Let Her Play

In light of recent men’s team success, India needs to beware not to let women’s basketball trail behind.

This article was first published in my column for Ekalavyas.com on October 11, 2016. Click here to read my original version.

Photo credit: Ekalavyas.com

In the course of one historic week, India’s Men’s basketball team defeated the Philippines, China, and Chinese Taipei at the 2016 FIBA Asia Challenge, the first time that they upset three higher-ranked teams in the same tournament. For good measure, they added a victory over Kazakhstan, too, and when the dust settled, India had completed their finest international basketball performance in twenty-seven years with a seventh-place finish.

The squad received well-deserved adulation and praise back home, and the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) decided the reward the team for its achievement with a Rs. 5 lakh bonus. The result was the latest bit of positive news from the Indian basketball circuit, a miracle achieved despite some of the backroom troubles that plagued the BFI’s executive committee last year.

In recent years, India’s Men’s teams have performed wonders, beating China at the 2014 FIBA Asia Cup, making it to the Quarter-Finals of the 2015 FIBA Asia Championship for the first time in twelve years, seeing one star drafted into the NBA (Satnam Singh), another win a D-League contract (Palpreet Singh), and two more play professionally in Japan (Amrit Pal Singh and Amjyot Singh). Vishesh Bhriguvanshi and Rikin Pethani took their pro talents to the Maldives, and back home, the UBA Basketball League provided opportunities to several athletes to play in short pro leagues.

Youth prospects are getting their chance to develop their game abroad, too, including Harshwardhan Tomar, who has signed a contract in Italy, and Prince Pal Singh, who got a scholarship to study and play in Ohio, USA. Last week, the NBA announced global academies to develop youth talent around the world, including in India. And of course, our national team returned with laurels and success from the FIBA Asia Challenge.

All of these achievements and interest towards Indians in basketball have been a positive consequence of improving grassroots development, coaching, and investment towards basketball in India. Alas, all of these achievements also only involve men.

While India’s Women may still rank much higher on the FIBA rankings (40) than the Men (53), the numbers don’t tell the full story. At the domestic level, India’s women have always lagged behind the men in terms of job placement opportunities at units around the country. Now, suffering from a lack of attention at the grassroots and fewer opportunities to play against top teams abroad, the international performances have suffered, too.

Back in 2013, the picture was much different, and women’s basketball proudly stood toe to toe with the men in India. India’s Women’s team had completed history, under the tutelage of Coach Francisco Garcia, who helped them finish at their best-ever 5th place finish at the FIBA Asia Championship in Bangkok and win their first-ever game in Level 1, against Kazakhstan. Around the same time, the duo of Geethu Anna Jose and Anitha Paul Durai had gotten an opportunity to play professionally in Thailand. At the international 3x3 stage, India’s women truly made their mark, winning gold medals at the Asian Beach Games, the 3x3 FIBA Asia Championship, and performing well in several other tournaments.

But a couple of years after the historic FIBA ABC in Thailand, Jose – an Indian basketball legend and Arjuna Award winner – stepped away from the game, leaving a huge void in the center position with no clear successor. Meanwhile, the BFI tensions led to the end of Garcia’s tenure in 2015, and even though he returned for one more FIBA ABC at the end of last year, the team had lost their positive momentum.

By the 2015 FIBA ABC, India had lost their magic touch. The squad went winless at the tournament in China and were relegated down to Level 2. The pain of defeat stung a little extra when Garcia left the team for good right after.

And ever since then, for over a year, India’s Senior Women’s team has not played in a single competitive match. Even in a year without the FIBA ABC, the Men’s squad still got a chance to play in the South Asia Qualifiers for the FIBA Asia Challenge, the William Jones Cup, and then the FIBA Asia Challenge itself. There was no equivalent tournament to the FIBA Asia Challenge for Women and, surprisingly, India didn’t send a Women’s team to Chinese Taipei for the Jones Cup.

Perhaps the biggest disappointment, however, were the South Asian Games in February this year. The event was organised by the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) who have been in conflict with the current committee of the BFI. The IOA selected teams to represent India for the basketball tournament at the South Asian Games without the BFI’s approval; FIBA – the international basketball federation who have recognised this executive committee of the BFI – reacted by cancelling the basketball tournament at the Games altogether. The victims of all this drama were India’s international players. After spending time in camp in preparation for the Games and then flown to Guwahati to take part, India’s teams had to settle for friendly exhibition matches that weren’t officially recognised by FIBA.

While young male players from the country are starting to garner hype domestically and abroad, there has been little attention to develop individual women’s talent in the same way. During her career, Geethu Anna Jose got to play professionally in Australia, Thailand, and work out with three WNBA teams. But now, with the exception of High Schoolers Pallavi Sharma and Anmolpreet Kaur getting a run in Japan, there has been little other positive news for the top players getting a chance abroad.

For the NBA, it makes commercial sense to promote Satnam Singh, who became the first Indian to be drafted into the NBA, and Palpreet Singh, who won the (men’s only) ACG-NBA Jump programme and has signed on to a NBA D-League contract. But with lesser opportunity and financial backing, Indian women haven’t received the same attention.

Back home, the UBA League, which has completed its third season this year, is still only a men’s competition. Indian women have no other professional option and have to settle for the few jobs – like Railways – available in the basketball quota.

Pratima Singh, one of the star players for Delhi’s state team and the Indian national squad, rued the opportunities missed for India at the international level, including the most recent failed trip to Guwahati for the South Asian Games.

“Indian Women need more exposure to play basketball abroad, and more practice, to rise up to the level of our competitors,” Pratima said, “A great example is Geethu, who became even better when she returned from her pro stint in Australia, her game and fitness improved considerably. We have seen the same improvement in male players like Amjyot Singh and Amrit Pal Singh who have played in Japan. More players need this experience. It is not an impossible task, and with some initiative, we can get there.”

Where the women have a potential advantage over the men is in the relative parity of competition. For years, India’s women’s team has ranked higher in the continent, particularly because of the lack of competition from Middle Eastern teams that India’s men face in Asian tournaments. Furthermore, in larger, global 3x3 meets, India’s women have shown that they can compete with and upset some of the top teams in the world.

Pratima’s older sister Prashanti Singh, a former captain of the national team and one of the most decorated athletes in the country, believes that domestic growth will eventually positively influence international results.

“If the same effort is put in the Women’s game in India as the men, there will be much more success for us, because the competition is lesser worldwide,” said Prashanti, “In India, there are about twenty employers for men’s basketball and just two for women. If we add more domestic teams, we can definitely get a podium finish at FIBA ABCs. If there is a domestic league and more tournaments for women, then there will be more participation, and more quality will come forth.”

In 2017, India’s Women will finally get a chance for competitive action again, most notably in the FIBA Asia Championship. The team needs to prepare in advance for this upcoming challenge to ensure that they overturn the disappointments improve on their rankings again.

In the past, the BFI has always maintained the importance of gender neutrality in basketball, providing the same level of foreign coaching, infrastructural access, and competitive experience to both men and women. India’s rise in the men’s version of the game has been a pleasant surprise. But in the light of their recent success, India needs to beware not to tell women’s basketball trail behind.

Hoopdarshan Episode 5: Francisco Garcia, India Women's basketball, and the BFI mess

Before he leaves India after serving two years as the head coach of India's National Women's team, the Spaniard Francisco Garcia joins Hoopdarshan hosts Kaushik Lakshman and Karan Madhok for an entertaining conversation in Episode 5. Garcia discusses a variety of topics, including leading India to our best-ever FIBA Asia Championship performance, the attitudes of Indian women in the sport, his fractured relationship with the Basketball Federation of India, and the Spanish flamenco dance in 'Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara'.

Garcia was hired by the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) to be the Women's national team's head coach in June 2013 and 20 years of coaching experience in the past in Spain, Denmark, and Finland. enjoyed a relatively successful two year stretch, famously helping India finish at a best-ever fifth-place at the 2013 FIBA Asia Championship and helping a younger side to a bronze medal at the 2014 Lusofonia Games. Later in 2014, Garcia also coached the team to a 6th place finish at the Asian Games in Incheon. He has been active in taking his knowledge to the grassroots level, coaching players and other coaches at various events around the country over the last few years. His contract was not extended by the BFI and he will be leaving India by the end of May 2015.



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!

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Contracts of India's Foreign basketball coaches Francisco Garcia and Tommy Heffelfinger not extended

While the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) attempts to juggle controversies and power struggles threatening to tear apart the nation's governing and controlling body of basketball from within, budgeting issues and internal changes of philosophy have struck another blow to the game: two foreign coaches - Women's National Team Head Coach Francisco Garcia and Strength and Conditioning Coach Tommy Heffelfinger - did not receive extensions to their contracts with the BFI and will end their tenure with India Basketball by the end of May.

The decisions to not extend the contracts of Garcia and Heffelfinger were taken by the contingent of the BFI currently being led by Poonam Mahajan and Roopam Sharma. The federation is currently facing a fracture in its top structure: two opposing executive committees have chosen two different presidents/secretaries from two different meetings to form the leadership group. Sources inside the BFI have said that the Mahajan/Sharma contingent made the decision to discontinue the coaches' contracts because they are short on money (since the bank accounts are controlled by the competing Govindraj team) and felt uncomfortable about disagreements that the staff members had with the leadership and direction of the Mahajan/Sharma team.

Garcia, a Spaniard, was hired by the BFI two years ago to helm India's Senior Women's team. Garcia enjoyed a relatively successful two year stretch, famously helping India finish at a best-ever fifth-place at the 2013 FIBA Asia Championship and helping a younger side to a bronze medal at the 2014 Lusofonia Games. Later in 2014, Garcia also coached the team to a 6th place finish at the Asian Games in Incheon. He has been active in taking his knowledge to the grassroots level, coaching players and other coaches at various events around the country over the last few years.

"The best thing was that we created a system of play," Garcia told me as he looked back to his achievements with Team India over the past two years, "When I first came here, the players were used to another kind of system. Now, players understand the game lot better. To reach that point is the best achievement for a coach. As a team obviously to win our first-ever game in FIBA ABC's Pool A and finishing 5th (best in Indian basketball history), ranking India 5th in Asia (best in history) have been huge. We got bronze medal at Lusofonia games with an under-22 team and we competed very well at Asían Games without three key players from the ABC."

Garcia added that his best memory in India, no doubt, was working with the players. "They were always open to new things and always tried their best, even in the bad days," he said.

There seems to be no clear plan of who will carry on the reigns of the Women's national team system after Garcia leaves. Starting at the end of August this year, the FIBA Asia Championship for Women - the most important international tournament for Indian basketball - will tip off in Wuhan (China). India will lose their Head Coach only a few months before this crucial tournament and thus, lose the continuity that he had built within.

As usual, there is a good chance that the Women's team will not receive the international exposure and experience needed to prepare for this tournament. "Main thing lacking is the competition of the players throughout the year," Garcia said, "There is no professional league and little international exposure."

"Additionally, our players have to strengthen their inside game to show up to the next level."

Garcia has received offers from another national teal in Asia and a team in Iceland. "I don't know, life is unpredictable," he said, "All can change in seconds."

Seeing another change at the top ultimately hurts the national team players the most, who have lacked continuity in leadership. Ever since the IMG Reliance deal with the BFI, the National Women's team has had three different foreign coaches in less than five years: Tamika Raymond, Pete Gaudet, and Francisco Garcia. With Garcia's contract expiring, will there be a fourth one in stow soon? Garcia's two years have brought some improvements in the team's performances, but more importantly, created a structure that was pointing towards steady improvement for the future, too. With a change in coaching, there will be a change in system, and thus, another hiccup in the development of basketball.

Strength and Conditioning Coach Tommy Heffelfinger, who arrived from the USA to build Indian basketball's S&C programme last year, had a two year contract with an option at the end of his first year. The BFI was to conduct a formal review of his work and determine if they would like to keep him for second year. The BFI claim they did the formal review, but an inside source told me that nobody from their leadership (CEO or Deputy CEO) spoke to Heffelfinger for three months prior to his termination or answered any emails he sent for same time. His first year ends 31 May, 2015.

Heffelfinger has shown commitment to making Indian basketball players stronger, fitter, and better versed in the appropriate diet and training regimes required for excelling in international basketball. Strength and conditioning has long been a problem for India compared to top Asian teams. Getting rid of Heffelfinger will further set India back in this regard.

India's Men's team Head Coach Scott Flemming - who joined me a few weeks ago for a conversation on the inaugural episode of the Hoopdarshan podcast - is continuing with his position for the foreseeable future.

She’s Got Game: Women’s Basketball stands toe to toe with Men in India

This article was first published in my column on Ekalavyas on June 3, 2014. You can find the original post here.

Photo courtesy: Ekalavyas.com

As always, the women’s final was held first, a little bit earlier in the evening, before the prime-time crowds were expected to show up. Only a few of the other players, close friends, and some of the organizing officials sat through most of the game; looking around the arena, there were far more empty seats than occupied ones. As the game ended, anticipation arose for the men’s final which was to follow right after. Crowds doubled, tripled, and quadrupled. A calm arena had been turned into an energetic spectacle.

The scenes above don’t describe any one tournament – they are a glimpse of the sights and sounds at most sporting events. Throughout the sporting sphere in the country – and abroad, too – women who excel in popular sports like cricket, football, hockey, etc. are usually greeted with scarce attention from their Federations and scarcer crowds at their field of play.

Fortunately, for basketball in India, this is usually not the case. From the top level – where India’s best female players and national teams usually perform better than their male counterparts – to the grassroots – where young girls get an equal opportunity to shine as the boys – India’s women stand toe to toe with the men in the game.

For most of India – as it is in several other parts of the world – gender equality is still a work in progress. India still has a highly skewed child sex ratio (under age six) of 919 girls per 1000 boys. India stands 132nd out of 148 countries on the UNDP Gender Inequality Index. And women in several parts of India are at a disadvantage, facing limited access to resources, education, and are victims of gender-based violence. India has long been a patriarchal society where culture and custom has given social authority to men over women for thousands of years.

Perhaps it is because of these inequalities that, when given an opportunity, the discriminated gender has set out with a fire in their belly to prove a point and perform at a high level. For several years now, India’s women’s national basketball team has ranked much higher in the FIBA rankings than the men. While the men’s teams have struggled to break through to the top eight of recent Asian tournaments, India finished at an All Time best fifth place in the FIBA Asia Championship for Women last year. While basketball fans in India and abroad have been desperately searching for India’s answer to Yao Ming – the first of our nation to make it to the NBA – the closest Indian in the big leagues has actually been a woman: Geethu Anna Jose. Jose has played professionally in Australia and Thailand and came close to securing a spot in a WNBA roster a few years ago. Among Indian basketball fans, the names of female players like Jose, Varanasi’s “Singh Sisters”, Anitha Paul Durai, the successful girls from Chhattisgarh, and the youth brigade out in Kerala are as popular as the best-known male players.

Credit must be given to the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) as well as the various State Federations in the country who have managed to keep men and women’s basketball at relatively equal footing even though many have suffered from overall inefficiencies in other areas. A few years ago, the BFI’s late CEO Harish Sharma mentioned that as the BFI works to take the game of basketball to the next level, they would also maintain gender equality. “We will focus equally on men and women,” he had said, “Basketball is a gender-friendly sport!”

Indeed, it is. Or, it almost is. Despite having equal standing in almost every way (close to the same number of male and female teams participate in Indian national tournaments annually), the women still receive a smaller participating or medal-winning fee than the men.

In his excellent review of Indian Basketball for Fountain Ink magazine earlier this year, Ekalavyas’ own Gopalakrishnan R. reported that, while men in India receive employment on the sports quota in various government services, public telecom, banks, police departments, railways, and more, the women really have nowhere to go but the Railways.

“So when the Indian Railway boasts of a virtually unbeaten run in the last 20 years at the Senior National Championship,” wrote Gopalakrishnan, “It is simply because it is one of the few establishments that hires women!”

That ‘virtually unbeaten’ run by the Indian Railways women was finally stalled this year by Chhattisgarh, the rising stars of India’s women’s basketball, who won the Senior Nationals Women’s gold and ended Railways’ decade-long hold of the title.

Sometimes, an unlikely basketball success story can be traced back to the efforts of one individual. For Chhattisgarh, that individual has been Rajesh Patel, the coach of all of Chhattisgarh’s female teams of the sub-junior, youth, junior, and senior levels. Patel recruits talented players with potential at a young age from tribal and other disadvantaged economic conditions to the Bhilai Steel Plant in Chhattisgarh and then helps them reach that potential. Since the Chhattisgarh state was formed in 2000, Patel’s vision has come to reality, with the women winning gold at every level, and several of his protégés making their way to India’s National squad.

Kerala, Maharashtra, Delhi, and Tamil Nadu are also among the leaders of promoting women’s basketball on equal footing with the men. All these states – and several others who also have similar, successful models – have done a fine job of organizing tournaments with equal participation for both genders, a practice that has gone on to help produce top players from these states for the national squad. But once again, going back to Gopalakrishnan’s article mentioned above, opportunities for many women at the senior domestic level are few and far between.

At the international stage, India’s women have indeed been given the same opportunity to succeed as the men have. For the last few years, whenever a capable foreign coach has been hired for India’s national men’s teams (Bill Harris, Kenny Natt, Scott Flemming), the same has been done for the women (Tamika Raymond, Pete Gaudet, Francisco Garcia). Led by talents like Jose, the Sr women’s team finds themselves at 40th in the FIBA rankings (Men are currently 61st) and the Girls (U16) team are at 37th (Boys are 48th). India is now at fifth place among Women in Asia, behind only the unstoppable ‘big four’ of China, Chinese Taipei, Korea, and Japan. India’s women have been successful at FIBA Asia 3×3 competitions, too. While India’s male players have barely registered a blimp against the competition in Asia, Jose has been able to finish as Asia’s top scorer or be a part of All Tournament teams in recent FIBA Asia Championships.

India’s women do have a major advantage over the men when it comes to Asian tournaments: they have less competition. Higher-ranked nations in the men’s division like Iran, Jordan, and Qatar don’t field women’s basketball teams at all. India’s men have to play against tougher and larger number of opponents, and thus, struggle to emulate the success of the women.

Additionally, worldwide, women’s basketball is generally a lot more balanced than the counterparts in men. With the women’s game focusing on fundamentals and tactics a little more than athletic or physical ability, India’s women theoretically have had the chance to match closer to powerhouses around the world than the men do. While most Federations around the world have generally focused their attention on the men’s national sides, India’s efforts of keeping basketball ‘gender-friendly’ have helped the women stay competitive, participate in as many international tournaments as the men do, and receive the same level of coaching and physiotherapy.

At pretty much every level of the game, men’s basketball gets more attention and hype than the women. The NBA is more popular than the WNBA, FIBA’s Men’s Championships garner bigger crowds than FIBA women’s, and male players make more money and are given better sponsorships than their women counterparts. Considering this global gender imbalance, it isn’t shocking that the attention of fans and organizers in India is to find India’s Yao Ming or Wang Zhi Zhi and have an Indian player make it to the NBA.

But, it may well be more likely that the first Indian to make it to basketball’s biggest league will be a woman, and that big league will be the WNBA, rather than the NBA. Jose came agonizingly close when she earned tryouts with the Chicago Sky, Los Angeles Sparks, and San Antonio Silver Stars three years ago. If her successors are given the right opportunity, they could take one step further. Last month, India’s Women’s coach Francisco Garcia mentioned that young players like Kavita Akula, Poojamol KS, and Jeena PS all have the talent to play in professional leagues abroad. If, at an earlier age, India’s young stars are given the right guidance, training, and opportunity, we might finally find a talent to break through to the highest level of the game.

Let’s be real: Basketball is too minor an issue to solve India’s gender inequalities. But a basketball success story could add to the growing list of talented sportswomen in India, and become yet another small step away from the generations of patriarchy in the nation.

India drop five spots to 51st in 2013 Combined FIBA World Rankings

By its regular standards, Indian basketball had a pretty good year in 2013. India participated in four FIBA Asia tournaments over the past year, improving their standings in two (Senior Men and Women) and keeping their final rank unchanged in two (U16 Boys and Girls). But, despite these encouraging finishes, India's Combined FIBA rank fell five spots to 51st at the end of 2013, after standing at 46th place at the same time last year.

FIBA – the world’s governing body of basketball – bases their world rankings on the major FIBA World Championships, the continental championships, and the Olympic Games. Rankings are made based on the performance of each country’s Men’s, Women’s, and Youth rankings where applicable. Youth rankings are based on the performances of the U19, U18, U17, or U16 teams in international competitions.

Asia's biggest basketball event - the FIBA Asia Championship - was held in Manila (Philippines) in mid-August. India - who had finished 14th at the tournament two years ago - made some important steps to improvement by ending the championship with a 2-6 record at 11th place (out of 16). India's Men's FIBA ranking fell three spots to 61st place.

At the U16 FIBA Asia Championship in Tehran (Iran), despite some encouraging performances, India couldn't improve on their standings and finished at 11th place again. They ended the tournament with a 2-5 record. India's Boys' FIBA ranking fell five spots to 48th place.

Taking part in the FIBA Asia Women's Championship from October 27 - November 3 in Bangkok (Thailand), India finished at a best-ever 5th place, and also defeated Kazakhstan to score their first-ever victory in Level 1 in their 43-year history at the tournament. New Head Coach Francisco Garcia's debut was a resounding success. India also defeated Malaysia to remain in Level 1. India's Women's FIBA rankings remained unchanged at 40th place.

By the end of November, India's Women were in FIBA Asia action again. This time it was the U16 team, which finished 5th for the second consecutive time at the U16 FIBA Asia Championship (with a 2-4 record) in Colombo (Sri Lanka). India's Girls' FIBA rankings rose two spots to 37th place.

India's Senior and U18 teams also took part in FIBA Asia 3x3 championships - and dominated in both of them - but these tournaments do not count in the final FIBA Basketball Rankings.

The fall in the final rankings for India - despite the improved performances - can be attributed to the achievements of other countries. With several FIBA tournaments held around the world in preparation for the 2014 FIBA World Championship, the performances of other teams from various other continents, and the performances of Asia's top squads, has pushed India lower down the rungs.

Unsurprisingly, USA are dominating at the top once again, and are ranked number one across the board in all four categories and the combined world rankings as well. The top five countries in the world (combined) are USA, Spain, Russia, France, and Australia.

China is still Asia's top team in the Combined rankings, while India has fallen a spot to ninth place.

2014 is a big year for world basketball, with the FIBA World Championships being held for Senior Men and Women as well as for U17 Boys and Girls. In addition, the Youth Olympic Games with a basketball tournament will also be held this summer. India has not qualified for any of these tournaments, but they will have a chance to improve their rankings if they can put in strong performances at the FIBA Asia U18 Men and Women tournaments later this year.

India's FIBA Rankings at end of 2013

• Combined: 51 (58.5 points; Change -5)
  
• Men: 61 (6.9 points; Change -3)
  
• Women: 40 (15.6 points: Change 0)
  
• Boys: 48 (13.2 points; Change -5)
  
• Girls: 37 (22.8 points; Change +2)
  

Q&A: India's Women's Head Coach Francisco Garcia - "It's always a special feeling when you make history in a country."

With little prior experience or knowledge of the country, Spanish Coach Francisco Garcia was invited to India five months ago to take the hot seat as the Head Coach of India's Women's Senior National side. He didn't have too much time to get acclimitized before the team had to prepare for it's biggest challenge in two years: the 25th FIBA Asia Women's Championship, scheduled in Bangkok from from October 27-November 3. Garcia and his team survived backroom selection drama, a crucial injury, and an aging superstar to head out to Thailand and take on the best teams in Asia.

India were returning to Level I of the competition, which meant that they would have the esteemed privilege of only playing the continent's superpowers in the Preliminary Round - the 'Big Four' of China, Chinese Taipei, Japan, and Korea, with Kazakhstan rounding up the group. India had never won a game in Level I. India lost to the Big Four by large margins, but it was against Kazakhstan where Garcia led the girls to make history. They defeated Kazakhstan in an overtime thriller to win their first ever Level I game, and then defeated Malaysia in a Level I playoff game to finish at a best-ever fifth place finish.

I caught up with Coach Garcia recently for a candid interview as he reflected on the achievement of his team, shares some of his experiences in India, and looks forward to the future.

Hoopistani: Congrats on the historic 5th place finish in Bangkok. Honestly - was the team surprised at their achievement?

Garcia: Thanks, but as I always say, the coaches are here to help the team and not to act as the heroes. We must try not to disturb the team on and off the court. The real stars of the movie are the players. At the end they worked hard on court and they deserved this performance. I wouldn't say I was surprised, but yes, I was very pleased for the achievement. They know very well all the problems we faced and the short time we had to prepare for this championship. So in that sense, it is a really happy moment.

Hoopistani: How did you celebrate?

Garcia: I'm not a man of big celebrations. I know for India that this is an important achievement. So just knowing that was celebration enough.

Being in Level I, you played only the best teams in Asia. Which team was the toughest challenge?

Garcia: In my view I would say Japan [who were the eventual champions] were the best team. They played very dynamic basketball and had good balance on their side.

Hoopistani: After all the practice and preparation for this tournament, once you got to Thailand, did you have to make any drastic or unexpected change in your tactics?

Garcia: We had the injury of Akanksha Singh one week before the championship, so we had to re-adjust some things in the team. The most important thing was that the roles in the team were well defined and especially, that these roles were accepted by the players.

Hoopistani: Unlike previous years - where India relied mostly on Geethu Anna Jose - this year's team used a slightly more balanced offense (even though Geethu was still the highest scorer). Was this always the plan?

Garcia: I believe that in basketball teams must have balance in the inside and outside game. You are not gonna win by only shooting 3 pointers and neither will you do it playing just close to the basket. The game has moments where your advantage can be inside or outside, and we must be able to read that advantage.

Hoopistani: Which player surprised you most with her performance in Bangkok?

Garcia: I think the key was that we worked as a team, so each player had her moment in the games. All of them were important. Some in defense, some in shooting, and some in rebounding... It was a successful mix.

Hoopistani: How were you able to make sure that the girls don't let their head down after losing the first 4 games by a large margin.

Garcia: This group is mentally tough. We had some big losses in the important games, but they knew to come back strong in the next one. It was very important that they had in mind that our championship really started against Kazakhstan, and other games were there to prepare us for those two last matches.

Hoopistani: The game against Kazakhstan was a classic. You took a big lead, Kazakhstan came back, and the game went to overtime, where India took charge again. What was your favourite memory from that game?

Garcia: Without doubt it was seeing the girls' happiness at the end as they hugged each other on the court. At the end it is their achievement and they fought for it with their hustle and winner's mentality, especially after all the problems we faced in the game.

Hoopistani: How did it feel when the game ended and you had finally led India to their 1st ever Preliminary Round victory?

Garcia: It's always a special feeling when you make history in a country. So we felt really proud for some time. We could not forget that the championship was not over and the game against Malaysia was looming. If we lost that game then nothing we did against Kazakhstan would've counted



Hoopistani: Looking ahead, who do you think will replace the hole in the middle if and when Geethu finally moves on from the national team?

Garcia: Looking at the future, I think this country must put the focus on working hard continously with the younger kids, because they are future. People are needed here [in India] who work for basketball and leave aside their power hunger and their egos. When you work for your country and the national team, you must put your ego towards the country and the team's service. Not the opposite. Better investment in players is needed. India are number 5 in Asia, and believe me, many countries would love to be in that position, especially the ones with professional leagues. A professional league is urgently needed in India, plus they need to have exposure trips for players to get some more experience. The biggest mistake now after this achievement would be to be content and not to put in the right tools to keep growing.

Hoopistani: How has your experience been so far, working in India

Garcia: It's been pretty interesting. We've had no problems on the court. The girls have been open to all the things I have been explaining. But there were some selection problems in trying to construct the team. I just think that we should have more unity in the selection process.

Hoopistani: How long will you be in India?

Garcia: I have contract until June 2015, but after June 2014 I can re-negotiate. Right now, we're trying to build a good programme here. If things go the right way, I have no problem staying here longer. For now, I am here, and we need to make some progress in basketball.

Hoopistani: Do you think India can break into Asia's big four - China, Chinese Taipei, Japan, Korea? If so, how can they do it?

Garcia: In these countries basketball is the first or the second sport, so it is not easy to get close to them. Professional leagues, proper training, better facilities... If you want to get closer to the big four, you must build a reasonable working line from the grassroots with the goal of preparing players for the senior team. Obviously, many things must change. In general, unfortunately, basketball on court is secondary in India. In my stay here I have been quite disappointed with some mentalities at the human and professional level. So if you want to grow you first need the unity to work properly and clear the mind to focus on basketball.

Hoopistani: Off the court, have you had any interesting experiences in India so far?

Garcia: Well for me, on the first day I was here, I saw people eating food with their hands, and I was a little shocked! Now, after five months, I find myself doing it too, and I'm getting used to it.

Hoopistani: So what Indian food do you like?

Garcia: I really like to eat biryani, Chicken Tikka Masala, and Gulab Jamun. And whenever I need the urge to eat food from my home country, I have found a Spanish restaurant in New Delhi which I have tried a few times.

Japan crowned FIBA Asia Women's champions, India finish at best-ever 5th

History is made to be changed and records are set to be broken, and no matter how many years may pass by, the history-altering moment can still creep up and surprise us.

After a 43-year gold drought, Japan finally returned to the top in Asia after defeating Korea on Sunday in the Final of the 25th FIBA Asia Championship for Women, held in Bangkok (Thailand) from October 27 - September 3. The last time Japan won gold was back in 1970, in Kuala Lumpur, which was the same year that India made their debut in the tournament. In 2013 - 43 years after that debut and in their 16th time participating in the competition - Indian Women also made history by securing their first-ever Level I victory and finished at fifth place, their best seeding ever.

In the Final, Japan came motivated to dominate from the very first whistle, and played impressive defense to take a 21 point lead over Korea by halftime. They cruised in the second period en route to a comfortable 65-43 victory. Center Ramu Tokashiki - named MVP of the tournament - led Japan with 20 points and 18 rebounds in a dominating performance. Yuka Mamiya doubled up Japan's twin towers in the inside, adding 19 and 9.

China, who missed the Finals for the first time since 2001, and had been the winners of the last two times this tournament was played, had to settle for the Bronze medal, as they defeated Chinese Taipei 61-53 earlier in the day. Song Gao led China with 22 points.

China were edged in the semi-final stage in a close contest by Korea, who were led by Yeon Ha Beon (22) in the 71-66 win. Nan Chen had 23 points for China. In the second semi-final, Japan cruised by Chinese Taipei to win 74-56, with Tokashiki again leading with 17 points. Tsai Pei-Chen led Chinese Taipei with 19.

For India, it was the first chance for newly-appointed Spanish coach Francisco Garcia to lead the team into a major tournament. India were placed in Level 1 of the Preliminary Round after finishing sixth back in 2011, and they were set to face the powerhouses of Asian hoops: China, Japan, Korea, and Chinese Taipei, as well as Kazakhstan. After spending years as India's finest player in the Women's division on the international level, Geethu Anna Jose hinted that this might be her last international outing.

India started off the tournament against Chinese Taipei, who got off to a hot start and never looked back. Led by Yi-Ting Wu (18), Chinese Taipei cruised to a blowout victory, 85-57. Jose struggled from the field in the face of tough defense, and India's offensive load was carried by her Railways' teammate, Anitha Paul Durai (22).

Korea faced India in the next game, in what turned out to be India's worst defensive performance of the competition. Led by Danbi Kim (25) and Hui Lim (16), Korea scored 109 points to India's 62. Jose improved after the first game and scored 17 for India.

China defeated India in their third game, holding India to their lowest scoring output, 97-36. Yanyan Ji had 16 for the winning side.

Eventual champions Japan beat India 81-40, bringing India to four losses out of four games.

India's fifth Preliminary Round game turned out to be the most crucial one, against Kazakhstan. Garcia's Indian squad came out determined to end their level one drought, and took an 11 point lead over the Kazakhs at the end of the first half. But a big third quarter surge brought Kazakhstan all the way back to tie the game. A defensive, back-and-forth final period saw the two team tied at 55 as regulation ended. Led by Paul Durai's 18 points, India took charge of overtime to emerge as 65-62 victors. If was India's first-ever win in Level 1. Oxana Ivanova of Kazakhstan scored 16 to lead her side.

India's last game of the championship was a Level 1 qualifying match against Malaysia, who finished at second place in Level 2. India needed a win to ensure that they would be returning to Level 1 in the championship in 2015. Young starlet Jeena PS scored 24 points and Jose added 21 as India controlled the game from the first period and stayed in command en route to a 74-59 win.

Thus, India's 2013 FIBA Asia campaign ended with a 2-4 record and a fifth place finish. Despite struggling relative to her usual high standards, Jose led the team in scoring (12.8 ppg) and rebounds (7 rpg). Paul Durai played well for India too, and youngster Jeena provided some hope for big performances in the future.

Jose might not be part of the team by the time the next tournament rolls along, but she can hold her head up high to potentially end her international career on a positive note, helping her team make history in Bangkok. While the top four in Asia has been generally the same combination of China-Japan-Korea-Chinese Taipei, the fifth place is up for grabs, and it's up to the future Indian squads to ensure that they don't fall below the spot again. India can even start looking ahead and dream of perhaps breaking into the top four soon, although no outside team has dethroned the big four in 29 years!

Final Standings

• 1. Japan
  
• 2. Korea
  
• 3. China
  
• 4. Chinese Taipei
  
• 5. India
  

All Tournament Team

• Ramu Tokashiki (Japan) - MVP
  
• Yuka Mamiya (Japan)
  
• Asami Yoshida (Japan)
  
• Beon Yeonha (Korea)
  
• Lu Wen (China)

Indian Women hope to take next step at 25th FIBA Asia Championship for Women in Bangkok

Francisco Garcia, the Spaniard who was appointed Head Coach of India's Women's basketball squad in July, will now face the biggest challenge of his young tenure as he leads the team to Bangkok, Thailand for the 25th FIBA Asia Championship for Women. The tournament will tip off on October 27th, 2013 and is slated to be held until November 3rd.

India will start this year in the tournament's 'Level I', which means that they will play only the best teams in the tournament in the Preliminary Round and can theoretically qualify for the knockout stages. Level I will feature champions from the previous tournament in 2011 (and 11x winners) China, 2011 silver-medalists Korea, Japan, Chinese Taipei, and Kazakhstan, all posing a challenge to the Indian side.

India's roster includes superstar center Geethu Anna Jose, who will be playing in her fifth FIBA Asia Championship. Jose has always been amongst the leading scorers and rebounders in Asia, and was the third-leading scorer in 2011. She is joined by her Southern Railway experienced teammate Anitha Pauldurai. The remainder of the squad is an exciting mix of experienced talents and fresh blood to amp up the team's energy. Jeena PS, the talented young Keralite, is one of those young talents who can be a big star for the future and will be looking to make her presence felt. Former captain Prashanti Singh will be making a comeback into the team after missing out due to fitness issues last year. Prashanti's sister Akanksha suffered an injury during the team's practice games in Dongguan (China) and has been replaced by Rajapriyadarshini Rajaganapathi.

India's Senior Women's Squad for 25th FIBA Asia Championship

• S. Kokila
  
• Anitha Paul Durai
  
• Raspreet Sidhu
  
• Sharanjeet Kaur
  
• Jeena PS
  
• Shireen Limaye
  
• Stephy Nixon
  
• Smruthi Radhakrishnan
  
• Manisha Dange
  
• Geethu Anna Jose
  
• Prashanti Singh
  
• Rajapriyadarshini Rajaganapathi
  
• Head Coach: Francisco Garcia
  
• Coach: Abdul Hameed Khan
  
• Manager: Jayavanti Shyam
  

To prepare for the tournament, the team headed to Dongguan, China, from October 15-25 for practice/preparation games at the NBA/CBA Basketball School there.

Participating Teams

• Level 1: China, Chinese Taipei, India, Japan, Kazakhstan, Korea.
  
• Level 2: Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Uzbekistan.
  

India's Preliminary Round schedule: (All times IST)

• October 27 - 2:30 PM - Chinese Taipei vs. India
  
• October 28 - 12:30 PM - India vs. Korea
  
• October 29 - 12:30 PM - China vs. India
  
• October 30 - 2:30 PM - Japan vs. India
  
• October 31 - 12:30 PM - India vs. Kazakhstan
  

Two years ago, India lost all five of their preliminary round games, but were able to defeat Malaysia in a close encounter for the Level I playoff game to finish sixth and remain in Level I.

India will once again face a mighty struggle breaking into the top four of teams that dominate Asian Women's hoops: China, Korea, Japan, and Chinese Taipei. Their best chance of getting a Preliminary Round win is against Kazakhstan, who are currently listed below them in the FIBA Rankings. If India can somehow win one more game and finish in the top four, they will have the chance to qualify for the knockout stage. If they finish 5th or 6th in the group, they will play in playoff games against the 1st or 2nd seeded teams in Level II to determine if they can remain in Level I for the next edition of the championship (in 2015).

In an interview with me earlier in the year, Garcia spoke about his preference for transition offense and playing tough defense on the other end of the floor. The star of the team - and the one the entire offense will revolve around - will still be Jose, who, at 28, still has several years left in her prime. Hopefully she has adapted to his offensive schemes and the players around her are ready to support her play. Jose herself mentioned to FIBA earlier this month that she was optimistic about this year's squads, since there are many other bigs in India to take some of the pressure off of her in the post.

Five months ago, a squad of Jose, Anitha, Manisha Dange, and Pratima Singh led India to the gold medal in the inagural 3x3 FIBA Asia Championship. It was the continuation of recent success for India at 3x3 championships, after they won the 3x3 gold at the Asian Beach Games in China last year. Now, they hope to carry that form into the full-format of the game. In 15 appearances, India has never finished better than 6th in the FIBA Asia Championship. Garcia and his team will be looking to change history and finally take a step up in the competition over the next week.

BFI announces India's Women's Basketball Squad for 2013 FIBA Asia Championship

The most talented women in Indian basketball have been brought together for a chance to improve the country's standings as they prepare for the upcoming 25th FIBA Asia Championship for Women, set to be held in Bangkok, Thailand, from October 27 - November 3. India, who finished sixth in the previous edition of the championship two years ago, will enter this year in the tournament's higher 'Level 1'. This tournament will also be the biggest challenge thus far of India's newly-appointed senior women's head coach, the Spaniard Francisco Garcia.

India Women's Coach Francisco Garcia.
Photo via: BFI

Team India probables had been in training camp over the past few months at the SAI Center in Gandhinagar in Gujarat. Now, with only a few weeks left to go for the 2013 Women's FIBA ABC, the team will follow the tradition of other recent Indian national squads and head to Dongguan, China, from October 15-25 for practice/preparation games at the NBA/CBA Basketball School there.

India's roster for the 2013 FIBA Asia Championship

• S. Kokila (Indian Railways)
  
• Anitha Paul Durai (Indian Railways)
  
• Raspreet Sidhu (Delhi)
  
• Sharanjeet Kaur (Chhattisgarh)
  
• Jeena PS (Kerala)
  
• Shireen Limaye (Maharashtra)
  
• Stephy Nixon (Kerala)
  
• Smruthi Radhakrishnan (Indian Railways/Maharashtra)
  
• Manisha Dange (Indian Railways/Maharashtra)
  
• Geethu Anna Jose (Indian Railways)
  
• Prashanti Singh (Delhi)
  
• Akanksha Singh (Delhi)
  
• Head Coach: Francisco Garcia
  
• Coach: Abdul Hameed Khan
  
• Manager: Jayavanti Shyam
  

The roster is an exciting mix of experienced talents and fresh blood to amp up the team's energy. Jeena PS, the talented young Keralite, is one of those young talents who can be a big star for the future and will be looking to make her presence felt. Former captain Prashanti Singh will be making a comeback into the team after missing out due to fitness issues last year. And of course, the centerpiece of Indian Women - as it has been for the past decade - is once again the uber-talented Geethu Anna Jose, who will once again be expected to challenge the best players in Asia.

India are in Level 1 of the championship, where they will play against the top tier talent in the Preliminary Round, including China (the holding champions), Chinese Taipei, Japan, Korea, and Kazakhstan. Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, and Uzbekistan are in Level II.