Basketball Without Borders Asia Camp in Tokyo begins today with four Indian players

64 best young basketball prospects - boys and girls - from around Asia and Oceania will attend the 2019 Basketball Without Borders Asia Camp, set to be held in Tokyo, Japan, from August 14-17. Organised together by FIBA and the NBA, the camp will feature several current/former NBA/WNBA players and coaches.

Four Indian players have been invited to this edition of the camp: Siya Deodhar (Nagpur), Amaan Sandhu (Mohali), Harsimran Kaur (Jalandhar) and Arvinder Singh (Barnala). This is the second invited for Deodhar and Sandhu for the BWB Asia Camp, after last year's event that was held in home grounds in Greater Noida's NBA Academy India.

NBA/WNBA players/coaches leading this camp will include: Sam Cassell, Kevon Looney (Golden State Warriors), Robin Lopez (Milwaukee Bucks) Yuta Tabuse (formerly of the Phoenix Suns; Japan), Ashley Battle, Allison Feaster, Yolanda Moore, Pat Delany (Orlando Magic), Bryan Gates (Minnesota Timberwolves), Antonio Lang (Cleveland Cavaliers) and Wes Unseld Jr. (Denver Nuggets). Patrick Hunt (President of the World Association of Basketball Coaches; Australia) will be the camp director and Jeff Tanaka (Chicago Bulls) will serve as the camp’s athletic trainer.

Last year's India's Sanjana Ramesh won the girls' MVP honours at the 2018 BWB Asia Camp in India.

Hoopdarshan Episode 67: 3X3BL Commissioner Rohit Bakshi on the 3x3 pro basketball league in India

In Episode 67 of Hoopdarshan, Rohit Bakshi, the Commissioner of 3x3BL - the FIBA-affiliated 3x3 pro basketball league in India - talked to Kaushik Lakshman and Karan Madhok about the league's unlikely inception, dealing with speed-bumps in the first season, 3x3 fans around the country, expansion plans, and much more!

Bakshi is the CEO of YKBK Enterprise and the commissioner of the 3X3BL. Born and raised in Japan, he has long been involved with Indian basketball and has played in the 3x3 circuit in Japan. The 3X3BL will be starting its penultimate (fifth) round of the first season in Bengaluru this weekend.



Hoopdarshan is the truest voice of Indian basketball, and since we're such hopeless fans of the game, it will become the voice of everything basketball related we love, from the NBA to international hoops, too. On every episode of Hoopdarshan, we will be inviting a special guest to interview or chat to about a variety of topics. With expert insight from some of the brightest and most-involved people in the world of Indian basketball, we hope to bring this conversation to a many more interested fans, players, and followers of the game.

Make sure to follow Hoopdarshan on Soundcloud or search for 'Hoopdarshan' on the iTunes Store! Auto-sync Hoopdarshan to your preferred podcast app NOW!

Hoopdarshan can be found on...

• - iTunes: Hoopdarshan 
• - Hoopdarshan on Soundcloud 
• - On Twitter: @Hoopdarshan 
• - Facebook.com/Hoopdarshan 

Amjyot Singh's Team Hamamatsu to compete in FIBA 3x3 All Stars in Doha (Qatar)

Whether he is enjoying success or disappointments, having ups or downs, there is one clear certainty of India's basketball star Amjyot Singh: he isn't going to stop. Amjyot has been involved in a never-ending cycle of hoops, from playing professionally in Japan's D-League, to leading India to big international wins, to starring in FIBA 3x3 roles both in Japan first and then at the 3x3 World Tour in UAE, and up to declaring for the NBA's D-League draft. After a steady stream of progress, the last of those ambitions - the D-League - didn't prove fruitful this year. But Amjyot's response, as always, is to continue ballin'.

A few weeks after the disappointment of NBA D-League draft night, Amjyot is back on the court, back with his teammates of Tokyo's 'Team Hamamatsu' to take part in the final FIBA 3x3 event of the calendar year. Amjyot and his squad finished second in the 3x3 World Tour last month, and his superstar performances have now carried him and his team to the FIBA 3x3 All Stars in Doha (Qatar), starting on Friday, November 18.

There will be 8 teams participating in a direct knockout contest at the 3x3 All Stars event.

After his performances in UAE, Amjyot was named as the highest ranked 3×3 player in the "Rest of the world" category. His Team Hamamatsu are a team rich with Indian-origin talent, also featuring Inderbir Singh Gill (USA), Bikramjit Gill (Canada), along with Japan's Chihiro Ikeda.

List of Participating Teams this Year - via Ekalavyas.

• Novi Sad Al Wahda, UAE
• Saskatoon, Canada
• Doha, Qatar
• Hamamatsu, Japan
• Ljubljana, Slovenia
• NY Harlem NBA, USA
• McGill U, Canada
• Manila, Philippines

Hamamatsu has been seeded 4th and will face hosts Team Doha in the opening quarterfinal game on 18th Nov, from 8:30 pm IST.

India's star Amjyot Singh to headline his squad at FIBA 3x3 World Tour Finals in UAE

In a few days, one of the most talented Indian basketball players - Amjyot Singh Gill - will wait for the biggest step in his life at the NBA's D-League draft. But before he heads to the US, Amjyot is making a stopover in the UAE for another basketball extravanganza to add to the growing feathers in his cap.

Amjyot Singh is the marquee name in Team Hamamatsu, the champions from Tokyo who are one of the 12 finalists at the FIBA 3x3 World Tour Finals in Abu Dhabi (UAE), set to be held on October 27-28. Hamamatsu are a team rich with Indian-origin talent, and are even unofficially 'Team Gill' at the tournament, also featuring Inderbir Singh Gill (USA), Bikramjit Gill (Canada), along with Japan's Chihiro Ikeda. The three Indian-origin players completed training at the world-class Jaypee Greens facility in Greater Noida and flew out to Abu Dhabi on Wednesday, October 26.

The FIBA 3×3 World Tour Finals is a very prestigious event that is the equivalent of a World Cup for 3×3 basketball for professional players.

"Playing 5 on 5 (in Japan) was a very good experience as it was my first professional league," said Amjyot, "Playing in 3 on 3 was a whole new game for me but because of Inderbir and Bikram bhai they modified my game and helped me a lot to do what I’m doing now. We are prepared for the World Tour and we think we will do good. We are hopeful of reaching at least the semis and after that whichever team sets up its plays better will win."

Chandigarh's Amjyot (24), a six-foot-nine forward, has signed a contract with the NBA D-League and he will now be eligible for the D-League's draft on October 30th. OVer the last few years, Amjyot has truly made a mark on basketball in India and further around the Asian continent. With his performances for the national team, he has emerged as the best All-Round talent and one of the top superstars of the Indian national team. Abroad, he has excelled for the Tokyo Excellence in the Japanese D-League and made waves in the FIBA 3x3 tour in Tokyo. Most recently, he helped India to their best international basketball performance in 27 years with a 7th place finish at the FIBA Asia Challenge in Iran. In an interview a few weeks ago, Amjyot told me that he aims to be "the first Indian to play in the NBA."

Hoopdarshan Episode 20: The Greatest, Latest Bloomer with Amrit Pal Singh

At 19, Amrit Pal Singh was farming with his father in Fattuwal, Punjab when he was first introduced to basketball. At 23, he is one of India's finest basketball players and is playing professionally for the best team in Japan's D-League. Hoopdarshan - India's finest basketball podcast - introduces you to the dictionary definition of a 'Late Bloomer'. Listen in as Amrit Pal talks to co-hosts Kaushik Lakshman and Karan Madhok about his wild rise from the villages to the Indian hoops elite, his dominant performances in Japan, and finding Butter Chicken in Tokyo.

Apart from officially arriving into the 20s, this is also a Diwali special episode of Hoopdarshan, and we mention many tidbits of the festival from Mussoorie to Tokyo to Melbourne. Amrit Pal Singh further discussed his discovery at 19 in Fattuwal, his hopes to keep helping the rise of Team India, and who would win a 'war' basketball game between him, Amjyot Singh, and Satnam Singh. Furthermore, Kaushik and Karan recap recent events in Indian basketball including the rise of U16 star Baladhaneshwar Poiyamozhi, discuss the unstoppable machine that is the Golden State Warriors, and a story on randomly running into India's basketball captain at a train station.



Hoopdarshan aims to be the true voice of Indian basketball, and since we're such hopeless fans of the game, it will become the voice of everything basketball related we love, from the NBA to international hoops, too. On every episode of Hoopdarshan, we will be inviting a special guest to interview or chat to about a variety of topics. With expert insight from some of the brightest and most-involved people in the world of Indian basketball, we hope to bring this conversation to a many more interested fans, players, and followers of the game.

Make sure to follow Hoopdarshan on Soundcloud or search for 'Hoopdarshan' on the iTunes Store! Auto-sync Hoopdarshan to your preferred podcast app NOW!

Hoopdarshan can be found on...

• - iTunes: Hoopdarshan 
• - Hoopdarshan on Soundcloud 
• - On Twitter: @Hoopdarshan 
• - Facebook.com/Hoopdarshan 

India's Amrit Pal Singh and Amjyot Singh signed by Tokyo Excellence of Japan's Basketball D-League

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Amrit Pal Singh and Amjyot Singh have been tethered together for years. The two big men share a common state of origin (Punjab), a common family name (Singh), a common front-court in India's Men's Senior National Basketball team, and even common controversies. Earlier this year, Amrit Pal and Amjyot - starters for India's NT and two of the best basketball players that the nation has to offer - took their talents overseas to play together, in the same team, in Japan's BJ Summer League.

And now, still tethered together, Amrit Pal Singh (7-foot) and Amjyot Singh (6-foot-9) - both 23 - have taken another step towards making history. After impressive performances for Hyogo Impulse of the BJ Summer League from June to August 2015, the two bigs are heading off to a bigger city and a bigger league. The two Indian players have been signed on one-year contracts by Tokyo Excellence of the Japan's National Basketball Development League (NBDL). The NBDL was established in 2013 as a second-tier league below Japan's National Basketball League.

Tokyo Excellence has been the team with the best record in NBDL’s brief history, having won both the 2013-14 and 2014-15 championships. The team has active participation in hometown activities and events, including visits to schools and mentoring young basketball teams.

The period of their contracts is from 1st September 2015 to 31st March 2016. Expressing their happiness over the new opportunity, Amjyot and Amrit Pal said that they felt blessed and will look to do their best to make India proud.

The young cagers have been mainstays of the Indian Men’s National Team over the past two years, leading them to the historic, first ever victory over China in 2014 during the 5th FIBA Asia Cup held in Wuhan, China. Having learnt the fundamentals of the game at Ludhiana Basketball Academy under late Coach Dr. S. Subramaniam, the duo quickly developed their game and became vital to the Indian National Team’s success.

This significant move has been made possible by the behind-the-scenes effort put in by their managers, Rohit Bakshi (from YounGuns) and DIME Initiatives, along with well-respected Internationally Certified FIBA Agent Toshi Koga of Japan. “I’m just so happy that these kids are making India proud in Japan," Bakshi said, "These kids were trained in India and are showcasing their training at a high level. The Indian basketball fraternity needs to support them and help them get further by all means!”

Search 'Indian basketball player' internationally and the hype and results will likely point you to one name: Satnam Singh Bhamara, the first Indian citizen to be drafted into the NBA. But, while the 19-year-old Punjabi giant attempts to wade his way into America (and the world's) best basketball league through their Development League system, a couple of other Punjabi giants out of India are well on their way to scripting respectable professional careers for themselves internationally.

Even though they start this new professional chapter of their careers next week, Amrit Pal and Amjyot won't be deserting their national team responsibilites anytime soon. They have already discussed with their new club that they will be available to lead Team India's campaign at the 2015 FIBA Asia Championship - the biggest tournament that India's national team participates in - from September 23 to October 3 in Changsha, China. Althoug they were unavailable for India's practice and qualification for this tournament, their return will be a big boost for the team's campaign in China next month.

This is fantastic news for Amrit Pal and Amjyot, who are entering uncharted territory for Indian basketball players. India doesn't have its own full-time professional basketball league, and the players are right in their decision to make the most of their talents at a professional level whenever such an opportunity arises. Hopefully, they can continue rising up the ranks of Japanese basketball and their performances at the D-League earn them an opportunity with Japan's National Basketball League, too.

And hopefully, the inseparable superstars can continue on the path to success as they always have: together.

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Doha (Qatar) win 2015 FIBA 3x3 Beijing Masters; Indian teams knocked out early

It took a dramatic buzzer-beating winner in overtime by Dominic Jones to help Doha (Qatar) defeat their Slovenian opponents and seal the winner's trophy at the 2015 FIBA 3x3 Beijing Masters, an international 3x3 basketball tournament held at the Wukesong Hi-Park in Beijing (China) on August 15-16. India also sent two teams to this championship but both of them failed to make it past the tournament's first round.

On Sunday, August 16, Doha defeated Ljubljana from Slovenia in a nail-biting finale of the two-day tournament, 22-20, on the back of Jones' buzzer-beating shot.

Earlier on Sunday, Doha defeated UAE's Novi Sad Al Wahda 21-15 to punch in their ticket for the final, while Ljubljana silenced the home crowd with a 21-14 victory over Wukesong (China).

Wukesong's Chris Reaves scored 42 points over the two days to end as the top scorer of the Beijing 3x3 Masters.

India's two 3x3 teams - Chandigarh and Bangalore - were both knocked out of the tournament on its first day, after the group stage.

Team Bangalore was the squad which represented India at the 2015 3x3 South Asian Basketball Association (SABA) Qualifiers in Colombo earlier this month. Bangalore's first game was against home team Zheng Zhou of China. Despite keeping up with their opponents most of the game, Bangalore lost the final few points to go down 21-18. They played their next game against UAE's high-ranked squad Novi Sad Al Wahda, who won the game 21-13. Bangalore ended the tournament at ninth place.

Team Chandigarh was the squad which won gold as 'Punjab Warriors' at the 2014 NBA Jam Nationals Finals in Pune last December. They lost their first game to Tokyo (Japan) 21-12 and second one to hosts Wukesong 21-13. Chandigarh ended the tournament at 11th place.

The highest scoring Indian player was Jeevanantham Pandi of Bangalore, who finished with 17 points in his two games.

20-year-old Kushmeet Atwal from Chandigarh shone in the shootout contest by topping the qualification round. In the finals he finished third behind Dusan Domovic Bulut of Novi Sad Al Wahda and Xu Liu of Beijing. The other Indian in the fray, Siddhant Shinde from Team Bangalore failed to make it past the qualification stage.

Chandigarh’s Arshdeep Dhillon and Bangalore's Jeevanantham Pandi took part in the dunk contest but neither qualified for the knockout stages. The contest was eventually won by Jordan Kilganon of Canada.

2015 FIBA 3x3 Beijing Masters Final Standings

• 1. Doha (Qatar)
  
• 2. Ljubljana (Slovenia)
  
• 3. Novi Sad Al Wahda (UAE)
  
• 4. Wukesong (China)
  
• 5. Tokyo (Japan)
  

India’s Senior National team at the 4th FIBA Asia Cup in Tokyo

India’s Senior Men’s Basketball team has returned to competitive international action this week as they are amongst 10 squads taking part in the 4th FIBA Asia Cup, taking place in Tokyo, Japan. The Basketball Federation of India (BFI) announced the 12-member squad for India – led by Coach KK Chansoria – a few days ago. The tournament is being held from September 14-22, 2012.

Here's the full squad and short preview

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India’s Group & Schedule at 2012 FIBA Asia Cup

India’s Senior Men’s National basketball team will be amongst the top 10 squads from across Asia to take part in the 4th FIBA Asia Cup, scheduled to be held in Tokyo, Japan, from September 14th – 22nd. India have been drawn in Group B for the Preliminary Round of this tournament, along with Iran, Chinese Taipei, 2010 silver-medalists Japan, and 2010 bronze-medalists Qatar.

The winner of the FIBA Asia Cup will automatically qualify for the 27th FIBA Asia Championship in 2013. The top four teams in the tournament will earn additional berths for their FIBA Asia sub zones. The 2010 version of this tournament was held in Beirut, Lebanon, and was won by the host country.

India, who didn’t qualify for the tournament in 2010, are the only team from the South Asia Sub Zone this year.

Group A consists of reigning champions Lebanon, Asian powerhouses China, Macau, Philippines, and Uzbekistan.

India’s Preliminary Round Schedule (All timings IST)

• September 14 (10:30 AM): India vs. Iran
• September 15 (10:30 AM): India vs. Qatar
• September 16 (8 AM): India vs. Chinese Taipei
• September 17 (1 PM): India vs. Japan

The top four teams from each group will advance to the Quarter-Final stage.

2 Indian Youngsters chosen for 2012 Basketball Without Borders – Asia camp in Japan

Two up-and-coming Indian junior basketball players – Amit Kanarjee (Madhya Pradesh) and Palpreet Singh Brar (Punjab) – have been selected to attend the 2012 Basketball Without Borders (BWB) – Asia camp in Tokyo, Japan. The four-day camp started on Wednesday, June 13 and will conclude on June 17th, 2012.

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FIBA Asia releases 2012 Calender

From Lebanon to Malaysia, and from Mongolia to Japan, high-level basketball will travel all across the massive continent of Asia this year: FIBA Asia has released the complete Calender of dates and venues of its events in 2012, highlighted by the 4th FIBA Asia Cup in Tokyo this September.

The calendar will tip off with the 23rd FIBA Asia Champions Cup, FIBA Asia’s premier event for club teams, which will be hosted by Lebanon at Beirut from June 2–10th, 2012. The top club teams from the top basketball nations in the continent take part: last year's competition was won by Al-Riyadi Beirut in Pasig, Philippines.

In August, the best U18 players in Asia will compete in the 22nd FIBA Asia U18 Championship, which will be held in the Mongolian capital of UIaanbaatar from Aug 17-26. This is the first time that a FIBA Asia event will be held in Mongolia! Future stars of Asia will be showcased here: China won this championship with a dominating performance in Yemen two years ago, and India, who featured the likes of Arjun Singh and Rakesh Kumar Yadav, finished 13th despite a good showing. After India's good performance at last year's U16 Boys' Championship, we will be hoping that some of the confident young talent now matures to help the squad make a mark in Mongolia this year.

Known previously as the FIBA Asia Stankovic Cup, the 4th FIBA Asia Cup, which features the the 10 top senior National Teams in Asia, will be held in Tokyo, Japan, from September 14-22. The champions from the 4th FIBA Asia Cup will earn a direct qualification to the 27th FIBA Asia Championship in 2013. The previous edition of this cup was held in Lebanon and won by the hosts.

The best under-18 women players will compete at Batu Pahat in Malaysia, at the 21st FIBA Asia U18 Championship for Women, which is the last FIBA Asia event of the year, from September 29th - 6th October. This is the qualifying event for the 2013 FIBA World U19 Championship for Women. The 20th edition of this tournament was held in Thailand in 2010 and won by China. India will be competing in this championship, showcasing the up-and-comers in the women's section from around the country.

Here is the complete 2012 FIBA Asia Calender:

23rd FIBA Asia Champions Cup - June 2-10 - Beirut, Lebanon

22nd FIBA Asia U18 Championship - August 17-26 - Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

4th FIBA Asia Cup - September 14-22 - Tokyo, Japan

21st FIBA Asia U18 Championship for Women - September 29-October 6 - Batu Pahat, Malaysia.