ONGC to represent India at 2017 FIBA Asia Champions Cup in China: Roster, Schedule, and Preview

Asia's premier club basketball tournament - the FIBA Asia Champions Cup - will return this year for to be held in Chenzhou, China, from September 22-30, 2017. This is the second consecutive year that Chenzhou will host this tournament. Ten of the top club teams from different countries in Asia will take part in this championship. All matches will be held in the city's Chenzhou Sports Center.

China's CBA squad Kashgar - otherwise known as the Xinjiang Flying Tigers - will return to the tournament to defend their title from last year. Once again, India will be represented by Dehradun's squad ONGC, who won their fifth-straight title at the Federation Cup earlier this year. Despite featuring some top Indian talent, ONGC were ousted from the Preliminary Round stage without a win last year and finished tied for 9/10th place in the ten-team fray. ONGC have been drawn in the tournament's Group B.

FIBA Asia Champions Cup 2017 Groups

• Group A: BC Astana (Kazakhstan), Mono Vampire Basketball Club (Thailand), Petrochimi (Iran), Sareyyet Ramallah (Palestine), Chooks-To-Go (Philippines).
• Group B: Shabab Al Ahli (Dubai), ONGC (India), Al Riyadi (Lebanon), Dacin Tigers (Chinese Taipei), China Kashgar (China).

ONGC have finalised their roster, coached by their former star and former India captain Trideep Rai. The team is set to have serious cause for concern this year: their marquee talent Vishesh Bhriguvanshi, recovering from a serious knee injury from the BRICS Games earlier this year, hurt himself again at the '3x3 Road to Mexico' basketball event in Gurugram a few days ago. Big man Yadwinder Singh is back in action after an injury, while guard Arjun Singh will be another important player to watch. The squad's superstar big man - Amritpal Singh - has left the team to join the Sydney Kings of Australia's NBL.

ONGC roster for FIBA Asia Champions Cup 2017

• Abhishek Rai
• Mohit Bhandari
• Vinay Dabas
• Anoop Mukkanniyil
• Riyazuddin
• Arjun Singh
• Vishesh Bhriguvanshi
• Muralikrishna Ravindran
• Udai Bhan Singh Rawat
• Yadwinder Singh
• Head Coach: Trideep Rai
• Assistant Coach: Dinesh Kumar

The tournament will be held in league-cum-knockout format, with the top four teams of each group of five qualifying for the quarter-final stage after the preliminary round of round-robin games.

ONGC's Preliminary Round schedule - all timings IST

• September 22 - Dacin Tigers vs. ONGC - 12 PM
• September 24 - ONGC vs. China Kashgar - 5 PM
• September 25 - Al Riyadi vs. ONGC - 7:15 PM
• September 26 - ONGC vs. Shabab Al Ahli - 12 PM

Without Amritpal and with a Bhriguvanshi not at full strength, ONGC will find it difficult to compete against the more stacked squads from Chinese Taipei, China, and Lebanon. Their best chance at a victory, and a potential quarter-final spot, could be in their final game against Dubai's Shabab Al Ahli.

China Kashgar will once again be favourites to win gold this year, while Lebanon's Al Riyadi and Iran's Petrochimi could both pose serious threats to their crown.

Sim Bhullar - first person of Indian origin to play in the NBA - has signed with Taiwanese team Dacin Tigers

One and a half years ago, Canadian basketball player Sim Bhullar made history for the desi community worldwide as the Sacramento Kings gave him a chance to become the first player of Indian descent to play in the NBA. During his short, 10-day contract with the Kings (owned by India-born Vivek Ranadive), Bhullar played just three minutes in three games and scored one basket. But in his brief moment in the sun, the 7-foot-5 talent from New Mexico State University had done enough to scribble his name in the pantheon of Indian basketball players around the world.

Now, Bhullar, who last played his trade for his hometown NBA D-League squad Raptors 905, has taken a bold new career step, away from the spotlight of North America. Earlier this week, it was announced that Bhullar has signed with the Taiwanese basketball team Dacin Tigers, who are one of the strongest teams in Taiwan's top tier Super Basketball League (SBL). Bhullar will become the tallest player ever in the SBL.

Bhullar's decision to play in Taiwan may be financially motivated, suggested Blake Murphy on the Raptors Republic blog. The D-League salaries are low, and playing in Asia may give Bhullar more chance to earn and also become a centerpiece for the team. But the risk remains that this move may hurt his visibility and potential return to play in the NBDL or the NBA.

Apart from his extremely brief NBA stint, the big man had spent the rest of his two-year professional basketball career after leaving New Mexico State in the NBA D-League, playing with the Reno Bighorns and Raptors 905. Although he started slow, he showed considerable improvement for 905 in his last few months with the team, eventually finishing with averages of 9.6 ppg, 6.9 rpg, and 1.3 bpg at the end of the 2015-16 season.

The Dacin Tigers finished the 2015-16 SBL season at third place with a 18-12 record. They won their only SBL title in 2009.

Bhullar, the son of Punjabi immigrants to Canada, remains closely tied to his Indian roots, and took a high-profile trip back to India last year with the NBA to promote basketball in the country. He will become the first player of Indian-origin to play in the SBL.