India wins double silver at U18 FIBA Asia 3x3 Championship; Chinese Taipei & Philippines win gold

Even in our brightest dreams, we wouldn't have believed it, but India's performances at the 3x3 Asian Basketball Championship have truly earned them the respect and fear of the opponents. And on Friday, the performances earned them some medals. The first ever FIBA Asia 3x3 U18 Basketball Championship for Boys and Girls concluded in Bangkok (Thailand) on May 24th with both the boys' and girls' teams from India making the tournament's final. Both teams lost - as Philippines Boys and Chinese Taipei Girls won gold - but a double silver for India has left fans hopeful of a bright future ahead.

The achievement comes less than 10 days after India's Senior Women's team won the FIBA Asia 3x3 gold medal at Doha (Qatar). The performances of the under-18 squads may be equally encouraging, because unlike the senior competition, this tournament featured regular Asian powerhouses like China and Japan.

In the Girls' competition, India were undefeated until they were finally stopped in their tracks by Chinese Taipei, who won 21-13 in the Final. The Boys' final was a heart-stopping see-saw battle where India struck close before a few mental lapses at the very end saw Philippines emerge as 21-19 winners.

India's Girls were led by Poonam Chaturvedi, the 6-foot-7 giant 18 year old who truly seems to be catching up with her potential. Chaturvedi was by far the tallest girl in the tournament and dominated till the very end. Ishwari Pingle, Sharanjeet Kaur, and Vyshali Kemkar were also in the squad coached by Chattisgarh's Rajesh Patel. India's Girls went undefeated in the groups stage, defeating Qatar (21-4), Thailand 1 (20-15), and Lebanon (22-8). They made easy work of Indonesia (21-8) in the Quarter-Final and defeated hosts Thailand in a close Semi-Final (20-18) before qualifying for the final game. Chinese Taipei beat China 16-13 in the other Girls' semi-final.

The Boys' team had a core of young but experienced players Loveneet Singh, Narendar, Syed Anam Ali, and Gurvinder Singh Gill. The Boys lost their first group game in a 21-8 blowout to China, but they bounced back to win the next two versus Thailand 1 (18-14) and a dominant decimation of Maldives (21-1). They were paired against Lebanon in the Quarter-Final, but won their matchup with relative ease (21-7), and then proceeded to defeat higher-ranked Syria 13-11 in a defensive Semi-Final upset. In the second semi-final, Philippines defeated China 22-18.

The bronze medal games were won by China in both divisions, as they defeated Thailand and Syria in the girls' and boys' divisions respectively.

Final Standings

Boys

Gold: Philippines
Silver: India
Bronze: China

Girls

Gold: Chinese Taipei
Silver: India
Bronze: China

Fantastic news for India: It's rare to see the end of a FIBA Asia Championship and find India - in both divisions - playing in the Finals! The full version 5x5 FIBA Asia Championships are later this year too: it'll be crazy to dream that they can repeat their 3x3 performances, but at least India can enter the competition fearlessly and with much more confidence than ever before.

India to fight for 1st FIBA Asia U18 3x3 Championship in Thailand

Things are looking quite rosy for Indian Basketball at the international stage, at least as far as the new, shorter version of the game is concerned.

For a country that has long struggled to make a mark amongst Asia’s top basketball contenders, India has found a new vehicle in the 3x3, halfcourt format of the game, and have rocketed up to the top of the charts. India’s Women’s squad won the gold medal last week in the inaugural FIBA Asia 3x3 Basketball Championship in Doha, following their gold medal performances in the Asian and South Asian Beach games over the past few years. The men’s squad were ousted in the Quarter-Finals, but the experience showed that India is more than ready to embrace basketball’s ‘mini’ format.

Now, it’s the turn of India’s junior stars to show that the future of the game is as secure as the present.

India’s U18 boys’ and girls’ teams will participated in the first-ever FIBA Asia U18 3x3 Basketball Championship, set to be held in Bangkok (Thailand) from May 22-24, 2013. With many more of the top Asian nations taking part in this tournament, India’s journey to a podium finish will be much harder, but the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) has selected experienced young players into the rosters to push for some silverware.

Here are India’s Rosters for the 1st FIBA Asia U18 3x3 Basketball Championships:

Boys: Loveneet Singh, Narender, Syed Anam Ali, Gurvinder Singh Gill.

Girls: Ishwari Pingle, Vyshali Kemkar, Poonam Chaturvedi, Sharanjeet Kaur.

There is definitely a lot of experience – even at a young age – amongst several of those names there, notably Loveneet, Narender, Syed Anam Ali, Ishwari Pingle, and Sharanjeet Kaur. The big story of the tournament could potentially be Poonam Chaturvedi, who at 18 is already 6 foot 7 inches tall and has been honing her raw talents slowly back home over the past two years.

The draw for the championship was held in Malaysia last month: 19 boys’ and 17 girls’ teams will be taking part in the competition, and have been drawn into four groups each. India’s Boys have been placed in Group A along with China, Maldives, and Thailand 1. India’s Girls are in Group A, along with Qatar, Lebanon, and Thailand 1. Hosts Thailand have two teams in each gender in the competition.

Both boys and girls will play in a Preliminary Round on May 22-23, and the knockout stage starting from the Quarter-Finals for both will be held on May 24.

Here is the Schedule for India’s group stage games on May 22-23 (all timings Bangkok):

Boys

- May 22 – 3:30 PM: India vs. China
- May 22 – 4:30 PM: Thailand 1 vs. India
- May 23 – 2:30 PM: India vs. Maldives

Girls

- May 22 – 2:00 PM: India vs. Qatar
- May 22 – 4:00 PM: Thailand 1 vs. India
- May 23 – 2:30 PM: India vs. Lebanon

India’s boys’ squad has a mega test in their very first contest, against Asian powerhouse China. China are the favourites for the tournament, but if India can at least give them a good fight, they will have some confidence in their next group games against Maldives and Thailand. Philippines, Japan, Chinese Taipei, and Lebanon are other teams to watch out for in the tournament.

The girls’ may draw even against any of the teams in their group, particularly Lebanon and Thailand. The favourites of the tournament for girls – China and Chinese Taipei – are in Groups D and C respectively.

With China in contention, it is always difficult to bet on any other squad in an Asian basketball tournament. But India has been displayed respectful showings in recent years in the 3x3 version of the game and our Senior Women even defeated China in the Asian Beach Games final last year. Nevertheless, it will be a rare basketball occasion where India can feel that they are not just mere minnows but above average contenders. Let’s hope that the juniors can live up to the high bar set by the senior players.

India's teams drawn in FIBA Asia 3x3 basketball tournaments in Doha and Bangkok

Years from now, 2013 will be remembered as a year of ‘firsts’ for 3x3 basketball, particularly in Asia, and specifically for our interest, in India. This was that the year when, for the first time, Indian states held their own 3x3 championships across the country. This was also the first year when India held national-level 3x3 basketball tournaments for Seniors (in Delhi) and for U18s (in Ludhiana).

And now, the inaugural FIBA Asia 3x3 basketball championships – featuring the best 3x3 basketball players from across the continent – will be held in both the Senior and U18 levels for Men and Women over the next month. The 1st FIBA Asia 3x3 Basketball Championship for Men & Women will be held in Doha (Qatar) from May 15-16. The 1st FIBA Asia 3x3 Basketball Championship for U18 Boys and Girls will be held in Bangkok (Thailand) from May 22-24.

India is participating in all divisions in both competitions.

On April 24 in Kuala Lampur (Malaysia), FIBA Asia held the draw for the inaugural edition of the 2013 events. Here are the results of the draw, via FIBA Asia 3x3:

1st FIBA Asia Championship for Men - May 15-16 (16 teams)

• Group A: Mongolia, Qatar (Maroon), Philippines, Sri Lanka.
  
• Group B: India, Indonesia, Turkmenistan, Iran.
  
• Group C: Chinese Taipei, Saudi Arabia, Nepal, Lebanon.
  
• Group D: Japan, Qatar (Grey), Jordan, Hong Kong.
  

1st FIBA Asia Championship for Women - May 15-16 (10 teams)

• Group A: Qatar (Maroon), Indonesia, Turkmenistan, Sri Lanka, Hong Kong.
  
• Group B: Qatar Grey, India, Mongolia, Lebanon, Nepal.

1st FIBA Asia Championship for U18 Boys - May 22-24 (22 teams)

• Group A: Jordan, Mongolia, India, China, Maldives
  
• Group B: Turkmenistan, Indonesia, Qatar, Syria, Philippines, Chinese Taipei.
  
• Group C: Hong Kong, Malaysia, Vietnam, Japan, Kazakhstan, Thailand 2.
  
• Group D: Thailand 1, Sri Lanka, Lebanon, Nepal, Macau.
  

1st FIBA Asia Championship for U18 Girls - May 22-24 (19 teams)

• Group A: Turkmenistan, India, Jordan, Lebanon, Mongolia.
  
• Group B: Philippines, Syria, Malaysia, Nepal, Sri Lanka.
  
• Group C: Thailand 1, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, Vietnam.
  
• Group D: Macau, China, Indonesia, Maldives, Thailand 2.
  

Despite being minnows in many recent FIBA Asia Basketball tournaments, India has actually enjoyed quite a successful recent history in 3x3 competitions at Asia level. India's Men and Women both dominated the South Asian Beach Games in Sri Lanka two years ago, and more importantly, India's Women's team won gold at the 3rd Asian Beach Games in China against the hosts last year. India's finest Women's player Geethu Anna Jose spoke to FIBA in an interview recently and said that the Women's team goes in with a do-or-die attitude in this tournament. We hope the Men's teams - and the U18s - follow suit too.

Success (or at least respectful showings) in these tournaments will be a good stepping stone. But I hope our teams and federation doesn't forget the bigger, more important picture, which will be to improve the level of India's competitiveness across the board in the original 5x5 version of the game.