Indian Basketball's All Star Showcase to tip off in Mumbai

The third Indian Basketball All Star showcase – a weekend highlighting the talents of India’s finest Men and Women basketball players – is set to be held at the Mastan YMCA Courts in Mumbai from May 3-5, 2012. Like previous years, the event will feature well-known basketball players from all across the country taking part in All Star Games, shooting, and dunking competitions. Maharashtra State Basketball Association (MSBA) will host this year’s events dedicated to the memory of the late CEO of the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) Harish Sharma.

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Indian Basketball All-Star showcase in Mumbai from May 3-5

For the third year, the Mastan YMCA basketball court in Nagpada, Mumbai, will host the best of the best in Indian hoops talent in India’s own version of the basketball All Star weekend, from May 3-5, 2012.

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Indian Basketball’s All Star Weekend in be held in Mumbai on April 8-9

Get ready for Indian basketball’s brightest stars to shine together: For the second year, the top Men and Women players in India will descend to the Mastan YMCA in Mumbai to take part in Indian Basketball’s All Star Weekend - India All Star - on Friday 8th and Saturday 9th of April, 2011. Organised by Ibrahim Lakdawala of Lakdawala Developer PVT. LTD., the two day event will host skills competitions on April 8th and the Men and Women All Star Games on April 9th, featuring the most talented players in the country divided into East and West sides.

India’s most popular and exciting players, from all over the country, have been invited by the organisers for this landmark event, which will be an opportunity for Indian hoops aficionados to see their favourite players in action against each other. “We had organised the All Star Game on a small scale last year,” said Lakdawala, a former national-level player for the country, who has been the brainchild behind the project, “But this time, we will be hosting a much bigger event.”

The events on Friday will include a three-point shooting competition for Men & Women and a Slam Dunk Competition for Men. The All Star Games will be held on Saturday evening: the participants in the two games will be divided into East and West sides. The all stars will include top-level players such as Jagdeep Singh, Yadwinder Singh, Trideep Rai, Vishesh Bhriguvanshi, Geethu Anna Jose, Anitha Pau Durai, Prashanti Singh, and Akanksha Singh.

“It will be a fun festival of basketball,” said Salim Shaikh, the co-organiser of the event, “We hope that our players will enjoy participating against each other. There will be a lot of exciting prizes for all the players.

“In addition, we will have a lot of merchandise for the fans, including T-shirts featuring their favourite Indian players,” Shaikh added.

The All Star Game will also mark as a fitting prelude to the Ramu Memorial Basketball Tournament, set to tip off at the Indian Gymkhana Grounds in Matunga, Mumbai, from April 10-17.

Indian All Star Teams

WOMEN

East

Anitha Pau Durai (Tamil Nadu) - Captain
Seema Singh (Chhattisgarh)
Sonika Ohylan (Delhi)
Raspreet Sidhu (Delhi)
Bharti Netam (Chhattisgarh)
Asha Hegde (Delhi)
Pushma M. (Chhattisgarh)
Anju Lakra (Chhattisgarh)
Savihta C.S. (Karnataka)
Manisha Dange (Maharashtra)

West

Prashanti Singh (Delhi) - Captain
Geethu Anna Jose (Tamil Nadu)
Divya Singh (Delhi)
Akanksha Singh (Delhi)
Varsha Verma (Delhi)
Kokila (Tamil Nadu)
Aakansha Singh (Chhattisgarh)
Sonam (Karnataka)
Sagarika Shyam (Karnataka)
Smrithi (Maharashtra)

MEN

East

Yadwinder Singh (Railways) - Captain
Vishesh Bhriguvanshi (Railways)
Trideep Rai (ONGC)
Anoop (ONGC)
Jai Ram Jat (Services)
Harish Koroth (IOB)
Shanmugam Sridhar (ONGC)
Arvind (Railways)
Arjun Singh (Railways)
Ajay Pratap Singh (Chhattisgarh)
Amrit Pal Singh (Punjab)
Murali Krishna R. (ONGC)

West

Riyazuddin (ONGC) - Captain
Jagdeep Singh (Punjab)
Shabeer (ONGC)
Mihir Pandey (IOB)
Jasjot Singh (Railways)
Narender Kumar (Services)
Mohit Bhandari (ONGC)
Gagandeep Singh (Railways)
Bobby Singh (Uttar Pradesh)
Talwinderjit Singh Sahi (Punjab)
Jaskaran Singh / Amjyot Singh (Punjab) – not confirmed yet

BFI to launch the Mastan Basketball League in Mumbai

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More More More BASKETBALL! Nearly a week ago, the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) announced the Mastan Basketball Professional League for Men & Women to be held at Mastan Y.M.C.A in Mumbai from 5th to 15th May, 2010.

The Mastan league is yet another positive step taken by the BFI to introduce what I call a "league-like" experience to some of the countries top players. Following the news of the Mahindra-NBA recreational league which will target amateur/casual basketball players, the Mastan league will offer a similar structure to the top-level basketball players in the country.
Ibrahim Lakdawala, an enterprising former national-level player has been behind the planning of this first of its kind professional basketball league in a hope to change the face of the game in the city.

From BFI News:

Top 48 players from all over India and 32 players from Maharashtra State will be selected to play in the Men section forming 8 Teams from these 80 players.
While top 25 players from all over India and 15 players from the state of Maharashtra will be selected to play in the women section forming 4 teams from these 40 players.
CASH AWARDS TO EACH PLAYER will be provided during each match of the League as per details mentioned below: -
Winner – Rs. 3,000/- (per player)
Runner-up – Rs. 2,000/- (per player)
Semi Final Matches: Winner: 4,000/- (per player)
Runner-up Rs. 3,000/- (per player)
Final’s Winner: 5,000/- (per player)
Runner-up: 4,000/- (per player)
Each match will have a best player award.

As mentioned above, the league will feature nearly 30 percent players from the state of Maharashtra and the remaining will comprise of the best from the rest of India. I spoke to BFI secretary Harish Sharma about the league today, and he said the purpose of this league will be to introduce a new concept and new teams to the players.
"We want to mix the teams up, like it would be if we had a national league system," said Harish, "They will be given cash rewards for their appearances and performances. We will hold tryouts to choose the final teams and also recruit coaches for this. It will be one more step towards a professional league in India."
Many of the country's best players have been invited for this league, and beyond them, other good basketball players will also be given a chance. Check out the BFI website news for contact details if you wish to participate.
The players will have to report to the venue on the 5th of May and the teams will be formed on the 6th and 7th. The matches will kick off on the 8th and end on the 15th of May.

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