Interview: India's New Women's Basketball Coach Francisco Garcia talks about the road ahead

After working with former Duke Assistant Coach Pete Gaudet for the last year and a half, the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) decided to change directions and pursue a different angle of a leader for India's Senior Women's squad. That's how they found experienced Spanish coach Francisco Garcia. Garcia, who has coached at various different levels in Europe over the past 20 years, was officially announced as the Head Coach of India's Women's Basketball Team last week, and arrived in India for the first time just a few days before that.

Prior to joining BFI, he had been involved in various women’s professional programs in Spain, Denmark, and Finland. Since returning to Spain in 2005, Coach Garcia coached various Spanish Federation Youth National Development Camps, in addition to acting as a private development coach for a number of Spain’s senior national women’s players, including Amaya Valdermoro, three-time WNBA Champion.

Garcia will have his work cut out for him. He only has a few months of preparation before India's Women get a chance to play for the Asia's biggest basketball event - the 2013 FIBA Asia Championship for Women - from October 27 - November 3 in Bangkok (Thailand).

To kick off this new chapter in Indian Basketball, I caught Garcia for a brief interview on his past experiences with basketball and his expectations for the future while working with legends such as Geethu Anna Jose to lead the Indian team forward.

Hoopistani: After spending your career as a basketball coach in Europe, what made you decide to choose India? How were you picked for this job?

Garcia: I thought about coming here as a personal challenge. As a coach I felt I needed a change in my career. I also believe that [in India] is a good project that can be built with time.

Hoopistani: Have you had any experience of India before?

Garcia: Not really. The only experience of India I had before was Indian food! Nothing else...

Hoopistani: How long is your contract for in India?

Garcia: I have a one year contract, plus one more if both parties (Garcia and the BFI) agree.

Hoopistani: Please tell me about your past coaching experience, the teams that you worked with, and your accomplishments.

Garcia: I have been involved with coaching since I was 19 years old, and I have coached both Men and Women at all levels and ages. I have coached at the professional level in Denmark, Finland, and Spain, too. I won a gold medal in Finland in a Men's team working with Montenegrin Coach Mihailo Pavicevic, and a silver medal in an under-20 women's championship. I have won 18 Regional championships, coached in several youth Spanish National team camps and elite camps for professionals. I have also run clinics in Spain, Lebanon, and Sweden.

Hoopistani: Have you had a chance to interact with any members of the team yet?

Garcia: Yes I have, and they seem to be very positive [about the changes ahead].

Hoopistani: You will be taking over from Pete Gaudet now and taking the team ahead to the FIBA Asia Championship. What is your expectation for this squad against Asia's best teams?

Garcia: Obviously, we have not too much time left to prepare for this championship properly, but I'll make sure that we work hard on the court to compete at our maximum level.

Hoopistani: Please tell me a little about your coaching philosophy and style?

Garcia: I like transition basketball on offense, and tough defense on the other end. Offensively, I also like to add short set plays for the team.

Hoopistani: Aside from coaching the women's national team, would you be involved in other aspect of basketball in India?

Garcia: Yes, I'm going to be in charge of the younger national teams to install a model and philosophy.

Hoopistani: Have you had a chance to watch Geethu Anna Jose or any of the other stars in the team play? How do you think you will use them in your system?

Garcia: Clearly, Geethu is going to be our inside reference because she can create plays inside and will be one of the most important parts of the team. But obviously we need to play as a team with a good balance inside and outside.

Hoopistani: What is your vision, looking ahead, for how good this team can be in your tenure in India?

Garcia: The main point has to be to be growth and incorporate young players into the group little by little. So we must focus on the youth talent properly. Clearly, the basis is the grow the game in the grassroots.

Spaniard Francisco Garcia is the new coach of India’s Women’s Basketball Team

The Basketball Federation of India (BFI) has announced that experienced Spanish coach Francisco Garcia will be named as the head coach of India’s Senior Women’s Basketball squad. Garcia (41), has 20 years of coaching experience in the past in Spain, Denmark, and Finland, will become the fourth international head coach for the Indian Women and take over from Pete Gaudet.

The Times of India reported that Garcia spent the last season with Spanish Women’s national team players as a private development coach, including stars like Amaya Valdermoro, who has won three WNBA championships.

Via Times of India:

Having started his coaching career way back in 1994 in Asturias, Francisco was involved in various women's professional programs in Spain, Denmark and Finland, where he won a gold and silver medal.
Since returning to Spain in 2005, he has been coaching in various Spanish Federation Youth National Development Camps.

The development has left Indian hoopsters feeling excited. Top star Geethu Anna Jose said, "The BFI has done its part. We had a small chat with Francisco and he seems very interested in Indian basketball… He feels India has very good talent and is really happy to work with us. I'm waiting for the camp."

Garcia will have to be up to his task from the get go: he only has a few months of preparation before India's Women get a chance to play for the Asia's biggest basketball event - the 2013 FIBA Asia Championship for Women - from October 27 - November 3 in Bangkok (Thailand). After finishing sixth in the 2011 Championship, the Indian team finds itself in Level I of the tournament, along with Asian superpowers China, Korea, Japan, Chinese Taipei, and Lebanon.

Pete Gaudet, who was formerly coach at Duke University, left India after 15 months with the team.

Q&A: Geethu Anna Jose returns from Thailand with professional league experience

I got a chance to interview India's basketball superstar Geethu Anna Jose after her stint playing professionally in Thailand: about her experiences playing for the Sripatum University in Bangkok, her hopes of seeing a similar basketball league in India, and her thoughts about the future of her own career. Jose, as always, was completely frank and honest in her answers, providing interesting insight into the world where even India’s greatest women’s basketball player has to face struggles.

Click here to read full feature

Foreign Basketball Coaches to host ‘Train the Trainers’ Clinic

The Basketball Federation of India (BFI) has announced that its three foreign coaches – Kenny Natt, Pete Gaudet, and Zak Penwell – will be hosting a first-of-its-kind, formalised ‘Train the Trainers’ Clinic for Indian basketball coaches from April 13-15th at the Indira Gandhi Stadium in New Delhi.

Click here to read full article

South India Zone Coaching Clinic to be held in Kochi

On the final day of the Federation Cup in Kochi, Kerala, the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) will be giving a chance to basketball coaches from the state and nearby areas to attend the South India Zone Coaching Clinic, hosted by India's foreign basketball coaches - Kenny Natt, Pete Gaudet, and Zak Penwell. The clinic will be held at the Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium in Kochi on March 18th.

The 26th Federation Cup All India Basketball Tournament is slated to be held at the same location from March 14th-18th.

Strength & Conditioning Coach Zak Penwell will host the first clinic on the morning of the 18th, followed by basketball coaching clinics by India's Senior Women's Head Coach Pete Gaudet and Senior Men's Head Coach Kenny Natt. The coaches will share expert basketball knowledge with the Indian coaches in attendance, by teaching drills, techniques, and motivational tactics that will ultimately help in breeding better basketball players in India.

Interested coaches are encouraged to contact the BFI to register.

Photos: Muggsy Bogues holds clinic in New Delhi

The shortest player to ever play in the NBA - Muggsy Bogues - came to India over a month ago and held a clinic at the Modern School (Barakhamba) in New Delhi on January 9th, 2011. Around 75 local schoolkids attended this clinic and Bogues was also welcomed by five visiting members of the American congressional delegation.

You can read my extensive interview with Bogues during his time in India here.

But of course, no amount of articles and interviews can describe complete story... So here are some photographs of the Charlotte Hornets' legend Muggsy Bogues in New Delhi!

Bogues demonstrating a dribbling drill at Modern School



Bogues meets India's two Senior National Team coaches - Pete Gaudet (India Women) and Kenny Natt (India Men)



More dribbling lessons...



Bogues with Shiba Maggon - India's basketball referee, Youth Girls coach, and former Senior International player.



"Crossover dribble... And then EXPLODE for the lay-up!"



So it also happened to be Muggsy Bogues' birthday when he was in India (Jan 9th!). NBA-India's Senior Director of Development presented him a birthday cake.



Joining Bogues at the event was Senator Mark Warner from Virginia, the Senate India Caucus Chairman, along with four other members of the Caucus from across the USA, who are on an official visit to India from January 7-14th. The NBA presented them with practice jackets that matched teams those closest to their hometowns!

National U18 (Junior) Basketball Coaching Camp in Delhi

India's Basketball Head Coaches Kenny Natt & Pete Gaudet are currently coaching and overseeing a National Junior Coaching Camp for under-18 Boys & Girls at the Indira Gandhi Stadium in New Delhi. The camp tipped off on December 27th, 2011 and is set to continue until the 10th of Feb, 2012.

According to the Basketball Federation of India (BFI), 25 boys and 25 girls, representing the best U18 basketball talent from all around India, are currently in training at the facility in Delhi.

Here is the complete list of players participating in the camp:

MEN

Ajay Pratap Singh (Chhattisgarh)

Bobby Singh (Chhattisgarh)

Shyam Sunder (Chhattisgarh)

Khan Fardeen Faizal (Maharashtra)

Melvin Rego (Maharashtra)

Amit Kanarjee (Madhya Pradesh)

Jitender Patidar (Madhya Pradesh)

Syed Anam Ali (Madhya Pradesh)

Keshav Kumar Sharma (Rajasthan)

Abhishek Rai (Uttar Pradesh)

Abhishek Kumar Singh (Uttar Pradesh)

Himanshu Singh (Uttar Pradesh)

Karthickeyen Saminathan (Tamil Nadu)

U Kumaran (Tamil Nadu)

Rakesh Sangwan (Haryana)

Gurwinder S. Kung (Jharkhand)

Karan Joshua (Karnataka)

Akimjeet Singh Sahal (Delhi)

Pankaj Rathee (Delhi)

Narender (Delhi)

Nikhil Kumar (Delhi)

Khushmeet Singh (Punjab)

Loveneet Singh (Punjab)

Palpreet Singh (Punjab)

Akashdeep Singh (Punjab)

Head Coach: Kenny Natt

Coach: JN Nehra

Coach: Rajeshwar Rao

Strength & Conditioning Coach: Zak Penwell

Physiotherapist: Naved

WOMEN

Jenna PS (Kerala)

Poojamol KS (Kerala)

Elizabeth Hilarious (Kerala)

Libina MJ (Kerala)

Geetha R (Kerala)

Anjana PG (Kerala)

Sneha Rajguru (Maharashtra)

Shireen Limaye (Maharashtra)

Jowarikailas Pingle (Maharashtra)

Krittika Divadkar (Maharashtra)

Sangheeta Mandal (Chhattisgarh)

Pushpa Nishad (Chhattisgarh)

Saranjeet Kaur (Chhattisgarh)

Pushpa Nishad (Chhattisgarh)

Saranjeet Kaur (Chhattisgarh)

Poonam Chaturvedi (Chhattisgarh)

Anjana Daisy Ekka (Chhattisgarh)

Sangeetha Kaur (Chhattisgarh)

Navaneetha PV (Karnataka)

Madhuri K (Karnataka)

R. Raja Priyadharsharni (Tamil Nadu)

L. Suganya (Tamil Nadu)

R. Ramya (Tamil Nadu)

M. Kalaynasi (Tamil Nadu)

Madhu Kumari (West Bengal)

Monika Gurjar (Madhya Pradesh)

Preeti Kumari (Uttar Pradesh)

Head Coach: Pete Gaudet
Coach: Rajesh Patel
Physiotherapist: Abhay Gupta

Muggsy Bogues in India - Q & A: "I survived 14 years in the NBA because I believed in myself"

The shortest player to ever suit up in an NBA jersey - Tyrone "Muggsy" Bogues - was in India on Monday, the 9th of January, to host a clinic for the NBA and the United States Senate India Caucus at the Modern School (Barakhamba) in New Delhi. Bogues interacted with around 75 local schoolkids and was welcomed by five visiting members of the American congressional delegation.

At 5 foot 3 inches, Bogues didn't let height be a factor over his skills as the point guard played in the NBA from 1987-2001. Bogues was drafted by the Washington Bullets in 1987 where he played for his rookie year before being picked up by the expansion Hornets side. After 9 successful years in Charlotte, he played for the Golden State Warriors and the Toronto Raptors in short stints before ending his career in 2001.

In Delhi on Monday, Bogues visited the Modern School to interact with several young basketball players, mostly from the Modern School itself or from the Delhi Public School in RK Puram. Aided by India’s Women's under 16 Jr. National Team Assistant Coach and former Sr. National Team Player Shiba Maggon, Bogues started his clinic in the afternoon by focusing on his biggest strength, one that helped him conquer opponents much taller than him: dribbling. "Control the ball, don't let it control you," Bogues told the kids, as he helped them practice several skills including crossvers, running with the ball, changing hands while dribbling, changing directions, footwork, and focusing on dribbling with the fingers. Bogues also worked on drills for chest passes and for lay-ups, focusing on beating the defender with a crossover dribble before exploding for an open lay-up.

"If you really want to be a basketball player, you have to practice hard: dribble the right way, and shoot the right way, and above all, develop good work ethics," Bogues told the gathered youngsters, "A lot of people told me when I was young that I wouldn't make it, but I did, and I survived the NBA for 14 years. This was only because I believed in myself. You have to believe in yourself too and understand the importance of self motivation to achieve your goals."

Joining Bogues at the event was Senator Mark Warner from Virginia, the Senate India Caucus Chairman, along with four other members of the Caucus from across the USA, who are on an official visit to India from January 7-14th. The two American Head Coaches of India's Senior Men's and Women's teams - Kenny Natt and Pete Gaudet - also attended the event.

After the clinic, the delegation from the US took part in a short shooting competition with the local school kids. An exhibition game was then held between two teams of the Mahindra NBA Challenge: U16 Boys teams from Modern School and DPS (RK Puram).

Earlier in the day, I got an opportunity to hold a brief interview with Muggsy Bogues, a player we know as the shortest to ever play in the NBA, but whom NBA India's Senior Director Akash Jain called the "player with the biggest heart". Here are some of the excerpts from the Q&A:

Hoopistani: What brings you here to India? Is this your first time?

Muggsy Bogues: Yes this is indeed my first time here. I'm only visiting Delhi and will be here for a day. The NBA has brought me here to come and promote the game of basketball in India. The NBA has a long term commitment, which is to expose the game in this country. I will also be promoting the benefits in health, lifestyle, and life-skills that grow along with the game of basketball. I believe that there is a lot of untapped potential for basketball in India.

Hoopistani: It seems that the NBA is keen to abolish the notion that one needs to be tall to be a basketball star. 6 foot 1 Brandon Jennings was here preaching the same purpose last year. Is that the message that you are bringing here with you as well?

MB: Yes, that that is exactly the message that I want to spread here in India. Height isn't everything. When I was growing up, many people told me that I would never make it. But I felt like I had the potential to play well. I developed a lot of confidence in myself over the years and I was able to show that even someone at five foot three inches could play basketball - which is known as a 'tall man's game' - at the highest level, the NBA. Without that confidence and self-belief, players like me or Brandon Jennings would've never made it.

Hoopistani: At the grassroots level in India, a lot of players are still scouted based on their height first and talent second. Was this also the case in the US when you were younger?

MB: Yes, it was very similar, to an extent. People thought that in basketball, height equaled talent, and there were few opportunities for smaller players. But I always believed that the game is for whoever has the skills to play, not just for six or seven footers! I want to pass on that same belief to Indians who are still at an early age.

Hoopistani: Was it a struggle for yourself - as a shorter player - to have coaches and scouts recognise you for your natural talent and hand you opportunities?

MB: Yes, I had to change the mindset of a lot of coaches when I was young who believed that height was the only important thing. I competed and played well against those bigger than me to change the perceptions. But what helped me is that I understood my point guard position and absorbed all the knowledge I could relating to that position. I had to play to my strengths, which were dribbling and passing the ball. A lot of smaller players who are point guards think that they have to score a lot to be effective and sometimes, this can hurt them. That's why a point guard has to know when to score and when to get his teammates involved.

Hoopistani: Smaller players are anyways having more and more influence on the NBA nowadays: Does the future of the league belong to the point guards?

MB: You know, the NBA is about trends. If one team is succeeding in a certain style of play, others will try and copy that style. These days, yes, a lot of good players are small: even the shooting guards. In my time, most of the shooting guards were around 6-5 or 6-6; now, there are a lot of smaller SGs like Jason Terry or JJ Barea who are making a difference.

Hoopistani: What tips would you give an undersized point guard such as yourself who have to defend taller opponents at their position?

MB: I always felt that defense was one of my biggest assets, and I worked by taking my defensive stance early to prepare for the opponent. What I would teach an undersized player that it is all about will. Once you learn the basic principals, it is just your will, not your technique, that will make you an elite defensive player. You have to make your opponent work hard.

Hoopistani: What other expectations do you have for your trip in India, which is a country growing to love the game of basketball?

MB: I'm really excited to be here. It'll be a thrill to speak to young players here and show them that someone at my size is also capable of being good at the game of basketball. I have little other expectations: I know basketball has a promising future in India, and I hear that there is some talent here, too. Recently, I was reading about the Indian seven-footer Satnam Singh Bhamara in ESPN Magazine, a young basketball star from this country, and the next thing I know - I'm being called to India by the NBA! Satnam is in Florida right now, so I won't have a chance to meet him, but I hope to catch him someday!

Hoopistani: Finally: You were a star for the Charlotte Hornets for several years and now you work in that city, but the franchise has since moved to New Orleans. Where do your loyalties lie: with the Hornets or with the city of Charlotte?

MB: Definitely with the city of Charlotte. I played in that city, my entire fan base was in that city, I'm now involved with the Charlotte community now and coach High School basketball there. Apart from taking the 'Hornets' name, the team in New Orleans is an entirely different franchise now.

Punjab Men & Indian Railways Women are India's Senior National Basketball Champions

The waves of change have come: After three years, India finally had a new champion in the Men's division at the 62nd National Basketball Championship for Men and Women in Chennai, India's premier basketball championship which was held from December 16-24th. Punjab defeated Tamil Nadu in an exciting finale to the tournament at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on December 24th to win the Nationals and lift their 8th title in the tournament's 62-year history. Meanwhile, there was no stopping the Indian Railways Women who kept rolling in full steam ahead to win their 9th consecutive National title after defeating Chhattisgarh in the final on Saturday.

Punjab were a team on a mission. Powered by four players who were part of India's senior national team - Jagdeep Singh, TJ Sahi, Amrit Pal Singh, and Amjyot Singh - Punjab faced a close fought battle from home team Tamil Nadu in the final, who didn't give up until the very end. Punjab were led by young big man Amrit Pal Singh's 21 points and some great two-way play by their star point guard Talwinderjit Singh 'TJ' Sahi (17). Jagdeep Singh also added 17 points for Punjab. Tamil Nadu were led by Rikin Pethani, who had a valiant effort in the final with 24 points and 17 rebounds.

In the Women's final, Indian Railways continued their domination over Women's hoops in India with yet another victory, but this time, it was a different opponent in the final. After facing Delhi in the final for the past 9 years, it was Chhattisgarh who made history in Chennai by making the final of the Senior Nationals for the first time since the birth of the state. And the Chhattisgarh girls were by no means start struck of the occasion, giving Railways a close fight in the first half. Led by their experienced core of Geethu Anna Jose (31 points) and Anitha Paul Durai (19), Railways got back in their groove in the second period and slowly extended their lead to win the game, 94-70, and capture their 9th consecutive championship. The high scorers for Chhattisgarh were L. Deepa (20), Seema Singh (17) and Kavita (17).

The big shocks of the tournament were the semi-final losses to Indian Railways and Services Men and Delhi Women, teams who have been regular features in the final of the championship. Railways and Services, who played in the National final last year in Delhi, were both defeated in the Semi-Final games against Punjab and Tamil Nadu respectively on Friday.

Meanwhile, Delhi, one of the top Woman's teams in the competition, were defeated by a motivated Chhattisgarh team in the Semi-Final in a close match, 59-56. Indian Railways Woman had cruised into the final with an earlier win over Tamil Nadu 76-41.

Before the Finals on Saturday, Indian Railways Men & Tamil Nadu Women won their third-place match-ups against Services and Delhi respectively.

Final Scores

Men: Punjab (Amritpal Singh 21, TJ Sahi 17, Jagdeep Singh Bains 17) bt. Tamil Nadu (Rikin Pethani 24, Vinodh Kumar 9, Saravana Rajan 5) 70-62 (24-15, 13-17, 19-13, 14-17)

Women: Indian Railways (Geethu Anna Jose 31, Anitha Paul Durai 19, Anju Lakra 14, Smruthi Raohakrishn 11) bt. Chhattishgarh ( L.Deepa 20, Seema Singh 17, Kavita 17) 94-70 (23-22, 22-19, 22-20, 27-9)

3rd/4th Place Games

Men: Indian Railways (Gagan Deep Singh 37, Jasjot Singh 14, Prakash Mishra 14) bt. Services (Narender Grewal 37, Gopal Ram 14, Joginder Singh 12) 89-81 (14-19, 25-21, 23-16, 27-25)

Women: Tamil Nadu (N Shyamala Suguna 20, Apoorva Murlinath 15, Nenna Hareendran 13, Sunitha Suren 10) bt. Delhi (Sonika Ohlyan 14, Asha Hegde 11) 68-45 (14-11, 21-12, 14-18, 19-4)

Final Standings

Men

Punjab

Tamil Nadu

Indian Railways

Services

Kerala

Haryana

Uttarakhand

Delhi

Karnataka

Andhra Pradesh

Women

Indian Railways

Chhattishgarh

Tamil Nadu

Delhi

Kerala

Karnataka

Maharashtra

Uttar Pradesh

Punjab

Andhra Pradesh

Punjab's Amrit Pal Singh was a real breakthrough performer at the tournament and finished as the best scorer for the winning side along with TJ Sahi. Uttarakhand's Trideep Rai also play exceptionally well throughout the tournament, having scoring bursts against Karnataka (44), Services (39), and Chhattisgarh (34). India's best female player Geethu Anna Jose of Indian Railways continued her domination over the rivals with some great performances against Chhattisgarh, Tamil Nadu, and Maharashtra. For the runners-up Chhattisgarh, versatile big player Seema Singh and Kavita had memorable performances throughout the competition in Chennai.

India's three American basketball coaches - Senior Men's Coach Kenny Natt (former NBA coach), Senior Women's coach Pete Gaudet (former NCAA coach), and Strength & Conditioning coach Zak Penwell - held coaching clinics and seminars for the attending coaches and players that had gathered from all round India to the National in Chennai from December 16-18th. The clinics helped the coaches to reach out to some of India's best basketball coaching and playing talent and help build a stronger basketball coaching network in India.

India's Best Descent to Chennai: National Basketball Championship Preview!

It's back! After a year filled with basketball tournaments around India - from the sponsored club championships to the National junior-level competitions - it is finally time for the most prestigious trophy of them all. India's finest Men and Women Senior teams from states and units all across the country are set to battle for the 62nd Senior National Basketball Championship for Men & Women, set to be held in Chennai (Tamil Nadu) from December 16th-24th, 2011.

The tournament will be held at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai, the same courts that hosted the 2009 FIBA Asia Championship for Women. A total of 26 Men's teams and 23 Women's teams have confirmed participation in the event, organised by the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) in association with the Tamil Nadu Basketball Association (TNBA).

The participating teams are:

Men (26): Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Chandigarh, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Pondicherry, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Services, Indian Railways.

Women (23): Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Chandigarh, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Pondicherry, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Indian Railways.

It wasn't even a year ago when, in the capital city of Delhi, India's most powerful basketball forces added another feather in their caps and another stripe on their basketballs. On January 4th, 2011, Indian Railways completed a three-peat double of National Basketball Championship victories: it was the third consecutive year that both the Men's and the Women's team from Indian Railways won their respective divisions. It was the third consecutive victory for the Men, and an incredible eight consecutive chance to hoist the trophy for the women. Railways have become an unstoppable force, completely dominating Senior Basketball in India.

In the Women's division in the last championship, Indian Railways faced Delhi for the ninth consecutive time in the Final, and had no trouble cruising to a huge 99-55 victory behind a big game by legendary Center Geethu Anna Jose (29) and Anju Lakra (23). In the Men's division, Indian Railways were given a stiffer challenge by Services, but a 27-point outburst by point guard Arjun Singh in the final gave his side a 74-62 win. Tamil Nadu (Women) and Punjab (Men) finished at third place in their respective divisions.

For the National Championship in Chennai, it seems that Indian Railways' Women's squad will once again be the favourites: some of their biggest stars - including Geethu Anna Jose and Anitha Paul Durai - play for the local Southern Railways side, and will feel the home advantage in this championship. After her trial with the WNBA, expect Geethu to be stronger this time around, and expect big contributions by Chhattisgarh's sharp-shooter Anju Lakra and Anitha. Delhi, powered by the 'Singh Sisters' - Prashanti, Pratima, Akanksha - and growing star Raspreet Sidhu, will once again pose the biggest threat to the holding champions. But one of the most improved teams in the Women's side will be Kerala, who will be able to feature several of their superstars that have been making waves in the Junior and Youth divisions and haven't yet been scooped up by Railways.

Indian Railways Men may lose a little bit of their shine, however: two of their biggest stars and starters for India's international squad Vishesh Bhriguvanshi and Yadwinder Singh have transferred to ONGC, immediately tipping the power scales further up north to Uttarakhand. The Men's division is wide open now, as Services and Punjab will come to Chennai believing that they could walk away with the gold.

Another major feature at the Chennai Senior Nationals will be that India's three world-class national coaches - the Americans Kenny Natt, Pete Gaudet, and Zak Penwell - are all planning to hosts clinics for other Indian coaches as well as players gathered in Chennai for the Nationals.

Team managers will be reporting at the venue in Chennai on December 15h, and a Referees Clinic is slotted to be held the same day, on the eve of the tournament's opening tip.

Basketball fans from Chennai and nearby (and even those not so near!): This is your golden opportunity to watch the best basketball that India has to offer. Games will be held all day (usually from 8 AM - 8 PM) at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, and entry is free! All of India's biggest superstars, including Jagdeep Singh, Yadwinder Singh, Vishesh Bhriguvanshi, Hareesh Koroth, Trideep Rai, TJ Sahi, Geethu Anna Jose, Prashanti Singh, Anitha Paul Durai, Akanksha Singh, Raspreet Sidhu, Kokila Subramani and MANY more will be taking part.

Who do you think will be the last team standing?

Sub-Junior (U14) Boys & Girls Coaching Camp being held in New Delhi

The best Sub-Junior (under-14) basketball players in India – in both the boys’ and the girls’ divisions – have been invited for a special coaching camp at the Indira Gandhi Stadium in New Delhi from December 12th-30th, 2011. This camp will help prepare the sub-juniors for international exposure matches in the future.

The sub-juniors are the youngest crop of competitive basketball players under the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) and have been picked for this camp from all over the country on the basis of their performance at the 38th Sub-Junior National Basketball Championship in Lucknow in September.

Practice sessions are being held with coaches Kenny Natt and Pete Gaudet for the boys’ and the girls’ respectively. Natt is the head coach of India’s Senior Men’s Basketball Team, while Gaudet holds the corresponding post for India’s Senior Women. Sports Authority of India (SAI) coaches will be assisting Natt and Gaudet, along with Matt Hivner, a special volunteer assistant for the BFI.

The BFI have given an open invitation to all interested basketball coaches to attend the practice sessions if they so desire.

Here is a list of players invited for this camp.

Pete Gaudet - India's Women's Coach & former Duke assistant - congrats Coach K

Experienced American basketball coach Pete Gaudet was hired as the head coach of the Indian Senior Women's team earlier this year. Gaudet, who has over 30 years of experience of coaching at the American collegiate level, spent over a decade working with as an assistant coach with the legendary Mike Krzyzewski - 'Coach K' - at the United States Military Academy (Army) and then at Duke University.

Still at the helm of Duke, Coach K made NCAA Division I history when Duke defeated
Michigan State 74-69 on Tuesday, becoming the winningest coach in NCAA Division I history with his 903rd victory with Duke.

On Coach K, Gaudet said, "I was fortunate to coach on Mike's staff for his five years at the United States Military Academy and for eleven years at Duke University. The commitment to excellence, work ethic and drive to have each of his teams continually strive to reach their potential has become the identity for recent decades of Duke basketball."

"The record of wins for 'Coach K' reflects the high caliber of players who have developed physically and matured mentally as they strive for Championships each season."

Gaudet began his coaching career as an assistant to Krzyzewski at Army. When Krzyzewski left for Duke in 1980, Gaudet was named his successor as head coach. After leaving the Army program in 1982, Gaudet rejoined Krzyzewski as an assistant coach at Duke from 1983-1995. When Krzyzewski took a leave of absence in early 1995 because of back problems, Gaudet was also briefly promoted to interim head coach of Duke that season. Gaudet worked with Vanderbilt and Ohio State University before accepting the job with the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) to coach the Indian Women's side.

In the past few months, Gaudet has led the Indian side to the William Jones Championship in Chinese Taipei, the 2011 FIBA Asia Championship in Japan, and the South Asian Beach Games in Sri Lanka. He also been the head coach of India's U18 Girls team at the FIBA 3x3 World Championship in Italy.

BFI announces India’s basketball contingent at 1st South Asian Beach Games in Sri Lanka

The Basketball Federation of India (BFI) will send both Men and Women Senior basketball teams to the 1st South Asian Beach Games that will be held in Hanbantota, Sri Lanka, from October 8-16, 2011. India will be amongst eight South Asian countries taking part in the Games, and the 3x3 Beach Basketball tournament from October 9-11 will feature four-player contingents sent from India in both the Men’s and the Women’s divisions. In addition, India will also be sending three FIBA officials to this event.

Hosts Sri Lanka will welcome Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, and Pakistan to the 2011 South Asian Beach Games, which will feature competitions in 12 sports: Beach Basketball, Beach Football, Beach Handball, Beach Kabbadi, Beach Netball, Beach Volleyball, Beach Body Building, Equestrian, Life Saving, Sailing, Swimming, and Triathlon.

The Beach Basketball tournament will be a modified 3-on-3 version of basketball, played with regulations similar to the FIBA 3x3 rules. Each team will have three starting players and one substitute.

The Indian Women’s contingent will be led by Pete Gaudet, the experienced American head coach of India’s National Senior Women’s team. Mr. Rajinder Singh will be leading the charge for India’s Men’s squad. Both the Men’s and Women’s teams will consist of some of the players who represented India in the 24th FIBA Asia Championship for Women in Japan and the 26th FIBA Asia Championship in China, respectively.

Indian Teams for the Beach Basketball competition at the 1st South Asian Beach Games in Hanbantota (Sri Lanka) – October 8-16, 2011:

Men

Yadwinder Singh

Jagdeep Singh

Vishesh Bhriguvanshi

Talwinderjit Singh Sahi

Coach: Rajinder Singh

Women

Geethu Anna Jose

Anitha Paul Durai

Raspreet Sidhu

Prashanti Singh

Coach: Pete Gaudet

Officials

Naresh Chander Aneja

Rajan Vellingirinathan

Anupam Sharma

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)

BFI announces U18 boys’ & girls’ teams for 1st FIBA 3x3 Youth World Championship

The Basketball Federation of India (BFI) have announced the U18 boys’ and girls’ teams that will represent India at the first-ever FIBA Invitational 3x3 Youth World Championship in the city of Rimini, Italy, from September 9-11, 2011. Teams from India will be amongst 36 boys’ and 24 girls’ teams from around the world taking part in this competition.

3x3 Basketball is the formalised version of three-on-three, half-court basketball. The format got its first major international test at the 2010 Youth Olympics in Singapore. The fast-paced games are played on one half of the FIBA regulation court. Each team contingent will consist of four players, of whom three will be on court at any given time, and one coach.

The Indian U18 girls’ team will be led by Pete Gaudet, the American basketball coach who is also the head coach of India’s Senior Women’s team. U18 Boys will be led by Coach Kulwinder Singh Gill from Madhya Pradesh.

India U18 basketball teams for the 1st FIBA 3x3 World Championship:

Boys

Kirti Goswami (Madhya Pradesh)

Love Neet Singh (Punjab)

Ajay Pratap Singh (Chhattisgarh)

Sivabalan Gnanasekaran (Tamil Nadu)

Coach: Kulwinder Singh Gill

Girls

Jeena PS (Kerala)

Aishwarya Natarajan (Tamil Nadu)

Amrutha Bhuskute (Maharashtra)

Shireen Limaye (Maharashtra)

Coach: Pete Gaudet

Here is the complete list of teams who will be participating in this tournament:

Boys: Austria, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Egypt, England, Estonia, Germany, Greece, Guam, India, Italy, Jordan, Japan, Latvia, Netherlands, Nepal, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Romania, South Africa, Russia, Singapore, Slovenia, Serbia, Spain, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, USA, Venezuela.

Girls: Angola, Australia, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Egypt, England, Germany, Greece, Guam, India, Italy, Japan, Netherland, Russia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, USA, Venezuela.

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.

India Women’s Squad for 2011 William Jones Basketball Tournament in Chinese Taipei

The roster of 12 women who will represent India at The 33rd William Jones International Basketball Tournament, which will be held in Chinese Taipei, has been released by Women’s coach Pete Gaudet and the Basketball Federation of India (BFI). The Women’s tournament, in which India is participating, will be held at the Taipei Gymnasium from July 31 – August 4.

Gaudet, who has been in training with the women’s probables at the Indira Gandhi Stadium in New Delhi for the past month will get a chance to see his team play their first competitive games under him at this international competition.

Indian team for William Jones Basketball Tournament

Prashanti Singh

Geethu Anna Jose

P. Anitha

Akanksha Singh

Raspreet Sidhu

M. Pushpa

Shireen Limaye

S. Kokila

Harjeet Kaur

Bharti Netam

Smruthi RK

Kruthika Lakshman

Head Coach: Pete Gaudet

Sonika Ohlyan and Asha Hegde have been selected as stand-by.

The William Jones Cup is an international basketball tournament held annually in Taipei, Taiwan. It was named after Renato William Jones, a basketball promoter and one of the founders of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA).

India will play in the round-robin tournament with the four other women’s teams who have confirmed participation in this year’s tournament: Japan, China, Korea, and Taiwan World University Games (WUG) team.

Schedule

July 31
16:00 Taiwan WUG-India
18:00 Opening ceremony
18:30 China-Japan

Aug. 1
17:00 Korea-Taiwan WUG
19:00 India-China

Aug. 2
17:00 Taiwan WUG-Japan
19:00 Korea-India

Aug. 3
17:00 Japan-Korea
19:00 China-Taiwan WUG

Aug. 4
17:00 India-Japan
19:00 Korea-China
21:00 Closing ceremony