to achieve those goals?

Flemming: Because of our past performances and the fact I had never participated in the ABC’s before it was a challenge to set specific goals on what place we were aiming for. We broke our goals into stages. Our first goal was win in the first round and move to the second round. The next goal, seeing the strength of the teams in the second round was play at our highest level to give us a chance at an upset. Our main goal was to reach our full potential. Of course we always play to win every game even when the odds are against us.

Hoopistani: What aspects in particular did you see improvements in the squad through the course of the tournament?

Flemming: I felt like the flow of our half court offense improved in the later games of the tournament. We also did a better job on the defensive boards. The third area we improved in was attacking the basket and not settling for jump shots.

Hoopistani: We had a great opportunity to win two games (versus Bahrain in the Preliminary Round and against Japan) which we gave away in the game's last minutes. In many cases, the team's shooting suffered as the opposition made comebacks and turnovers increased. What do you feel were the reasons for the team's nervy finishes?

Flemming: In the first Bahrain game everything that could go wrong did in that last minute of play. Some things we controlled and some things we didn't. We made several mental mistakes and missed some free throws. They also made a couple of tough shots and there were a few calls that could have gone our way. We were in a similar position in the second game [against Thailand] and sealed the victory easily. As painful as that first loss was we did learn some lessons. In the Japan game we outplayed a superior team for most of the game. It really was a shame we couldn’t finish them off. Foul trouble really hurt us at the end and I will give them credit for making some big shots when they needed to. We have to continue to learn to be better finishers.

Hoopistani: Which players surprised you most with their performance in the Philippines?

Flemming: I think we had different players step up in all of the games. Obviously there were up and down performances of most of our players but I believe all of them made a positive impact at different points of the tournament.

Hoopistani: In which game do you think the squad played it's best game - or was there a stretch when you felt that all your work with the team perfectly came together?

Flemming: Overall I think we played our best game against a very good Japan team. Again, it is a shame we were not able to finish strong. We led for 37 minutes. Unfortunately it is 40 minute game. We need to continue to have a goal of sustaining our play for 40 minutes or longer.

Hoopistani: How would you rate Vishesh Bhriguvanshi's performance as one of the team's most experienced players and captain of India?

Flemming: Vishesh is a very good player and a strong leader. He had some real bright spots in the tournament. Unfortunately, we had to play him out of position at times at the point guard spot. He is more comfortable as a wing. He is always a key player for our success.

Hoopistani: Narender Grewal started of the tournament on a hot shooting streak but slowed down as the championship progressed. Do you think he can continue to a reliable scoring threat for the team in the future?

Flemming: Narender had several outstanding games earlier in the tournament. We had some other players step up later in the tournament that took away some of his minutes. He has a scorers mentality and he will continue to fill that role for our team.

Hoopistani: How did you feel about the performance of the big players - particularly Amjyot Singh who dominated the boards?

Flemming: Amjyot continues to improve. He has such a high upside. I don’t think he knows how good he can be. He was the best player on the floor at times during the tournament. I thought Rikin [Pethani] was one of most consistent players during the ABC’s. He played very well going head to head against some outstanding big men. Amrit Pal [Singh] has some good flashes but he struggled with being in foul trouble. I have no doubt that he will learn from this a come back strong.

Hoopistani: Satnam Singh Bhamara didn't seem to have enough time to find his comfort zone in Manila. Were his limited minutes based on the improved performances of other bigs or were you intentionally looking to regulate his role with the team?

Flemming: Satnam joined us late in our training but I believe he had some real positive minutes throughout the tournament. He is still a young player that is developing. I think his future is very bright.

Hoopistani: We improved from 14th place in 2011 to 11th place this year. How happy were you about the squad's overall performances in Manila?

Flemming: I would say that all of us our encouraged by our improvement but we are not satisfied with our finish. That is a good thing. We need to continue to work hard to take that next step.

Hoopistani: Looking ahead: what gaps do we need to fill to continue improving for the future?

Flemming: In looking at our competition there are a couple of gaps that we need to fill. We are really playing without a true point guard. Joginder [Singh] and Vishesh are very good players but they are both more suited to be shooting guards. Sambhaji [Kadam] is really the only true point guard we have and as you know he got injured in the second game. We also need to improve our perimeter shooting. Many of the teams had 4 or 5 players that were consistent 3 point shooting threats. Although we will continue to drill our senior players these are areas that we need to focus on in developing our younger players. We need to increase our overall team quickness on both ends as well.

Hoopistani: You have spent a lot of time around India already in camps with young Indian talent. Are there any players who you feel could soon be ready to make the breakthrough to the senior squad?

Flemming: There are a few younger players that could make that jump but I need to see how they develop over the next year.

Hoopistani: After almost a year here, how are you feeling about the future of Indian basketball?

Flemming: There are some things we can control and other things that are out of our hands. At the ABC’s I was educated to how most of the Asian countries supplement there teams to reach a high level of competitiveness. All but two of the teams have a “naturalized” player that is usually a big man or point guard from the U.S. In addition to that, some of the teams have players from the U.S. that are of the same decent of their respective country they are playing for even though they are not citizens. In most cases these are their best players. At the present time, our regulations do not allow us to take advantage of either of these opportunities. The things we can control is to continue to develop our players from our U14’s (and even younger) to our seniors. This includes more time for player development training and strength and conditioning. We also need to train consistently at high quality facilities and we need to play more exhibition games against strong teams prior to the FIBA events. While I am here I will do my very best to raise the standard of our play. I appreciate all the hard work the players and the other coaches have put in. It will take a team effort to keep moving in the right direction.

Hadaddi leads Iran to 2013 FIBA Asia Basketball Gold; India finish 11th

From improbable comebacks to shocking upsets, the basketball-manic home crowd at Manila, Philippines, played host to the most unpredictable FIBA Asia Basketball tournament in recent memory. Backed by the fervent home support, the Philippines even marched its way to the Final of the tournament on Sunday, August 12. But Asia’s premier basketball competition finally ended with the most deserving and finest squad – Iran – walking home with their third gold medal.

Iran were undefeated through the course of the 2013 FIBA Asia Championship, running through all their opponents in the first two rounds before an easy sweep of Jordan and Chinese Taipei in the knockout stages to set up the finale against the Philippines. The motivated hosts – playing in their first gold medal game in 27 years – gave Iran their toughest fight yet. Iran held on to just a one point lead at halftime, but began to steadily pull away in the second period. A dominant second half by Hamed Hadaddi helped Iran clinch an 85-71 victory and make it three gold medals in the past four iterations of the championship.

Hadaddi – who last played for the Phoenix Suns in the NBA – scored 18 of his game-high 29 points to go with 16 rebounds to lead Iran and also secure his own third MVP award at the FIBA Asia Championship. The 7-2 Center led the tournament in points (18.8 ppg) and rebounds (10 rpg). Samad Nikkah Bahrami added 19 points for Iran. The Philippines were led in the final by point guard Jayson William, who had 18 points in the loss.

With the Finals’ appearance, both Iran and Philippines automatically qualified for the FIBA Basketball World Cup to be held in Spain next year.

Earlier on Sunday, the competition’s unlikely Cinderella team, Chinese Taipei, faced off against Korea in the bronze medal game. The game was crucial to determine the third team from Asia to play in the 2014 World Cup. Korea started the game in dominant fashion, taking a 29-13 first quarter lead, en route to an easy 75-67 victory. Min Goo Kim had 21 points for Korea off the bench.

On Saturday, the Philippines defeated Korea in a highly-entertaining semi-final clash 86-79 behind 17 points by Jayson William and 16 by Jean Marc Pingris. Korea’s Min Goo Kim was again on fire, scoring 27 points in the loss. After surprisingly trailing by nine in the first quarter, Iran came back strong to win their semi-final clash 79-60 against Chinese Taipei behind big performances by Mahdi Kamrany (19) and Hadaddi (17 points, 14 rebounds). Naturalized American player Quincy Davis had 16 points for Chinese Taipei.

Taipei’s run to fourth place was highlighted by a memorable win over ‘big brother’ China, their first ever victory over the Asian powerhouses. China – winners of 15 gold medals at the FIBA ABCs and holding champions – surprisingly struggled throughout the tournament in Manila, finishing third in their group and showing signs of weaknesses despite boasting of former NBA player Yi Jianlian. In the Quarter-Final clash between China and Chinese Taipei, the former held an 17-point first half lead, only to see it stolen away as Taipei came back to win by 18!

The tournament was also a breathtaking roller-coaster for India, who arrived as one of the minnows after a 14th place finish back in 2011. Led by new head coach Scott Flemming, India were placed in a relatively easier group with Kazakhstan, Bahrain, and Thailand. Flemming aimed to make it to the Second Round and then home for miracles ahead, and needing only one win in the Preliminary Stage, this aim seemed achievable.

India faced Bahrain in the first game, and were looking completely in-charge of matters as they came back from an early deficit to hold a seven point lead in the game’s final minute. That is when Bahrain rallied back to shock the Indians and tie the game at 70-70 with the aid of some squandered chances by India and big shots on the other end. The game went into overtime, and Bahrain took full opportunity of this second life to inch to a 82-80 victory. Mohamed Kawaid had 25 points for the winning side. Narender Grewal scored 25 and Amjyot Singh had 16 points to go with 14 rebounds for India.

Luckily, there was no hangover the very next day for the Indians as they started strong against Thailand and blew them out early for an impressive 89-65 win. Grewal continued his hot streak to lead all scorers with 24. India's captain Vishesh Bhriguvanshi added 20 points to go with eight rebounds. This game was significant because it became the first ever Indian basketball game - domestic or international - to be shown live on cable TV in India. Neo Prime continued to show other games from the tournament via FIBA TV broadcast live in India from here forth.

Kazakhstan - the group leaders - were up next for India, and Flemming's young side were unfazed for one half against the bigger Kazakhi side. But the efforts of Mikhail Yevstigneyev (21) and Jerri Jonson (16) led Kazakshtan to completely dominate the third quarter. A fourth quarter comeback seemed out of reach and India lost the game 80-67. Bhriguvanshi scored 19 points.

India were thus in the Second Round, carrying on their standings from the first and readying to face some Asian powerhouses. First up were eventual winners Iran, who showed no mercy in handing India their worst loss of the competition, 102-58. Hamed Afagh scored 16 to lead Iran's balanced attack.

Next up to demolish the Indian side were China. Playing extremely stingy defense, China held India to their worst offensive performance as they won the game 79-45. India were just 1-11 from three-point distance. Young Chinese prodigy Wang Zhelin had 18 points and nine rebounds while Ailin Guo added 16 off the bench. India's only double-digit scorer was young big man Amjyot Singh, with 16.

Another slaughter followed the very next day, as Korea used a balanced, efficient attack to defeat India 95-54. Pratham Singh had 18 points off the bench for India.

Out of the knockout stages, India had to settle for the 9-12 place matches. They seemed to be revitalized and primed for an upset over Japan, leading 25-16 after the first quarter and 41-29 at halftime. But Japan turned the tables around in the second half, and - just like in their loss to Bahrain - India once again managed to let a victory slip away between their fingers. Japan took their first lead with three minutes left and then never looked back. Reckless turnovers by India and Japan's dominance on the boards led to a 73-64 Japan win.

India's last game of the tournament - to determine 11th place - was against the team they had played and lost to in their very first game: Bahrain. It was India's opportunity for vengeance and to end the tournament on a positive note. They didn't disappoint: after leading by just two points at the end of three quarters, India finally found the confidence to close out a game and win 75-65. Bhriguvanshi led India with 19 points and seven rebounds while Pratham Singh scored 16.

India thus finished the tournament with a 2-6 record and at 11th place, an improvement on the 14th place finish from the 2011 championship in Wuhan (China).

Still, despite the improved performances, most Indian fans will believe that the team could've - and should've - done much better. Despite being the better team on the floor for most of the duration, India lost two games - against Bahrain in the Preliminary Round and against Japan in the 9-12 place game - through pure carelessness and a lack of nerves. Coach Flemming has indeed been a calm and collected presence on the bench for India and helped them improve both their ball-movement and defensive effort, but the squad still has a long way to go. We could attribute some of India's deficiencies to inexperience: apart from Bhriguvanshi, most of the major minutes were played by younger and newer talent to the team, like streaky shooter Grewal, guard Joginder Singh, and the big man combo of Amjyot Singh and Amrit Pal Singh. Most of India's bigs are still in their early 20s (or younger) and this experience will aid them as they improve both mentally and physically in coming years. Flemming has helped the team take a baby step forward at least, and we hope that he is around providing some continuity (as he promised) to oversee more improvements in the future.

Bhriguvanshi, who had a nightmare tournament two years ago, somewhat redeemed himself in Philippines as India's best player, leading the squad in scoring (13.1 ppg) and also adding 5.9 rebounds per game. Narender Grewal cooled down after a hot start to average 11 points per game while a major breakthrough was made by Amjyot Singh, who led the team in rebounds (6.9 rpg) while also scoring 9.6 points per contest. Surprisingly, India's teenage 7-2 phenom Satnam Singh Bhamara didn't get many opportunities to showcase his developing skills. Bhamara was mostly a bench-warmer at the tournament and was only given a chance to play in blowout situations. Still, the youngster has already played in two senior FIBA Asia championships before touching 18, and we hope that the experience goes a long way to prepare him as a potential future star for the squad.

On another note, the tournament marked an important breakthrough, as it was the first time that women referees were chosen to officiate in FIBA Asia Men's games. The two referees chosen were India's very own Snehal Bendke and China's Li Peng. 

Final Standings

1. Iran
2. Philippines
3. Korea
4. Chinese Taipei
5. China

All Tournament Team

Jayson William - Philippines
Min Goo Kim - Korea
Lin Chih-chieh - Chinese Taipei
Oshin Sahakian - Iran
Hamed Hadaddi - Iran - MVP

Preview: India, Rebooted, head to Manila for the 27th FIBA Asia Basketball Championship

The team is set. The players are ready, practiced, and confident. And the coach has given them all his preperatory wisdom over the last few months as possible. For India's National Basketball Team, the 'Road to Manila' for the 2013 FIBA Asia Basketball Championship in the Philippines has concluded. And now, the continent's most prestigious basketball challenge awaits them ahead.

But before we look ahead, we should look back a little. There was a lot of optimism around Indian Basketball in 2011. The team was heading to Wuhan, China, for the 26th FIBA Asia Championship with a former NBA Coach Kenny Natt at the helm. They were packed with the perfect balance of youth and experience and loaded with some good young bigs. They had practiced hard and raised expectations. After finishing in the bottom half of the table year after year, there was some hope that this team could break into the top eight. They dominated the qualifiers and looked ready to make an upset or two.

Instead, the Wuhan 2011 campaign was an unfortunate failure. India returned from the tournament without a single win on the court, and earned a ‘victory’ only in the record books after Qatar was forced to forfeit their classification round game. India’s 1-4 record landed them at 14th place (out of 16 in Asia), and the Natt experiment saw their standing fall below even their previous finishes.

The rise of Indian Basketball took an abrupt pause soon after. The federation's head honcho Harish Sharma tragically passed away in early 2012 and Kenny Natt's sojourn with India ended earlier than expected, fizzling out a period of great promise and potential.

Two years after Wuhan, India's Basketball squad will get another shot at Asia's finest tournament, and this time around, the expectations have been curbed to allow a new rebooted generation of players and coaches to take some baby steps back into the path of improvement.

Formerly a head coach with NBDL side Texas Legends, Scott Flemming was appointment the Head Coaching position with India's Senior Men's squad late last year and has brought back some cautious optimism with a remodeled and younger Indian team. Flemming, who has promised to focus on bringing consistency and continuity to Indian Basketball, will face his biggest challenge starting on August 1, in India's first game against Bahrain. And expect the challenges to keep getting bigger from there on forth.

This will be India's 22nd appearance in the FIBA ABC, but their finest days - two fourth-place finishes back in the mid-60s and mid 70s - are decades behind them. India qualified for the tournament this year easily by winning the SABA (South Asian Basketball Association) Zone Qualifiers in New Delhi in early June against Afghanistan and Nepal. India's preperation for the FIBA ABC also took them to Turkey for the past 10 days, where they played against four clubs from the nearby region and won each game by impressive blowouts. Owing to the weak stature of their opponents so far, the team has looked dominant and been undefeated in the Flemming era.

Expect that to change against the big boys in Asia in the Philippines.

India have been drawn in the relatively easy Group D at Manila 2013, against Bahrain, Thailand, and Kazakhstan. Going strictly by the FIBA rankings, the only team 'better' than India in the group are Kazakhstan, by just one spot. If focused, India should not have any trouble against Bahrain and Thailand, and if truly ambitious, can dream of defeating the athletic Kazakhs, too.

The top three teams from the Group will move on to the Second Round Group F, where they will join the top three teams from the powerhouse Group C, which are most likely to be China, Korea, and Iran (Group C has Malaysia, too). If India make it to Group F, they will play their next three games against these three teams, and their accumulated points from the previous two rounds (or six games) will determine their standings for the Quarter-Finals of the event.

India hasn't made it to the top eight of the FIBA ABC since 2003, and have finished 12th, 15th, 13th, and 14th in subsequent years since in the biennial competition. If they can finish amongst top four of the six teams in Group F - a tough task since it will be near impossible to upstage powerhouses like China, Korea, and Iran - they will get entry into the top eight and the quarter-finals. From then on forth, the knockout round will begin on August 9th. If India is knocked out earlier, they will play in classification round games to determine their final spot.

The tournament's finale is scheduled for August 11th.

Flemming has made several changes to the squad that was representing India in Wuhan, leaving out big name players like TJ Sahi, Trideep Rai, Jagdeep Singh Bains, and Prakash Mishra and encouraged a generation of younger players to merge into the senior squad. Representing India will be their excellent captain Vishesh Bhriguvanshi, talented youthful big men Amrit Pal Singh and Amjyot Singh, energy-boost Yadwinder Singh, experienced point guard Sambhaji Kadam, and a supporting cast that includes Joginder Singh, Narender Kumar Grewal, Vinay Kaushik, Arjun Singh, Pratham Singh and Rikin Pethani. The man in the middle - or should we say the boy in the middle - will be India's 17-year-old, 7-foot-2 phenom who will garner the most attention and interest at the tournament, Satnam Singh Bhamara. By now, Satnam's story of rapid improvement at the IMG Academy in Florida are well know. The youngster, who played a bit role in Wuhan two years ago, will be hoping to breakout against Asia's best over the next two crucial weeks. Long-plagued for not having the size to compete against stronger frontlines in the past, the likes of Satnam, Amjyot, Amrit Pal, and Pethani will now make India one of the tallest sides in the competitions.

If I had to guess, India's starting lineup would be with Joginder at the point, Vishesh and Narender on the wings, and Yadwinder and Satnam in the post. Kadam will provide maturity on the point off the bench and Amjyot and Amrit Pal will come boost the front line whenever required. Coach Flemming seems to be flexible with his tactics and will probably adjust according to the competition.

Only 15 teams will be participating in Manila after Lebanon were suspended by FIBA in August: hosts Philippines, holders China, reigning silver medalists Jordan, reigning bronze medalists Korea, Chinese Taipei, Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong, Japan, Qatar, Iran, Malaysia, Bahrain, India, Kazakhstan, and Thailand. Despite going through a downward spiral recently, China - record 15-time winners of the tournament - are still the team to beat in Asia and have been bolstered with the good news that Yi Jianlian will be participating in the tournament, too. Iran, Jordan, Korea, and Japan also feature some great players and will be amongst the teams to watch at the tournament. Boosted by a fervent, basketball-crazy home support, the Philippines could spring some surprises, too.

Our eyes though will be firmly on Team India and their hopes of a respectable finish at the tournament. Check out India's full schedule and roster here to be prepared for the road ahead. And follow the rebooted squad as they hope to bury the ghosts of Wuhan and turn some heads over in Manila.

Team India concludes practice run in Istanbul with four easy wins

In preparation for the biggest Asian basketball tournament – the 27th FIBA Asia Championship for Men to be held in Manila from August 1 – India’s National Basketball squad spent the last nine days in Istanbul (Turkey) with their Head Coach Scott Flemming, taking part in intense training and scrimmages from various squads from across the region. India won all four of their practice games by blowout margins.

India’s final 12-man roster chosen to represent the country at the FIBA ABC in Manila was revealed last earlier this month, and Flemming – formerly coach of the NBDL side Texas Legends – took the same squad of players to Turkey for friendly matches.

Here are the results, via the Basketball Federation of India:

July 22: India bt. Pasa Yildirim Club 91-49
July 25: India bt. Professional Club from Cameroon 108-65
July 26: India bt. Combined Turkish Club 82-51
July 27: India bt. Tildirim Bosna Club 88-50

The Indian squad has now left for Manila, and their next game will be in their tournament opener against Bahrain on Wednesday, August 1. India are in Group D of the FIBA Asia Championship, along with Bahrain, Thailand, and Kazakhstan.