Hoopdarshan Episode 94: Siddarth Sharma on the UBA League and his epic bike trip to the NBA India Games

To watch the first-ever NBA India Games in October, Indian basketball superfan and journalist Siddarth Sharma (a.k.a. SidBreakBall) embarked on an epic 3-day, 2,000 km bike journey from Kolkata to Mumbai. On Episode 94 of Hoopdarshan, Sharma joins co-hosts Kaushik Lakshman and Karan Madhok to discuss this wild trip, his memories at the very first NBA preseason game in India, working as a broadcaster for the UBA league, and the hoops scene in Kolkata.

As an NBA and Indian basketball writer, Sharma has contributed over a thousand stories to SportsKeeda and other websites. He worked as a guest commentator at the UBA pro league in India and now works at Decathlon Sports India.



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 

Hoopdarshan Episode 57: Ridhima Pathak on anchoring NBA show "Around the Hoop" for Indian fans

For NBA fans in India, one of the most consistent voices in the media over the past few years has been of Ridhima Pathak, anchor of the Sony SIX show NBA Around the Hoop. In Episode 57 of Hoopdarshan, Ridhima joins hosts Kaushik Lakshman and Karan Madhok to talk about her unlikely journey into NBA broadcasting, her love for the Cavaliers, Steph Curry, and her special khichdi recipe.

In the newest episode, Kaushik and Karan also discuss their favourites for the NBA All Star Game, the Lakers' Ball family fiasco, and more.



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 

12 basketball stars from UBA League in India head to USA for 3rd annual pro camp

For the third consecutive year, UBA India will take twelve of the brightest Indian stars to the USA for the annual UBA Pro Performance Camp. The camp will be held in Phoenix, Arizona, from December 4-15, featuring the Indian players, top training professionals with the UBA, and dozens of additional American/NRI professional players and trainers based in the US. According to UBA India, the training camp is designed to help the players maximize their skills as a basketball player, increase their overall strength as an athlete and learn to train in ways which they can maintain when returning home.

Photo courtesy: UBA India

"Every day, our goal is to be stronger and faster than we were the day before," said Jody Basye, the UBA's Director of Coaching. "This year, more players are coming, increasing the talent pool from around the world to play in the UBA. This camp plays a big role in making the game even more exciting for our fans in India."

The UBA has already held for short-term pro leagues in India over the past two-and-a-half years. Last year's Season 4 - which featured several of India's top players and foreign imports - was the grandest showcase for the league yet and was won by the Mumbai Challengers.

The players heading to the USA for the 3rd Pro Performance camp are:

• Chukwunanu Agu (Chennai Slam)
• Ajinkya Mane (Pune Peshwas)
• Gurwinder "Garry" Singh Gill (Punjab Steelers)
• Jagdeep Singh Bains (Mumbai Challengers)
• Muin Bek Hafeez (Delhi Capitals)
• Narender Grewal (Pune Peshwas)
• Nikhil Kumar (Mumbai Challengers)
• Palpreet Singh Brar (Bengaluru Beast)
• Prudhvi Reddy (Mumbai Challengers)
• Rikin Pethani (Chennai Slam)
• Siddhant Shinde (Pune Peshwas)
• Yadwinder Singh (Haryana Gold)

Photo courtesy: UBA India

According to the UBA, invitations were based on the players' performances in last season's league, but missing on the list is Season 4's Indian MVP Vishesh Bhriguvanshi (injured). Big man duo of Amjyot Singh and Amritpal Singh are busy with their obligations in foreign leagues. The list does include Na number of players who have made recent national team appearances for India, including Gurwinder Gill, Jagdeep Singh, Muin Bek, Palpreet Singh, Prudhvi Reddy, Rikhin Pethani, and Yadwinder Singh.

Additionally, up to 36 additional international professional players from North America, including players of Indian origin, will be attending the camp, vying for a coveted spot on a UBA team for Season 5. These will include UBA Season 4 International MVP Dermaine Crockrell, Jimmy Scroggins, Pierre Newton, Brendon Pineda, Alex Scales and Inderbir Gill, all four of whom played in Season 4.

The players will be put through a rigorous 2-weeks of training. Read more about it here.

UBA India hands multi-year contracts to 30 top basketball players - including Satnam Singh

For the past few years, the UBA India has introduced an exciting new avenue for Indian basketball players, launching short competitive seasons of their growing UBA Basketball League, helping India's top players improve the level of their game, and even roping in NBA legend AC Green as their new director of sport. Now, with ambitions to secure the services of their top players for the long term - before the Indian basketball bubble expands - UBA has handed multi-year professional contracts to 30 of their top Indian basketball players. This is the first time that basketball players in India will get guaranteed contracts of this length.

Earlier this month, the UBA signed Satnam Singh, the first Indian drafted into the NBA, to a contract with the league. Satnam had spent the past two seasons playing with the Texas Legends of the NBA's G-League and is set to join his home state's Punjab Steelers with the UBA. Now, they have followed up the big news with the announcement that 29 more players will be signed to contracts into seven of the eight UBA teams.

"I still remember the day I signed my first professional contract in the NBA," said AC Green. "It left a huge impression on my life. Now these players get to experience that same feeling that I once had upon signing my first contract. We are excited about our upcoming season and the future of Indian basketball."

The contracts range from three to five years for a combined total of more than Rs 16 crore. In addition, the signed players will also receive basketball and fitness training from top experts in the USA, along with nutritional guidance to help them maximise their potential.

Apart from Satnam, the players signed to these contracts include several with past or present Indian national team experience, such as Palpreet Brar, Rikin Pethani, Anil Kumar Gowda, Muin Bek Hafeez, Yadwinder Singh, Jagdeep Singh Bains, Prasanna Venkatesh, and TJ Sahi. India's top three players - Vishesh Bhriguvanshi, Amritpal Singh, and Amjyot Singh - are absent from this list, even though all of them participated in the UBA's last season. Bhriguvanshi is recovering from an injury and has been signed by the NBL's Adelaide 36ers as a reserve. Amritpal has become the first Indian to play in the Australian NBL after he was signed by the Sydney Kings. Amjyot was drafted by the NBA G-League and is currently playing for the OKC Blue.

List of players signed with UBA to multi-year deals - via SportStar

• Bengaluru Beast: Palpreet Brar, Loveneet Singh Atwal, Kaif Zia, Visu Palani, Khushmeet Singh Atwal.
• Chennai Slam: Chukwunanu Agu, Cammy Carmel, Rikin Pethani.
• Delhi Capitals: Anil Kumar Gowda, Muin Bek Hafeez, Vinay Kaushik.
• Haryana Gold: Yadwinder Singh, Akashdeep Hazra, Himanshu Sharma.
• Mumbai Challengers: Jagdeep Singh Bains, Prasanna Venkatesh, Prudhvi Reddy, Jeevanantham Pandi, Dildar Brar.
• Pune Peshwas: Siddhant Shinde, Arshpreet Bhullar, Ajinkya Mane.
• Punjab Steelers: Gurvinder Singh Gill, Sagar Joshi, Harmanpreet Singh, Taj Sandhu, Kaushal Ravi Kumar, Satnam Singh, TJ Sahi, Vikas Mor.

In India, where there is no full-time professional league and the top basketball players are semi-professionals that usually have other jobs, multi-year contracts are a major step forward in helping top talent get job security. Hopefully, this translates to better play on court and more competition in players aspiring to play and star for the UBA.

The Mumbai Challengers won Season 4 of the UBA League in March earlier this year, led by their foreign imports Alex Scales, Jimmy Scroggins, Inderbir Singh Gill, as well as experienced Indian veterans Bains and Venkatesh. The new guaranteed contracts, inclusion of Satnam in the fray and AC Green in the management side, plus the continuing improvement of the players, should help in another great season of basketball when UBA returns for Season 5.

NBA Legend AC Green joins UBA India as Director of Sport

Through a 16-year career in the NBA, big man AC Green made a reputation for himself as the ultimate 'Ironman' of the league. He played in 1278 out of 1281 games in his career (99.8%) and made the record for most consecutive games played in NBA or ABA history (1,192). His efforts bore him great fruit, as Green won three championships through the course of his career with the Los Angeles Lakers and even made the 1990 All Star Team.

Now, Green will hope that his experience and tenacity will brush off on to a new generation of athletes - all the way in India.

After conducting four iterations of their trail-blazing basketball league in the country, UBA India (United Basketball Alliance) announced on Friday that they will be appointing Green as their Director of Sport. Green will help to continue develop the league with his experience and become the most famous international face attached to UBA's efforts in India.

“Today, we continue our commitment to India and the game of basketball by adding a key member to our team who brings the game’s highest level of professionalism to the UBA," said Tommy Fisher, UBA Chairman. "We’re excited to have A.C. as part of our team and look forward to continued growth of basketball in India.”

Green is no novice to India. He visited the country first in 2009 for grassroots programme and to inaugurate an NBA donated basketball court in Mumbai.

“Basketball is such an important part of my life and I am happy to be heading to India once again to help further the growth and development of the sport I love," said Green. "The UBA has made great strides in the last two years and I look forward to building upon that success.”

Green was drafted by the Lakers in 1985, where he won two championships as part of Magic Johnson's "Showtime" squads as a youngster. In the mid 90s, he played for the Phoenix Suns and Dallas Mavericks, before returning to the Lakers for one more championship in 2000 with Shaq and Kobe. He retired after a final season with the Miami Heat in 2001.

The UBA held the first season of the UBA Basketball League in Hyderabad in July 2015. Ever since then, the league has held three more seasons, expanded their events to more cities like Pune, Chennai, and Bengaluru, broadcast games live on Ten Sports, welcomed a number of celebrities to promote the league, and took their elite players for coaching to the United States. This year's Season 4 was UBA's biggest one yet: in addition to incorporating more foreign imports into the league, they were also able to secure the talents of India's best players in their teams, and thus significantly raise the level of the game. Green's involvement adds yet another facet to their development plans for basketball in India.

UBA Basketball League season 4 to be held in Chennai and Goa from Feb 16

In the space of one year, the United Basketball Alliance of India (UBA India) held three quick, short basketball leagues around the country, holding events in Hyderabad, Bengaluru, and Pune. The rapidly rising association has now announced the dates and host cities for Season 4: for the first time, UBA will be holding official events in two new cities - Chennai and Goa - in the new season, which is set to be held from February 16 to March 16, 2017.

The league is structured as eight teams play a regular season during competing to qualify for the playoffs. The teams are divided into two divisions and feature some of the country’s finest players: The Mumbai Challengers, Delhi Capitals, Haryana Gold and Punjab Steelers form the North Division, and the Chennai Slam, Pune Peshwas, Bengaluru Beast and Hyderabad Sky make up the South Division. The league stage will be held in Chennai's Satyabhama University from February 16 to March 1, before moving to Goa for the championship round (semi-finals and finals) from March 10-16.

Chennai Slam have been the league's most excellent team thus far, qualifying for all three finals and winning Season 1 and 3. The Delhi Capitals paused Chennai's reign with a victory over them in the Season 2 finals. With home advantage in the early stage of the tournament, Chennai will once again be one of the big teams to watch this season. Season 3 finalists Punjab Steelers will be searching for redemption this time around, too.

In December, the UBA hosted its second Pro Performance Camp in Phoenix (USA), where 15 elite UBA players joined American players to take part in various team-building exercises, working on fundamentals, dribbling, defense techniques and shooting drills.

An exciting new addition to the league this season will be the introduction of ten international professionals from the USA to join current UBA teams. These players worked out with the UBA's Indian players in December and will step into the UBA spotlight for the first time this February. At least one international American player will be added on each UBA team, creating stronger competition, performance and a unique experience for the fans of basketball across India.

The most experienced American player coming to India to play in UBA Season 4 is Alex Scales. The 38-year-old shooting guard from the University of Oregan, reached the pinnacle of his career in a one game stint with the San Antonio Spurs in 2005. He has played professionally around the world, including the NBA's D-League, Italy, China, Argentina, Korea, Spain, Greece, Russia, Ukraine, Turkey, Puerto Rico, and most recently, for Tadamon Zouk in Lebanon. Joining Scales will be Indian-American player of Indian origin Chris Solomon, who played college ball in Florida at Northwood University, then professionally in Italy and Mexico. Other American players include Ron March, Pierre Newton, Tevin Kelly, Mak Boskailo, De'Sean Mattox, Jimmy Scroggins, Brendan Pineda-Morales and Dermaine Crockrell.

On announcing Season Four, CEO of United Basketball Alliance, Tommy Fisher said, "We are absolutely elated to raise the game of basketball in India for the fourth season of UBA. Our goal is to always improve in all aspects from the previous season. The past three seasons have shown significant growth and excitement, and we expect nothing less in Season 4. Basketball continues to gain popularity across India in a big way and we are delighted to be associated with this movement in India. We look forward to seeing talented young players step up and showcase their exceptional skill and talent."

Photo courtesy: UBA India

The UBA were recently victims of some controversy when the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) considered them an 'unauthorised competition' and banned 122 players, officials, coaches, and staff who took part in UBA's Season 3 from participating in all official Indian basketball activities. Last month, the BFI's president K. Govindraj hinted that the BFI will be reconsidering the ban with their sub-committee later this year. It remains to be seen if Season 4 participants will face a similar ban, too

You can catch all the action LIVE for the 4th Season on the Ten Sports network channels - Ten 1 HD and Ten 3 from 16th February- 16th March 2017 from Chennai and Goa.

For second year, UBA holds camp for elite Indian players in the USA

For the second consecutive year, several top players and coaches from India's UBA Basketball League have been taken to Phoenix, Arizona, in the USA for an intense camp. Fifteen players and two coaches will be in intense training from December 10-21, and take part in various basketball-related activities like attending local NBA and NCAA games.

This is the second year that the UBA League - which completed its third season in India earlier this year - have taken its top players to get exposure abroad and improve their games.

The players attending the UBA camp in Phoenix this year are:

• Gurvinder Singh Gill (Punjab Steelers)
• Sartaj Singh (Punjab Steelers)
• Narender Grewal (Pune Peshwas)
• Siddhanth Shinde (Pune Peshwas)
• Ajinkya Mane (Pune Peshwas)
• Gaurav Ohlan (Pune Peshwas)
• Mahesh Padmanabhan (Hyderabad Sky)
• Manu Thomas (Hyderabad Sky)
• Dildar Singh (Mumbai Challengers)
• Prudhvi Reddy (Mumbai Challengers)
• Nikhil (Mumbai Challengers)
• Jairam Jat (Chennai Slam)
• Vikas Mor (Haryana Gold)
• Himanshu Sharma (Haryana Gold)
• Akashdeep Hazra (Haryana Gold)
• Coach: Puneeth Suresh (Bengaluru Beast)
• Coach: Ram Kumar (Pune Peshwas)
  

The players are taking part in two practices per day and will take part in two scrimmages with a local All Star team. Nine American players will be working each day with the Indian players at practice and conditioning, headlined by former San Antonio Spurs and University of Oregon player Alex Scales. There will also be several fun events like seeing a Phoenix Suns game amd an Arizona State game.

Ten Sports to broadcast five seasons of the UBA Basketball League in India

Good news for Indian basketball fans who are tired of never seeing Indians playing basketball on TV.

Last year, Ten Sports, and its affiliate channels Ten HD and Ten Action, began to show tape delay matches of the experimental first season of the UBA Basketball League. As the league grew bigger in the second season, so did its relationship with its broadcast partner - this season, the league is being held over the course of several months in two different cities, and as a bonus, all of its matches are being shown live on the Ten Sports Network Channels. This is the first time that domestic basketball is being shown on privately-owned TV channels in India.

Turns out, there is a lot more basketball to bounce into our eyeballs in the near future.

UBA India - the organizers of the UBA Basketball League - and the Ten Network recently announced that the two have signed an incredible five-year broadcast partnership deal. Season 2 - currently in progress - will have a minimum of 36 live matches with international quality HD production. Broadcast veterans Paul Crane and Victor Howell will lead the broadcast coverage for Season 2 on Ten Sports.

More from BestMediaInfo.com:

Announcing the deal, Rajesh Sethi, Global CEO of Ten Sports, said, "We are delighted to partner with UBA for India’s first Professional Basketball League. I am confident that UBA will change the face of Indian Professional Basketball forever. There is a lot of participation in basketball among younger audiences and through the UBA, Ten Sports will offer the best of Indian basketball to our viewers. With increased opportunity to take up the sport professionally and with the training camps, we will see more talent coming through the ranks which will enhance the quality of play. Ten Sports will offer the best of programming on UBA through live broadcasts, studio and wrap-around shows and other educational content."

"The players were trained just as pro athletes train in the US, every day with very little time off. The first week they struggled, but in the second week, their strength and ability saw significant increases. We know with continued programmes, the players can reach elite levels," said Jody Basye, US Coaching Sr. Manager.
A documentary titled ‘Inside the UBA’ on the rigorous training camp and the life of the to-be stars was filmed and is airing on Ten Sports Network channels. The UBA plans to make these training camps for the best players an annual affair and provide them the much-needed exposure to improve the standard of the game in India.
UBA Season 1 saw celebrities like Abhishek Bachchan and Evelyn Sharma attend matches, while Union minister of state for parliamentary affairs, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and Telangana State’s sports minister, T. Padma Rao, were special guests. The UBA will continue working towards involving celebrities in the game and the league.
Tommy Fisher, President of Fisher Industries and CEO of UBA, said, "The response of Bollywood, local and central government agencies has been extremely positive. In the weeks, months and years ahead, we plan on working hand in hand to help develop basketball as a superior sport and form of entertainment in India."

The UBA League has brought an exciting new avenue for Indian Basketball. The first season of the league was held in summer 2015. The UBA brought together teams representing eight different Indian regions – Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Chennai, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Pune – to Hyderabad for a two-week long competition. The team colours, logos, jerseys, and names added an exciting new dimension to Indian basketball like never before. The league was short, and there was no ‘home-and-away’ format, but it was an encouraging start.

This year, the UBA Basketball League has doubled its efforts for the second season. After selection tryouts among hundreds of players in Bengaluru, the league launched Season 2 in two phases in two different cities – Pune and Hyderabad – last month and stretched out the schedule of games to nearly seven weeks. The first phase of games have already been held in Pune; the second phase is set to begin in Hyderabad.

This season, matches are broadcast live on Ten Action and Ten HD on two primetime slots, at 4.30 PM and 7 PM, to ensure maximum coverage and reach for the UBA Pro League.

You can find the full schedule of games on the Ten Network this season on UBA India's website.

This is an extremely encouraging development. I became a huge NBA fan primarily because, growing up, I had an opportunity to see the best NBA players perform live in TV while sitting a world away from them, or watch shows about their lifestyle, their mentality, their preparation, and more. As I grew up and began to dive my interest into Indian basketball, I was sad to see that there was very little available for easy and mainstream consumption for fans. Without that fan reach, young Indians haven't been able to idolise or be inspired by India's top players. This new Ten Sports deal has the potential to change that. Many more Indian fans of all ages will be able to tune in and catch top Indian players in action or learn about them in UBA's off-court programming. While the league still doesn't feature many of the Indian national team's trademark names, national TV visibility will create names out of the new faces, and perhaps, urge some of those trademark names to be swayed towards the UBA, too. Hopefully, we will see a day when the next generation of Indian basketball fans are able to learn about their domestic players as well as they know the NBA stars tens of thousands of kilometers away.

Restart Game: The UBA League brings an exciting new avenue for Indian Basketball

Without a professional basketball league, basketball hasn’t received the media and mainstream visibility it deserves, and the financial growth of the sport has suffered as a result. But perhaps, there is a chance to try again, to give the sport the boost it needs from a different angle. And through the early steps of their basketball league, the Universal Basketball Alliance (UBA India) is trying to do just that.

Click here to read my full feature on SportsKeeda!

UBA Basketball League - with teams from around India - returns bigger and better for Season 2

Indian basketball players rejoice! Season 2 of the UBA Basketball League, is all set to be held between February 18th to April 3rd, 2016. The two phase event featuring professional eight teams representing teams from around the country is to be held at Pune’s Balewadi Stadium and Hyderabad’ Gachibowli Stadium. The league will be telecast live on Ten network channels: Ten Sports, Ten Action, and Ten HD.

With the objective of promoting basketball among the sports lovers, the United Basketball Alliance India (P) Ltd. (UBA India), has initiated a professional league that provides the young and experienced players, a platform to express themselves on the court. The league comprises of eight professional teams from different cities of India, which compete over the course of two months emerge as the Champions of the Season 2. The participating teams are: Pune Peshwas, Hyderabad Sky, Chennai Slam, Punjab Steelers, Bengaluru Beast, Delhi Capitals, Haryana Gold and Mumbai Challengers.

Speaking about the League, Todd Mack, Managing Director of UBA India, said, "Pro Basketball League is the platform, much needed for basketball players in India, who aspire to make it big in the sport. UBA provides these young players, an opportunity to test their skills at a professional level. Additionally, the best players from the League get an opportunity to train outside India, and rub shoulders with some of the big names of the sport, from around the world."

Olympic medallist boxer MC Mary Kom and Bollywood actor Suniel Shetty will grace the opening ceremony on Thursday, 18th February as chief guests at the Balewadi Stadium in Pune. The Basketball Federation of India (BFI) is extending its support to this event, and former international player, Norman Isaac of BFI, will be the Technical Commissioner of the League.

UBA has partnered with Emmy Award winning broadcaster Paul Crane who has covered sports at the highest levels in the United States for over three decades, to present the Pro Basketball League 2016. Steve Graham, executive producer of the League, has been involved with six past Olympic Games, international triathlons, auto racing and international volleyball games in his career.

The complete schedule of games in Pune and Hyderabad, including the semi-finals and finals, have been posted on Ekalavayas.com. You should head over to their report to also find a complete breakdown of all the eight participating rosters. The teams have been divided into North and South divisions, and each team will play four games: three against their division opponents and one cross-division match. In preparation for the second season, UBA held selection tryouts at the Jain International Residential School in Bengaluru earlier this week with 195 young players from all over India to form new squads before the league tips off.

Some notes of interest on the various participating teams:

South Division

• Prasanna Jayasankar, a former India women’s captain, is the coach of Bengaluru Beast.
• Current India international, Narender Grewal will be suiting up for the Pune Peshwas. The Peshwas lost in the finals of Season 1 of the league last year to Chennai. They will have home support in the opening stage of the league.
• Chennai Slam are the reigning champions and feature the talented Nigerian player Chukwunanu Agu.
• Hyderabad Sky feature veteran international point guard Joginder Singh.

North Division

• Renowned women’s coach Shiba Maggon will be leading Haryana Gold. The team also features talented names like Ashiv Jain and Sanjeev Kumar.
• Delhi Capitals have added Indian international Vinay Kaushik to their roster.
• Mumbai Challengers feature former India international star Jagdeep Singh Bains, as well as guard Ranbir Singh. Up-and-comer Prudhvi Reddy is also part of the Mumbai squad, which is being coached by former India junior coach PC Antony.
• Promising young big man Gurvinder Singh Gill will highlight the Punjab Steelers team, who will be without last year's MVP Ravi Bhardwaj.

Will Chennai repeat it's crown? The most stacked squad this year seems to be Mumbai, but the Slam have veteran stars who have tasted the success of winning from Season 1 already. Punjab's fortunes will depend heavily on the shoulders of young man Gill, and don't sleep on Haryana causing some havoc with their young talent, too.

Season 2 has returned bigger than ever, and having the games broadcast live on Ten Sports etc. will be a major step in ensuring that basketball action gets more attention from casual mainstream fans. Hopefully, the league can feature exciting moments to showcase India's ever-deepening pool of basketball talent. Several of the top international level Indian players have still not signed up for this league, but as it gets bigger, I'm sure that they will give it some consideration, especially since there is no other full-time professional basketball league option in India.

UBA holds selection trials for second season of their basketball league in Bengaluru

Last summer, the Universal Basketball Alliance of India (UBA India) introduced a unique new competition to the annual Indian basketball calendar. For two weeks in July, UBA brought together eight different teams representing major Indian cities to Hyderabad for a short-term basketball league. Although the first-of-its-kind experiment didn't attract India's cream of the crop basketball talent, it provided a strong alternative for hoop hopefuls looking for a payday in a country that still doesn't have a full-size national professional basketball league.

Boosted by the success of its first season, UBA are now set to launch Season 2 of their basketball league on February 18. In preparation for the second season, UBA held selection tryouts at the Jain International Residential School in Bengaluru earlier this week with 195 young players from all over India to form new squads before the league tips off.

Foreign trainers from the US, along with highly respected senior Indian coaches, evaluated the players on a number of parameters by putting them through a series of gruelling sessions. After selection trials in Bengaluru, this year's UBA Basketball League will be divided into two phases of games, in Pune and Hyderabad. The newly formed squads will travel to Pune for the first phase of the Pro League, to be held at the Chhattrapati Shivaji sports complex in Balewadi from February 18-28. The second & final phase will be held at the Gachibowli Stadium in Hyderabad between March 21 - April 3. UBA Season 2 will be telecast live on Ten Sports, another first in the history of Indian basketball.

Having the league in two phases allows more fans to witness the star players in action, and also gives teams time to prepare and strategise for the second phase. The eight teams from last year— Pune Peshwas, Hyderabad Sky, Chennai Slam (the reigning champions from the 2015 season) Punjab Steelers, Bengaluru Beast, Delhi Capitals, Haryana Gold and Mumbai Challengers— are back again this time around. The teams will be divided into North and South divisions, and each team will play four games: three against their division opponents and one cross-division match.

"Season 1 was about exploring possibilities and seeing what we could do to create opportunities for players," said UBA India Director Deepesh Solanki. "Now that a platform has been built, the next step is to successfully implement what we have planned."

"We are happy to see that kids are finally dreaming of being pros and having their own Indian basketball heroes to look up to. Instead of following Lebron they will now start idolising Jagdeep Singh Bains."

Bains, a former India star and mentor to Satnam Singh, was among the nine Indian players last year taken to Phoenix, Arizona in the USA by UBA India for a special basketball and fitness training programme.

The 195 players fought for 90 spots in the eight city-based teams for the league. "We have decided to reopen all the spots on the eight teams to give a fair chance to every athlete and for the coaches to take a good look at them." said Solanki, "We have been getting flooded with requests from players to join the tryouts— over 400 calls — but we could admit only around 200."

The coaches of last year’s finalist teams, Pune Peshwas and Chennai Slam, have been retained, and six new coaches for the remaining franchises will be hired. Prasanna Jayasankar, Shiba Maggon, Anthony PC, CV Sunny and Sunny Thomas are few of the respected Indian coaches roped in as part of the long term player development programmes, to ensure players are in top shape from one season to next.

"In my experience of over 30 years in basketball, this is the first time open tryouts have been held," said Jayasankar, a former Indian women’s team captain and longstanding coach, "All the boys are getting good opportunity. Anybody can come and give their best. From Indian players, to school kids, all are participating."

With the league now spreading to two cities and held over a total course of three weeks, UBA India has taken small but positive steps forward to expand their presence in Indian basketball. While Bains seems to be the marquee name in the league this time around, there is still a chance that bigger Indian stars will sign up to test their talent as the league gains traction and grows bigger. A few current and former Indian national players like Ajay Pratap Singh have already signed on for Season 2, and many more names could be revealed soon. A couple of Indian-origin players from abroad have also seen this as a boon to return to their ancestral homeland and participate in the growth of basketball here.

Let's be real, Indian kids are never going to idolise Jagdeep Singh Bains instead of LeBron James as Solanki suggested, but now, especially if the league receives good media and Ten Sports broadcast coverage, there is a chance that both of them can be idolised together!

UBA takes nine Indian basketball players to USA for special training

Earlier this year, the Universal Basketball Alliance (UBA) of India launched their first two-week professional basketball league in India. The league featured eight participating teams representing different Indian cities and games were played in Hyderabad in July. Although the league featured some high-level Indian basketball talent, only a small handful of players were among India's elite or in contention for India's national teams. Chennai Slam won the inaugural event with a final victory over Pune. UBA are also the organizers of India's Men's National University Basketball Tournament.

Now, the UBA is on a quest to help its top players get even better, and in the process shed further light on their efforts to promote their basketball events in India. The UBA has chosen nine Indian players - eight of whom played in the inaugural season of the 2015 UBA Basketball League - to take to Phoenix, Arizona, in the USA for special basketball and fitness training and the opportunity to watch an NBA game in person.

The nine Indian players are currently training at the Kiwanis Recreation Centre, Tempe in Phoenix. They have been provided specially designed professional basketball workout programmes with scouts in attendance. Among the eight veterans of the inaugural UBA pro league earlier this year are India's international player Gurvinder Singh Gill and 2015 UBA Basketball League MVP Ravi Bhardwaj. Although he didn't play in the first season of the league, Punjab and international Indian team veteran Jagdeep Singh Bains is the ninth member of the travelling contingent to train America.

Participating Players

• Jagdeep Singh Bains (Punjab, Senior India International)
  
• Gurvinder Singh Gill (Punjab Steelers, Current Senior India)
  
• Ravi Bhardwaj (Punjab Steelers, MVP)
  
• Sartaj Singh (Punjab Steelers)
  
• Yudhvir Singh (Delhi Capitals)
  
• Vijay (Pune Peshwas)
  
• Ramkumar (Chennai Slam)
  
• Kaife Azam Zia (Bengaluru Beast)
  
• Ajinkya Mehta (Pune Peshwas)
  

Deepesh Solanki, the CEO of UBA India, who is personally accompanying the contingent said, "This programme has been specially designed by professional coaches for our players. Scouts have been invited as well and we are confident that this initiative will re-energize and transform the performance of these elite talents going into season 2 of the UBA India Pro Basketball League."

The players have been taking part in as many as four daily sessions that included basketball practices, strength and conditioning workouts, and physiotherapy. On Sunday, November 15, they got a chance to watch in person their first NBA game at Phoenix's Talking Stick Resort Arena, which the home team Phoenix Suns won 105-81 over the visiting Denver Nuggets.

Chennai Slam win inaugural season of UBA Basketball League in Hyderabad

Large crowds of fans cheered on from the bleachers. Bollywood and TV celebrities watched from the sideline. And on the court, talented basketball players provided a unique stage never been set in India before.

And after two weeks of basketball featuring players and teams from all over the nation, the final turned out to be a triumphant day for the Chennai Slam, who brushed aside the Pune Peshwas to be crowned champions of the 2015 UBA Basketball League at the Gachibowli Stadium in Hyderabad on Thursday, July 30.

The Universal Basketball Alliance - UBA India - brought together eight teams from around India for two weeks of this unique initiative, a short professional basketball league in a country that has never had an official pro league before. Tipped off on July 17, the participating teams came from Chennai, Pune, Punjab, Mumbai, New Delhi, Bengaluru, Haryana, and the hosts Hyderabad to play in a round-robin fashion league before the knockout semi-final/final stage in the last two days.

Although Chennai and Pune had split their league games 1-1, the final was a completely one-sided affair. Chennai were precise and perfect, the exact opposite of some careless and nervous play displayed by their opponents, to take a 14-point lead at halftime and extended it 20 soon after to turn the game into a blowout early. When the dust settled, Chennai had won 81-49 and lifted the first-ever title at the inaugural league. The Slam's trio of the Nigerian Chukwunanu Agu (22), Bernette Carmel Joseph (21), and Ramkumar (19) did most of the scoring damage for the victors.

Indian actor Vidyut Jamwal one of the special guests at the finale and distributed the medals to the players during the prize distribution ceremony. Also present were senior UBA executives such as Tommy Fisher (major UBA shareholder and President and CEO of USA-based construction company Fisher Industries), Richard Whelan, Sunday Zeller (Founders and Co-CEOs, UBA), Tausif Sheikh (Managing Director, UBA India) and Deepesh Solanki (CEO, UBA India). Other dignitaries for the final match included noted artists from the Telengana film fraternity.

Winners Chennai Slam were awarded with a cash prize of INR 7 lakhs along with their gold medals. First runners up Pune Peshwas secured the silver medals and a cash prize of INR 3 lakhs. Haryana Gold won the 2nd runners up trophy owing to their superior league stage record over the Punjab Steelers.

The MVP of the tournament was Punjab Steelers forward Ravi Bhardwaj, who put up consistent numbers throughout the tournament. He won a Hyosung GTR superbike along with the MVP trophy.

Chennai's final triumph was in the making as they revved up and gained momentum the further they went into the tournament. At the semi-final stage just a day earlier, they unleashed a scoring barrage on the Punjab Steelers to win 92-77. Despite being down by four in the first quarter, Chennai bounced back to take the lead before halftime and stuck to it till the game concluded. Vignesh Prabhu (24) and Ramkumar (19) were the top scorers for Chennai while Sartaj Sandhu (28) and Ravi Bhardwaj (20) did the scoring damage in a losing effort for Punjab. The second semi-final was a thriller between the Pune Peshwas and the Haryana Gold which came down to the last shot, a go-ahead three by Karna Mehta with eight seconds left that gave Pune an 81-80 victory and a ticket to the final. The game was neck-to-neck until the final play and provided a thrilling shootout between Ajinkya Mane (26) of Pune and Vikas Mor (27) of Haryana.

Final Standings

• 1. Chennai Slam
  
• 2. Pune Peshwas
  
• 3. Haryana Gold
  

All-Star Team

• TJ Sahi (Bengaluru Beast)
  
• Karan Joshua (Bengaluru Beast)
  
• Chukwunanu Agu (Chennai Slam)
  
• Ramkumar (Chennai Slam)
  
• Bernette Carmel Joseph (Chennai Slam)
  
• Birender Singh (Haryana Gold)
  
• Vikas Kumar (Haryana Gold)
  
• Rakesh Sangwan (Haryana Gold)
  
• Sartaj Sandhu (Punjab Steelers)
  
• Ravi Bhardwaj (Punjab Steelers) - MVP
  
• Karan Pal Singh (Mumbai Challengers)
  
• P. Vijay (Pune Peshwas)
  
• Ajinkya Mehta (Pune Peshwas)
  
• Ajinkya Mane (Pune Peshwas)
  
• Yudhvir Dahiya (Delhi Capitals)
  
• Arsh Deep Saini (Delhi Capitals)
  
• Aaditya Raj (Delhi Capitals)
  
• Nihal Yadav (Hyderabad Sky)
  
• Sujith Reddy (Hyderabad Sky)
  

The above players will be awarded 1-year professional playing contracts worth $100,000 for the next season of the league. Each individual player contract shall be worth $5,000, out of which $4,000 will be the player’s salary and the remaining will cover the expenses on gear and other training equipment. The didn't feature any of the most-recognizable or top talents in India, the players who more likely to be seen in the Senior National championships or donning the India jersey in international games.

This is still a league in its early stage, and most of the players who have been given an opportunity here have likely graduated up from the University league held by UBA India earlier. Still, it was a fun event and showcased that India has a lot more basketball to offer than the 'official' events governed by the Basketball Federation of India (BFI).

UBA Professional basketball league tips off in Hyderabad with home side starting on winning ways

The most eye-catching thing about the 2015 UBA Basketball League - the first iteration of a two-week national professional basketball league in India - are the team names. Nothing makes basketball fans giddier than seeing their home teams - or other teams in their country - represented like professional franchises, with nicknames, logos, attractive jerseys, banners on the rafters, and more. As the first day of this novel league tipped off at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium in Hyderabad on Friday, July 17, it was this fanfare and the celebrity attendance that started the show. But ultimately, the show was stolen by the main event: the exciting basketball players in attendance providing high-quality hoops action for the fans on court.

Photo courtesy: Ekalavyas

On the first day of this league, which features eight teams from around the country, hosts Hyderabad Sky and the Pune Peshwas got off to winning ways.

The Universal Basketball Alliance - UBA India - have launched this league to be held in Hyderabad from July 17 to July 30, set to be held on a league-cum-knockout basis. The eight participating franchises are: Pune Peshwas, Delhi Capitals, Haryana Gold, Punjab Steelers, Chennai Slam, Mumbai Challengers, Bengaluru Beast, and Hyderabad Sky.

“This is the first time in India’s basketball history that a pro league is being organised,” said UBA India Director Deepesh Solanki. “Our main focus is infrastructure. Athletes should feel like pros.” Hindi Film actor Anjana Sukhani was the celebrity guest on the opening day and she wished both all participating teams the very best. “I’m so happy that someone has taken the initiative to bring out the talent that this country has.” she said.

In the league's opening game, Pune survived a strong effort from the Bengaluru Beast and their star point-guard, TJ Sahi. Sahi - a former national team star - is the most recognizable name in this league and scored a game-high 32 points in his debut for the Beast. But it was Pune's forward duo of P Vijay and Arjun Mehta who scored 23 points each to stay competitive against the stacked Bengaluru squad and stretch the lead out to double digits in the third quarter. A last gasp effort from Bengaluru wasn't enough and Pune earned a surprising victory, 88-81. Bengaluru's Chetan Suresh scored 16 in the loss.

Hosts Hyderabad won in a thrilling opening encounter against the Chennai Slam. At one point, Hyderabad looked comfortable and fully in control of proceedings, leading 36-22 at halftime and giving the home fans a lot to cheer about. But Chennai grabbed momentum in the second half and made a furious comeback. Unfortunately, they fell short, and when time expired, Hyderabad survived to win 65-61. Nihal Yadav (19) and Sujith Reddy (16) were Hyderabad's high scorers in the win.

Scoreboard

• Pune Peshwas (P Vijay 23, Arjun Mehta 23) bt Bengaluru Beast (TJ Sahi 32, Chetan Suresh 16) 88-81 [19-18, 23-17, 29-25, 17-21].
  
• Hyderabad Sky (Nihal Yadav 19, Sujith Reddy 16, Liju Abraham 15) bt Chennai Slam (Agu 14, Vicky 14) 65-61 [18-9, 18-13, 19-22, 10-17].
  

Find the full schedule of the league on UBA India's website.

UBA launches two-week professional basketball league in India

If you're a basketball fan in India thirsting for some high-level, high-octane hoops action, I suggest you head down to Hyderabad for the next two weeks, and not just for the biryani.

The Universal Basketball Alliance - UBA India - are launching a two-week professional league from Friday, July 17, to be held at the Gachibowli Stadium in Hyderabad until July 30th. The 2015 UBA Basketball League will pit off eight teams from all over India in this two week event, which will conclude with the Semi-Finals and Finals on July 29-30th. Apart from some talented young players and India's veteran point guard TJ Sahi in the mix, several celebrities have also been invited to participate in the league's promotion to help create awareness and drive fans to come and support the game.

The eight participating franchises are: Pune Peshwas, Delhi Capitals, Haryana Gold, Punjab Steelers, Chennai Slam, Mumbai Challengers, Bengaluru Beast, and Hyderabad Sky. The opening game - between Bengaluru and Pune - tips off at 2 PM on Friday.

The UBA has acquired the broadcast, merchandise and sponsorship rights to the existing, and self-governing Indian University Basketball Programme. They are currently securing television broadcasting arrangements, securing corporate sponsorships for tournament play, and creating merchandising opportunities. UBA will focus its attention on the AIU and popularizing its All India Inter Zonal Tournament as an entertainment product for Indian viewers to enjoy for generations to come, just as Collegiate Basketball is in the United States. They organized the UBA All India Inter University Basketball Tournament for Men in Chennai from January 12-19.

You can find more information about the UBA here and a full schedule of games in Hyderabad here.

"We have done our home work and have been connected and invited all the schools, colleges and universities across the eight cities to follow the event," said Tausif Shaikh, the Managing Director of UBA, "It will be validated both when the actual spectators come to see these matches and when the games comes on one of the top sports network."

Punjabi star Sahi will be playing for Bengaluru. Another player to watch out for in the tournament will be Yogesh Jadhav, a 7-foot-1 big who will be suiting up for Pune.

The league is not going to feature any of the most-recognizable or top talents in India, the players who more likely to be seen in the Senior National championships or donning the India jersey in international games. This is still a league in its early stage, and most of the players who have been given an opportunity here have likely graduated up from the University league held earlier. Still, it should be a fun event and showcase that India has a lot more basketball to offer than the 'official' events governed by the Basketball Federation of India (BFI).

So, where do India's best basketball players play? Sure, the top talent spends a few months every year in national camps, preparing for international tournaments and championships. But for the rest of the year, they and all the other hundreds and thousands of players of all age levels have to settle for national championships (representing their state or work-unit) or sporadic, short invitational tournaments (playing for the government units whom they are employed by). Unlike many other countries, there is still no full-time professional basketball league in India, a league that could contract these players and provide them a steady source of income and basketball every year.

The solution - which would be the first Indian pro league - has been quoted as being 'one or two years away' for five or six years now. The organizers who would behind such a league - the BFI and IMG Reliance - have still not reached full preparation to turn this league from theory into existence.

The UBA has invited minor local and national celebrities like Ali Quli Mirza, Evelyn Sharma, Vidyut Jamwal, Anjana Sukhani, Mugda Godse, and Vidya Malawade to attend the league on various dates and interact with the fans.

Hopefully, the UBA India league provides an alternative and some healthy competition to the race for organized basketball events in India. If this league can be successful, it will turn even more eyeballs towards the sport.