Two Indian teams to play in FIBA 3x3 World Tour in Beijing

Two Indian Men's teams - representing the cities of Bengaluru and Chandigarh - will be taking part in the FIBA 3x3 World Tour Beijing Masters on October 15-16. Each team will feature four players (three starters and a substitute) for this tournament, which will feature a total of 12 3x3 teams competing for the top prize.

'Team Bangalore' is the squad which represented India at the 2015 3x3 South Asian Basketball Association (SABA) Qualifiers in Colombo earlier this month. By securing the gold medal, they were able to qualify for the Beijing Masters. Despite their nomenclature, the team consists of players from several other states/cities of India outside of Bengaluru.

'Team Chandigarh' is the squad which appeared as 'Punjab Warriors' at the 2014 NBA Jam, and their victory in the National Finals in Pune last December booked their ticket to the Beijing Masters.

The 12 teams are divided into four pools of three teams playing in a round-robin first round against their two respective pool opponents. The top-two placed teams from each pool advance to a standard knock-out round which starts at the quarter-finals stage. The two best teams qualify for the FIBA 3x3 World Tour Final, which will be staged in Abu Dhabi on 15-16 October 2015. Apart from this main event, a dunk contest and a three-point shootout contest will also be held. Read more here.

FIBA 3x3 World Tour Beijing Masters Participating Teams

• Pool A: Novisad Alwahda (UAE), Zheng Zhou (China), Bangalore (India).
  
• Pool B: Ljubljana (Slovenia), New Taipei (Chinese Taipei), Jinan (China).
  
• Pool C: Doha (Qatar), Jakarta (Indonesia), Beijing (China).
  
• Pool D: Tokyo (Japan), Wukesong (China), Chandigarh (India).
  

India team rosters

• Team Bangalore: Basil Philip (Kerala), Rajesh Uppar (Karnataka), Siddhant Shinde (Maharashtra), Jeevanantham Pandi (Tamil Nadu).
  
• Team Chandigarh: Khusmeet Atwal, Arshpreet Bhullar, Arshdeep Dhillon, Rajveer Singh.
  

Schedule for India’s league games 15th August (all timings IST)

• 2:40 PM: Chandigarh vs Tokyo (Pool D).
  
• 3 PM: Bangalore vs Zheng Zhou (Pool A).
  
• 4 PM: Bangalore vs Novisad Alwahda (Pool A).
  
• 6 PM: Chandigarh vs Wukesong (Pool D).
  

The FIBA 3x3 World Tour was first launched in 2012. The former winners are San Juan (Puerto Rico, 2012), Brezovica (Slovenia, 2013) and Novi Sad (Serbia, 2014).

India's 3x3 Men's squad in Sri Lanka for South Asia qualifiers of 2015 3x3 World Tour

India's Senior 3x3 Men's basketball squad is currently in Colombo, Sri Lanka, to take part in the South Asia qualifiers for the 2013 3x3 World tour. The South Asian Basketball Association (SABA) championship are being held on August 1-2 in Colombo. The winning team will qualify for the 2015 3x3 World Tour, set to be held in Beijing (China) on August 15-16.

Team India roster consists of four players - three to start and one substitute.

Roster

• Basil Philip (Kerala)
  
• Rajesh Uppar (Karnataka)
  
• Siddhant Shinde (Maharashtra)
  
• Jeevanantham Pandi (Tamil Nadu)
  

India didn't participate in the inaugural 3x3 SABA championship, which was held in Bangladesh last year and won by the hosts.

Basil Philip has made it to the Indian team for the second time, after representing the national side during the 2013 SABA 5x5 Championship in New Delhi. The remaining three, Uppar, Shinde and Jeevanantham are all first timers in the senior side.

"3x3 is a fast paced game in which Indian players have a chance to compete against the top countries in the world as we develop the 5x5 version of the sport," said Chander Mukhi Sharma, Secretary General of the BFI. "This is a great opportunity for these players and if they compete hard and win, they'll have the opportunity to play in China for even more and greater exposure."

Elaborating further, BFI President K Govindaraj said, "We wanted to give these four players, who worked extremely hard during the coaching camp prior to SABA, the chance to obtain valuable international experience. They didn't make the SABA 5x5 team but all four are young, talented and extremely hard working. They will certainly be part of future Indian teams and this will be valuable exposure for all of them."

Participating Teams: Sri Lanka Blacks, Maldives, Sri Lanka Whites, Colombo BC, Avant BC, Sri Lanka Blues, Nepal, Sri Lanka Reds, India, Colombo Bulls.

India's Schedule

• Aug 1: 11 AM - India vs. Sri Lanka Blues.
  
• Aug 1: 4 PM - Sri Lanka Reds vs. India.
  
• Aug 1: 6 PM - Avant BC vs. India.
  
• Aug 2: 9 AM - India vs. Nepal.
  

Semi-Finals and Finals are scheduled 5 PM onwards on August 2.