Thiruvanathapuram Men & Kannur Women win the Kerala State Basketball Championship

Reigning Champions Thiruvanthapuram had mixed luck at the 56th Kerala Senior State Basketball Championship in Wayanad on Friday: Thiruvanathapuram Men defeated Ernakulum 62-59 to win the final, while the younger Kannur outfit defeated Thiruvanathapuram's experienced women's side 67-48 to lift the women's title.

With 21 points, Ajeeth Sugunan was the high-man in the Men's final for Thirvanathpuram in the close final. Manoj R added 16 to keep his Ernakulum side in the race for the title till the very end.

In the Women's final, young star PS Neenumol had 20 points for the winning Kannur side, cancelling out 16 by SS Anjanna of Thiruvanathpuram.

Thiruvanathapuram's Men had qualified for the final showcase after rushing past Thrissur in their semi-final match-up. Ernakulum had defeated Pathanamthitta in their semi. Earlier in the Women's Semi-Finals Kannur defeated Kollam while Thiruvanthapuram defeated Kottayam.

Pathanamthitta Men and Kollam Women took the Bronze medals at the championship, as Pathanamthitta beat Thrissur (49-34) and Kollam beat Kottayam (63-51) in their respective third/fourth place games.

Final Scores

Men: Thiruvanthapuram (Ajeeth Sugunan 21, Vijbivakkachan 14) 60 bt. Ernkuluum (Manoj R 16) 55.

Women: Kannur (PS Neenumol 20, PR Surya 14, Jeena PS 13) 68 bt. Thiruvanathapuram (SS Anjanna 16, Seena Joseph 14) 47.

Kerala's young starlets honoured

Kerala's youth and junior girls have had a memorable year in hoops, becoming a powerhouse. in women's basketball in the country. Earlier in the Kerala State Championship, Kerala's winning teams in several annual national-level basketball championships were felicitated at the tournament in Wayanad.

In the past year, Kerala's Under 17 Girls team won the School National Championship in Rajasthan, Kerala U18 Girls' team went undefeated to win the Junior National Championship in New Delhi, and Kerala's U16 (Youth) side won the Youth National Championship in Nagpur.

Perhaps the most talented amongst the youngsters in the past year was 17-year-old Jeena PS. Hailing from Padinjarathara, in the Wayanad District of Kerala, the five-foot-ten inch post player has been the chief force behind Kerala’s recent success in the Youth and the Junior level. Jeena was part of the side that won both the Youth and the Junior championships last year, and was the best player at this year’s Junior Nationals as Kerala won the tournament again. She is one of the best Junior rebounders in India, and holds her own when playing with the Seniors, too. Jeena also represented India in the first ever FIBA 3x3 Championship in Rimini in Italy. In the Junior Nationals, Jeena scored a high of 40 points in the first game against Punjab. She had 33 points and 29 rebounds in an emotional, overttime Semi-Final win against Chhattisgarh, and notched 17 points and 17 rebounds in the Final win against Tamil Nadu. Over the course of the tournament, she averaged 24.3 points per game.

Another young star for Kerala is Poojamol KS, 15, who is quickly becoming the young face of Kerala hoops. Pooja is a versatile, do-it-all player, as capable of running the break on offense as she is of grabbing crucial offensive rebounds in the post. She was the best player in the Nagpur Youth Nationals, topping her performance with 40 points and 13 rebounds in the final. As a younger member in the Junior squad, she was still good enough to play a starring role in the team’s starting five. She also grabbed the 'Best Player' award at the School Nationals.

Besides these two, Kerala’s Junior side boasts of several other extraordinary young talents, such as Elizabeth Hillarios, Premi P Lal, Surya PR, Anjana PG and Aswathy S Thampy.

The Coaches who helped these teams were also Felicitated Coach Jose Philip, Jijon Paul and Biju D Themman.

An eventful basketball showcase at BFI’s Junior Expo in Delhi

The youngest kids were just eight years old, each with hands so tiny that even all ten fingers wouldn’t be enough to get the grasp of a large basketball. Standing opposite them were the specialists, ‘All Star’ basketball players to whom the art of dribbling a basketball came as easily as walking. In between, there were youngsters of every level, experience, and proficiency of the game. But to each of them, this day was about just one bottom line: having fun with the game of basketball.

On Tuesday, Kenny Natt, the American head coach of India’s Senior Men’s Basketball team, hosted the BFI Junior Expo, organised by the Basketball Federation of India (BFI), at the Sri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC) in New Delhi. The event was an exhibition of the talents of India’s finest Junior (U18) players, who had come together in the capital city for a grueling month of camp with Natt throughout November. The expo was a fitting conclusion, not only for the coach to see how much the youngsters had improved after the time spent with him, but also for the players to prove to the coach that they belonged to represent India at the highest level. 26 of the best performers at the camp were chosen for the U18 All Star Teams at the Expo on Tuesday, and Natt had hinted that their performances at the Expo could go a long way in ensuring their future with India’s Senior Men’s squad.

But first, it was time for the talented pupils to try their hand out in their master’s skill: India’s Junior All Stars stepped into the shoes of the coach as they helped Natt in organising a ‘Youth Basketball Camp’ at the expo. The Juniors taught simple basketball drills to a 120 basketball-loving kids from dozens of schools around the city. Ranging from ages 8-18, the school-children were immediately handed the challenge not only to keep up with the Junior All Stars, but to one day, replace them!

“You school-kids are the future of basketball in India,” Natt said as he opened the Youth Camp to the gathered youngsters, “I hope to see them becoming All Stars one day, too!”

Ashok Rangeen, the joint secretary of the BFI, requested the gathered audience to first take a moment to pray for the health of BFI’s CEO Mr. Harish Sharma, who has been hospitalised over the past few months.

Enthusiastic to learn, as the school-kids descended upon the court to face the Junior Stars and Coach Kenny Natt. It’s not every day that the average basketball fan in the city gets hoops tips from a former NBA coach! Children from different schools such as DPS (Mathura Road), Montfort School, Rockfield School, Modern School (Barakhamba), St. Michael’s School, Rosary School, and Nirmal Bhartiya School, improved their game in several ways through drills to achieve the perfect defensive stance, defensive movements, shooting technique, the right form for a good jump-shot, dribbling, lay-ups, and passing… The camp touched on each angle of basketball at the Youth Camp, and then some more!

After the camp, it was then time for the school-children to return to the audience, and the All Stars to become the center of attention: Natt organised several competitions to test the skill level of some of his players. The first one was the Skills Challenge, a competition which tested them for a mixed skill-set of dribbling, passing and shooting. This challenge was won by Nitin Chopade, while Siddharth Chouhan finished at second place. In the next competition – the Big Man Medley – Natt tested the taller players for their inside and outside shooting skills. This competition was won by Aravind A. with Karan Joshua ending at second place. Finally, a 3-point shooting contest was held, won by Loveneet Singh. Siddharth Chouhan ended at second place.

The eventful day concluded with an All Star Game between two sides amongst the Junior players: ‘Team Red’ and ‘Team White’. Team Red held a slim lead at the end of the first half of this 30 minute encounter, 27-25. In the second half, the Reds played stifling defense to hold back the Whites, and soon, found themselves comfortably up by 13 points with just four minutes left the contest.

But it was here that Team White regained their posture and scripted a strong comeback. Over the next four minutes, Team White outscored Team Red by 17-2, and suddenly, found themselves holding to a 54-52 lead. With just seven seconds remaining in the game, Team Red had the ball in their hands though: it came into the hands of Ajay Pratap Singh, who drove strong to the basket to score a lay-up, tie the game, and win a foul. With the game now tied at 54 at the last second, Ajay hit the free-throw to give this side the lead and a memorable victory, 55-54.

Aravind A. of Team Red was named as the MVP of the All Star Game.

At the end of the expo, Natt gave away the prizes for the individual challenges, the winners of the All Star Game, and the game’s MVP. He also announced that an ‘All Star First Team’ and an ‘All Star Second Team’ – consisting of five players each – would be revealed soon.

But the expo came to an end with a promise by the Coach: he would definitely be back to interact with more young talents around the country in the future, and he would keep his eyes open to scout each and every prodigal basketball talent that emerges. Even the eight-year-olds!

U18 All Star Teams released for Junior Basketball Expo on Tuesday

Pitting the best under-18 basketball players in India against each other, the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) and the Indian Senior National Team’s head coach Kenny Natt have released two U18 ‘All Star’ Teams who will play in an exhibition game during the BFI Junior Basketball Expo at the Sri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC) in New Delhi on Tuesday, November 29h.

Natt, formerly head coach from the National Basketball Association (NBA) in the USA, will be hosting the first ever Junior Basketball Expo on Tuesday, where he will be inviting India’s best Junior (U18) players for skills challenges and the All Star Game. The Junior players will also assist Natt in hosting a ‘Youth Basketball Camp’ with school-kids from across the city.

Over 30 Junior players have been taking part in a National Coaching Camp with Natt during the month of November. Natt has chosen the best performers from this camp to take part in the All Star Game. The Expo will also serve to help Natt scout for talented basketball players to recruit for the Senior Men’s team.

Here are the Junior All Star Teams:

Team A: Amit Kanarjee, Vinay Kumar Janbandhu, Kasirajan Muruthan, Sidhartha Chauhan, Kirti Goswami, Karan Joshua, Akhil M. Sunny, Nikhil Kumar, Manpreet Singh, Rana V. Singh, Yogesh P. Kumar, Fardin F. Khan, Jitendra Patidar.

Team B: Nitin Chopade, Loveneet Singh, Sivabalan Gunasekaran, Sukhjeet Singh, Ajay Pratap Singh, Suresh K. Bijamiyua, Aravind A., Abhishek Kumar Singh, Melvin Rego, Ankit Singh Parihar, Ashok A. Kumar, P. Visu, Baljit Singh.

2011 BFI Junior Basketball Expo

Hosted by: Coach Kenny Natt, head coach of the Indian Senior Men’s Basketball team and former NBA head coach.
Place: Sri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC) at Guru Tegh Bahadur Road, New Delhi.
Date: Tuesday, November 29th.
Time: 9 AM onwards (approx. 4-5 hours)

Order of Events:

Youth Basketball Camp/Training Session
Skills Challenge
Three-Point Shooting Contest
Medley Shooting Contest
Junior Expo All Star Game
Awards Ceremony

India’s National Coach Kenny Natt encourages young wheelchair basketball players

It was a memorable union between basketball, goodwill, and fun at the Amar Jyoti Research & Rehabilitation Center in New Delhi on Saturday morning where India’s Senior Men’s Basketball team head coach Kenny Natt attended a clinic with primary school wheelchair basketball players. To raise awareness about athletes with disabilities, the National Trust hosted a Wheelchair Sports Event on November 25-26, 2011. As part of this event, American non-profit organisation Wheelchair Athletes Worldwide (WAW) donated seven sports wheelchairs to Amar Jyoti and conducted basketball clinics.

The initiative was part of 'Badhte Kadam', which is an awareness-raising campaign by the National Trust aiming to create opportunities and participation in the community of People with Disabilities. Amar Jyoti, the venue for this event, is an inclusive school where students with and without disabilities learn together.

Representing the Basketball Federation of India (BFI), Natt was welcomed at the event by representatives from WAW and accomplished wheelchair athletes Peter Hughes and Greg Hockensmith. This was WAW’s first donation: Unlike regular wheelchairs – which are used by disabled youngsters at Amar Jyoti when they play basketball – the sports wheelchairs allow for better mobility and efficiency when taking parts in sports such as basketball and rugby.

The American coach Natt is an accomplished name in basketball, as he has had stints as a player and a coach with America’s National Basketball Association. On Saturday, though, Natt took the role of student for a change as he was given tips on the rules and regulations of wheelchair basketball by experienced wheelchair athletes at the event. Hughes and Hockensmith then conducted short drills with several physically disabled under-14 students at Amar Jyoti to help them understand appropriate use of the sports wheelchairs.

The children, WAW athletes, and coach Natt then competed in a friendly wheelchair basketball game, as students from nearby schools gathered to watch and encourage the young hoopsters.

“I have played basketball at every level in my life, but this was completely new and different to me,” said Natt, “I had a lot of fun today: it takes a lot of hard work and practice to be an accomplished wheelchair basketball player. I’m sure I’ll be back here again!”

“Sport is great in several ways: it gives us an opportunity to compete and also to achieve together as a team,” Natt further encouraged the youngsters, “With sports, there is no limit to what you can accomplish, as long as you give in your hard work, your commitment, and practice. I encourage the young players here to focus on improving the weaker aspects of their game so that they can become better basketball players.”

“I’m honoured to be here, and I also commend Wheelchair Athletes Worldwide for their donation to the children.”

Wheelchair Basketball Showcase as part of ‘Badhte Kadam’ in Delhi

To raise awareness about athletes with disabilities, the National Trust will be hosting a Wheelchair Sports Event at the Amar Jyoti Research and Rehabilitation Center in New Delhi on November 25-26, 2011. As part of this event, American non-profit organisation Wheelchair Athletes Worldwide will be donating sports wheelchairs to Amar Jyoti and conducting basketball clinics.

The initiative is part of 'Badhte Kadam', which is an awareness raising campaign by the National Trust aiming to create opportunities and participation in the community of People with Disabilities. This is the third year of this campaign.

On Saturday, members of Wheelchair Athletes Worldwide will make their first donation of sports wheelchairs to the Amar Jyoti School. Unlike regular wheelchairs – which are used by disabled youngsters when they play basketball regularly – the sports wheelchairs allow for better mobility and efficiency when taking parts in sports such as basketball and rugby.

Wheelchair Athletes Worldwide will also hold an interactive clinic and demonstration on the use of the sports wheelchairs with the students and coaches of Amar Jyoti and from other schools. A wheelchair basketball game featuring disabled and non-disabled basketball players will be held at the end of the event.

India’s Senior National Men’s Basketball team’s Head Coach Kenny Natt is also looking forward to attending the function on Saturday morning to watch the demonstration and also to encourage the kids attending the event.

National Coaching Camp for Sub-Junior Boys & Girls in December

The Basketball Federation of India (BFI) has called upon 25 boys and 25 girls of the under-14 age level to take part in a National Coaching Camp for Sub-Junior Boys & Girls, set to be held at the Indira Gandhi Stadium in New Delhi from December 11-20, 2011.

The youngsters called for the Sub-Junior camp have been chosen on the basis of their performances at the 38th Sub-Jr. National Basketball Championship for Boys & Girls in Lucknow in September. The camp will help prepare the players for future international exposure matches.

Sub-Junior Boys for National Coaching Camp

SMA Salman (Andhra Pradesh)
B. Neeraj Kumar (Andhra Pradesh)
M. Siva Durga Prasad (Andhra Pradesh)
P. Durga Prasad (Andhra Pradesh)
Sugam Yadav (Chhattisgarh)
Mithun Deb (Chhattisgarh)
M. Hitesh (Chhattisgarh)
Abhishek Kumar (Delhi)
Sahil (Himachal Pradesh)
Rajendra Singh (Madhya Pradesh)
Jay Pradhan (Madhya Pradesh)
Zaid Shaikh (Maharashtra)
Sqlain Syyad (Maharashtra)
Ayum Khan (Maharashtra)
Aditya Astekar (Maharashtra)
Lalrem Sanga (Mizoram)
Gursewak Singh (Punjab)
Jaskaran Singh (Punjab)
Abhi Kumar (Punjab)
Akash Khatik (Rajasthan)
S. Kalidas (Tamil Nadu)
A. Deva Sendura Pandiyan (Tamil Nadu)
Amit Hooda (Uttar Pradesh)
Dheeraj Maurya (Uttar Pradesh)
Gopal Sharma (West Bengal)
Coach: Rajeshwar Rao
Coach: SSP Rayadu
Physiotherapist: Naved

Sub-Junior Girls for National Coaching Camp

Kiran Kumari Bappore (Assam)
Jonali Dutta (Assam)
Ragini Jha (Chhattisgarh)
Vandana Arya (Chhattisgarh)
Riya Verma (Chhattisgarh)
Rashmi Wankhede (Chhattisgarh)
Anamika Lakra (Chhattisgarh)
P. Divya (Chhattisgarh)
Nishita Sabharwal (Delhi)
Lopamudra (Karnataka)
Sanjana Krishnamurthy (Karnataka)
Sandhya CR (Karnataka)
Aleena Saby (Kerala)
Anusha IP (Kerala)
Sakshi Pandey (Madhya Pradesh)
Monika Vaishnab (Madhya Pradesh)
Vaishakha Kumar (Maharashtra)
Kriti Ranka (Maharashtra)
Veena Khanolkar (Maharashtra)
Avneet Kaur (Punjab)
S. Sindhuja (Tamil Nadu)
R. Teena (Tamil Nadu)
Mantaksha Ansari (Uttar Pradesh)
Pooja Yadav (Uttar Pradesh)
Paulami Chatterjee (West Bengal)
Coach: Bharat Bhusan
Physiotherapist: Naved

India’s National Coach Kenny Natt to host Junior Basketball Expo in Delhi

IMPORTANT UPDATE (Wed, Nov. 23): THIS EVENT HAS BEEN POSTPONED FOR TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 29th, 2011. THE VENUE WILL BE CONFIRMED SOON.

Kenny Natt, the American head coach of India’s Senior Men’s Basketball team, will be hosting a Basketball Federation of India (BFI) Junior (U18) Expo at the Sri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC) basketball court in New Delhi on Tuesday, November 29th from 9 AM. Natt is inviting school kids from across the city to attend an open ‘Youth Basketball Camp’ with India’s best U18 basketball players. The camp will be followed by a skills challenge amongst the U18 stars and an ‘All Star Game’ of the best Junior players in India.

Delhi school-kids under the age of 18 are invited to take part in the Youth Basketball Camp with Natt and India's Junior players from 9 AM on Tuesday.

Natt, formerly head coach of the National Basketball Association (NBA) in the USA, has been serving as the head coach of India’s Men’s squad for the past five months. He led the team to the 2011 FIBA Asia Championship in Wuhan, China, earlier this year.

Following the Junior National Championship in New Delhi in July, Natt picked around 30 of the best young basketball players from across India to take part in a National Coaching Camp with him in Delhi over the month of November. The showcase on Tuesday will serve as a type of exposure and evaluation camp for these probables for Natt to recruit players for India’s Senior Men’s side.

“I will be observing the future talent and observing their skill level at this showcase,” Natt said, “The event will be like an NBA combine, featuring a lot of basketball drills, practice, and fun!”

Natt has extended an open invitation to basketball loving children from High Schools and Junior Schools from across the city to attend a ‘Youth Basketball Camp’ with India’s Junior probable. The Junior players will help out in the Youth Camp to instruct basketball fundamentals and drills to the local school kids.

The Mini Camp will be followed by several Basketball Competitions for the Junior probables, including a Skills Challenge, Three-Point Shooting Contest, and a Shooting Medley Contest.

The last event of the day will be an All Star Game pitting the best Junior probable of India against each other.

An Awards Ceremony will follow to reward players for their performances in the earlier camps, challenges, and All Star Game.

“The BFI is always looking to expose the game of basketball and generating as much interest for it as possible,” said Natt, “We want people in India to realise that basketball is a fun and competitive sport. The future of the game is very bright. Hopefully this event will generate more interest for the game. I will look forward to organising more such events in the future in other parts of the country.”

2011 BFI Junior Basketball Expo

Hosted by: Coach Kenny Natt, head coach of the Indian Senior Men’s Basketball team and former NBA head coach.
Place: TBC
Date: Tuesday, November 29th.
Time: 9 AM onwards (approx. 4-5 hours)

The camp will feature India's Junior (U18) probables

Order of Events:

Youth Basketball Camp/Training Session
Skills Challenge
Three-Point Shooting Contest
Medley Shooting Contest
Junior Expo All Star Game
Awards Ceremony