Japan (Men) and Australia (Women) win FIBA 3x3 U18 Asia Cup 2019 in Malaysia; Recap with India's results

The 5th edition of FIBA 3x3 U18 Asia Cup was held at the Gem-In Mall in Cyberjaya, Malaysia, from August 22-24. On the final day on Saturday, Japan's Men and Australia's Women emerged as the best of the best to claim the gold. India also participated: India's women's team made the Quarter-Finals and finished at an encouraging 7th place; India's Men fell in the Qualifying Round to finish 13th.

Japan were dominant throughout the tournament, and finished with an easy win in the Men's final, 21-13.

In the women's category, Australia had a perfect 5-0 record and dominated Japan in the final with a decisive 21-10 victory.

Japan's Seishin Yokochi was named Men's MVP after a game-high 9 points in the final. The women's MVP was Australia's Shyla Heal, who hit a game-high 8 points in the final.

Philippines won the women's bronze medal with a 14-11 win over China. The men's bronze went to China, who beat Australia 21-17.

India fielded a talented squad for the women's team, featuring experienced youngster Pushpa Senthil Kumar, Khushi Dongre, Sreekala Rani, and rising star Harsimran Kaur. India made it past the qualifying round with a dominant first win over Maldives (21-4) and a couple of impressive close finishes to defeat Thailand (17-13) and Chinese Taipei (17-15).

The squad moved on to Pool C of the main tournament, alongside Turkmenistan and New Zealand. India decimated Turkmenistan in an impressive 21-4 showing, but lost in a nail-biter to NZ, 16-14.

India's run came to an end in the Quarter-Final, where they lost to a stacked China squad, 22-3. They finished the tournament at 7th place.

India's men's team featured a group of experienced young players, led by Princepal Singh, Harshwardhan Tomar, Rajveer Singh Bhati, and Rajeev Kumar. India were in Qualifying Draw B with Maldives, Chinese Taipei, and Australia. India won their first two games, beating Maldives (20-5) and Chinese Taipei (21-16). But their journey concluded to the mighty Australians, who defeated them 19-15.

Final Standings

Men

• 1. Japan
• 2. Kazakhstan
• 3. Australia
• 4. China
• 5. Philippines

Women

• 1. Australia
• 2. Japan
• 3. Philippines
• 4. China
• 5. New Zealand

Teams of the Tournament

Men

• Seishin Yokochi (Japan) - MVP
• Daniel Foster (Australia)
• Arsentiy Kushniruk (Kazakhstan)

Women

• Shyla Heal (Australia) - MVP
• Saori Yasue (Japan)
• Kristine Cayabyab (Philippines)

2019 FIBA Asia 3x3: Australia win double golds; India's teams finish outside top-12

The 4th edition of the FIBA 3x3 Asia Cup featured a record 40 teams (18 in the women's and 22 in the men's category) playing fast-paced, competitive basketball in the heart of Changsha, China. And when the dust settled it was the dominating newcomers from the Oceania region - Australia - that celebrated the spoils. With dominant displays throughout the knockout stage on Sunday, Australia's Men and Women both emerged as 2019 FIBA Asia 3x3 champions.

Held from May 22-26, the quickfire tournament featured most of the top Asian countries. Australia's Men, who also won the tournament's previous iteration in 2017, took the gold on Sunday with a 21-9 victory over Mongolia in a rematch of the last final. Tim Coenraad scored 8 points in the final including the game-winner for the Australians.

Australia's Women beat Kazakhstan 20-9 to win gold in their division on Sunday.

Hosts China's Men finished third after defeating Kazakhstan in the bronze medal game, 14-11. The women's bronze went to Japan, who won 21-14.

India also sent four-member squads to the 3x3 Asia Cup earlier this week, for both the men's and the women's divisions. Both teams were placed in the Qualifying Draw, meaning that they had to finish in the top of their group after the first two days of qualifying games to have a chance for qualification in the main Pool Stage.

Captained by Raspreet Sidhu, India's Women's team started the tournament in the Qualifying Draw B with Malaysia, Maldives, and Thailand. On the opening day, India defeated Malaysia in a nailbiter, 16-15. On Day 2, they scored a 18-12 victory over Maldives. But they failed to top their group after losing to Thailand in their final game, 21-15.

India Women finished at 14th place (out of 18).

India's Men's squad had a similar run in their two-day appearance at Changsha. Led by returning star guard Vishesh Bhriguvanshi, India were in Men's Qualifying Draw B with South Korea, Vanuatu, and and Malaysia. Like the women, India's Men's team also started their first day with a win over Malaysia, 21-13. On Day 2, they cruised past Vanuatu 21-10. But their journey ended with a heartbreaking close loss to South Korea 20-19.

India Men finished at 13th place (out of 22).

Team of the Tournament

Men

• Tom Wright (Australia) - MVP
• Delgernyam Davaasambuu (Mongolia)
• Yi Zheng (China)

Women

• Rebecca Cole (Australia) - MVP
• Nadezhda Kondrakova (Kazakhstan)
• Minami Iju (Japan)

Final Standings

Men

• 1. Australia
• 2. Mongolia
• 3. China
• 4. Kazakhstan
• 5. Jordan

Women

• 1. Australia
• 2. Kazakhstan
• 3. Japan
• 4. Mongolia
• 5. Turkmenistan

China win 5th consecutive FIBA Asia U18 Women's title in Bengaluru; Undefeated India win Division B!

It was a tournament that repeated histories. For the third consecutive time, a major women's FIBA Asia tournament was held in Bengaluru, India. For the fifth straight time, China's U18 team raced to grab the the gold medals. And for the third time in various women's FIBA Asia events, India - starting in Division B - played a perfect tournament to win promotion to Division A.

The 2018 FIBA Asia U18 Championship for Women was held in Bengaluru, India, from October 28 - November 3, with games held at the city's Sree Kanteerava Stadium and the Koramangala Indoor Stadium. 16 of the top teams in the Asia and Oceania took part, divided into higher (Division A) and lower (Division B) sections. This was the third consecutive FIBA Asia Women's tournament to be held in Bengaluru, after last year's FIBA Asia Women's Cup and FIBA Asia U16 Championship for Women.

No matter the location, the team in-charge of proceedings was yet again China. China won their fifth consecutive FIBA Asia U18 Women's title win a win over their rivals Japan in the final on Saturday, 89-76. After a tight first half where both teams were tied at 38-each, China opened the third period with a 24-12 run that proved to be the difference. They held on to their lead in a high-scoring fourth to secure the victory. Rising Chinese basketball star Yuan Li scored 28 points, 8 rebounds, and 8 assists in the final, while Zhuo Ya Fang added 17. Chinatsu Umeki (20) and Layla Takehara (18) led the way for Japan in the loss.

Oceania's finest Australia won the third-place game on Saturday against Korea to secure the bronze medal. After leading just 54-49 at the end of the third quarter, Australia finished in style to run away with a 75-58 triumph. Duke University's Miela Goodchild (21) and rising star Nnenna Agnes Emma-Nnopu (17) led the way for Australia. Korea were led with 17-points a piece by Jihyun Park and Haeran Lee.

The top four teams - China, Japan, Australia, and Korea - qualified for 2018 FIBA U19 Women's World Cup.

Like they did in the previous two age division events in Bengaluru, hosts India entered this tournament in Division B. Once again, the man at the helm of the squad was Zoran Visic, the Serbian coach who has been managing India's women's basketball for the past few years at all levels. Despite home familiarity, however, India had reason for caution, missing several of their top players and fielding a captain - Pushpa Senthil Kumar - who was injured in the run-up to the tournament.

India were in Group A of Division B, along with Iran, Guam, and Singapore, and once the tournament got underway, they showed their class to devastate all opponents.

India's first game was probably their most nervous affair, against Iran. Leading 46-38 before the beginning of the final quarter, India made several costly errors and allowed Iran to come all the way back. Fortunately, a couple of smart plays in the last few minutes helped India hold their nerve and survive for a 73-65 win. Sreekala Rani led India with 19 while Iran's best player was Fatemeh Aghazadegan Ghazvini, who scored a game-high 22 points.

Once they got the first-game jitters out of the way, India were ruthless in their next contest, against the inexperienced Guam. Srishti Suren had 19 points and 9 rebounds to lead six players in double-digits for India in the 107-42 victory.

It was more of the same in India's final group stage game against Singapore. India started off with a 20-3 first quarter run that immediately deflated their opponents. Led by Gulabsha Ali's 21 off the bench, India ran away to a 79-49 win to top their group.

In the Division B semi-final, India were matched up against Group B runners-up Hong Kong. Once again, India looked confident, and this time, used a defensively throttling third quarter run (17-2) to shut down their opponents. Harshitha Kelttira Bopaiah was immense with 18 points and 16 rebounds to help India win, 83-38.

India faced a familiar foe - Kazakhstan - in the final, in what was supposed to be a closer matchup. But right from the start, Visic's squad ensured that they wouldn't allow any space for mistakes. India led 32-18 after the first half and pushed the lead to 54-30 after three quarters. The final score read 68-45 as India celebrated their Division B victory. Bopaiah, who definitely emerged as the team's knockout stage MVP, finished with 20 points and 13 rebounds in the victory.

India finished the tournament a perfect 5-0, winning each game with an average margin of 34.2 points. The victory ensured that India will be promoted to Division A when the next iteration of this tournament comes around in two more years.

India and Visic have a lot to be proud of after this tournament, particularly the impressive performances by the Bopaiah, who led the team in both scoring (14.8 ppg) and rebounds (11.2 rpg). Point guard Dharshani Thirunavukkarasu showed maturity beyond her years in shepherding the squad and averaging 10.8 points and 4 assists per game. Other consistent performers for the team included Srishti Suren and Ishwarya Janardhanan, who led the squad in minutes played and assists (6.0 apg).

This victory again highlighted the strange space occupied by India's Women's basketball: too good for Division B; too terrible for Division A. Hopefully, all three promoted squads (Seniors, U16, U18) can find Division A success in the next tournaments.

FIBA Asia U18 Championship for Women - Final Standings

• 1. China
• 2. Japan
• 3. Australia
• 4. Korea

China sweep basketball events at 2018 Asian Games; India's Women return winless

The venues were in Jakarta, Indonesia, but by the end of the basketball competitions at the 2018 Asian Games, it was the Chinese that felt most at home.

China swept across all categories of basketball at the Asian Games, winning gold in the Men's, Women's, 3x3 Men's, and 3x3 Women's events. It was a dominant performance and a reminder that, despite some recent inconsistencies, the Chinese still stand as the most dominant force in Asian hoops.

The basketball finals at the Asian Games were held in Jakarta on Saturday, September 1. China's Men's team defeated Iran 84-72, and China's Women's squad won the gold with a win over Korea's combine dteam, 71-65. South Korea won the Men's bronze with a 89-81 win over Chinese Taipei. Chinese Taipei lost the Women's bronze medal game, too, against Japan 76-63.

Chinese Men defeated South Korea in a closely-contested Men's 3x3 final, 19-18, and Iran won bronze by cruising against Thailand 21-7. Chinese Women beat Japan 21-10 for the 3x3 gold and Thailand won the women's bronze in a close game against Chinese Taipei, 15-14.

Although India participated and succeeded in various sporting disciplines at the Asian Games this year, it was a forgettable campaign for the country's basketball contingent. India only sent a Women's basketball team for the 5x5 event, as the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) held back the Men's team and the 3x3 teams citing their low chances for success at the Games.

India's Women, led by head coach Shiba Maggon and featuring leading players like Jeena Scaria, Shireen Limaye, Raspreet Sidhu, and Rajapriyadharshini Rajaganapathi, were placed in Group X of the preliminary round stage, along with Korea (Combined), Chinese Taipei, Indonesia, and Kazakhstan.

India began their campaign against Kazakhstan, a squad they were evenly matched with and whom they defeated in the Division B final of the FIBA Asia Women's Cup last year. This time around, it was Kazakhstan who held the edge, and raced out to a 79-61 win. Tamara Yagodkina (21) and Zalina Kurazova (16) led the way for the Kazakhs win.

India's second game was against Chinese Taipei. The Indian eves started off well and only trailed by five at halftime against the much-favoured squad. But a 31-17 third quarter run gave Chinese Taipei the necessary separation as they sped their way to an 84-61 blowout.

The Combined Korean squad - eventual silver-medalists at the tournament - had the easiest time against India, dominating from start till finish to a 104-54 victory. Lee Seul Kang led all scorers for Korea with 17.

It all came down to India's final group stage game, against hosts Indonesia, in a do-or-die contest that could determine their qualification to the next round. It was a neck-to-neck game as expected, and although Indonesia held the lead for most of the time, India made an impressive late comeback to take the lead in the final quarter. Alas, Indonesia won the battle of the nerves in front of their home fans in the fourth quarter and survived for a 69-66 win. Natasha Debby Christaline had 21 for Indonesia while India's top scorer was Stephy Nixon (18).

The result dropped India to 0-4 and they were knocked out of the tournament. This was another disappointing result for Indian basketball, which has been facing a string of major losses at the international stage in both the men's and women's competitions. India's Women's failure at the Asian Games and the complete non-participation of the Men should reflect directly at the federation in India and their failures to develop and prepare our top players for these competitions.

Final Basketball Rankings from the 2018 Asian Games

Men

• 1. China
• 2. Iran
• 3. South Korea

Women

• 1. China
• 2. Korea
• 3. Japan

Men 3x3

• 1. China
• 2. South Korea
• 3. Iran

Women 3x3

• 1. China
• 2. Japan
• 3. Thailand

Asian Games 2018: India's Women's basketball team look to take a step forward in Indonesia - Roster, Schedule, and Preview

As Asia's biggest athletic extravaganza rolls back around after a long, four-year break, India's Women's Basketball team is ready and up for the challenge to take a step forward.

Indian basketball continues to hear cheers in the reverberations of that one memorable shot. Last year, Shireen Limaye hit a game-winning jumper as time expired in the Division B final to give India a Division B victory at the FIBA Asia Women's Cup in front of home fans in Bengaluru and qualified them back into Division A, the big leagues of Asian Women's Basketball. It has been relatively silent on the women's hoops scene since, but things finally revved up again a month ago when India sent a team to play the William Jones Cup in Taiwan. Playing against elite level competition, India returned winless, 0-5.

Now, a 12-strong women's squad has landed in Indonesia for the Asian Games 2018 - The Asiad - as India's sole basketball representatives. The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) made a disappointing decision not to invest on lower-ranked teams to travel for the event, and thus, India's Men's team will be staying home. India has also not sent teams for the Asiad's men and women's 3x3 basketball event. The 5x5 games will be held at the GBK Basketball Hall and the Istora Gelora Bung Karno in Jakarta from August 14 - September 1.

Led by coach Shiba Maggon, a former captain of the national team, India's Women will be looking to fly the flag high for Indian hoops. Four years ago, at the Asian Games 2014 in South Korea, they were the youngest team in the tournament and finished at sixth place (out of 11). India still has a relatively young roster, captained by star player Jeena Scaria, and they will be hoping to improve on their past performances among the ten-team fray.

Asian Games 2018 Women's Basketball Participants

• Group X: Korea (Combined), Chinese Taipei, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, India.
• Group Y: China, Japan, Thailand, Hong Kong, Mongolia.

The top four teams from each group will proceed to the Quarter-Final stage. India only has to secure one victory in the group stage to ensure a top-four finish.

India's roster for Asian Games 2018

• Sanjana Ramesh
• Pushpa Senthil Kumar
• Anjana Prasannan Geetha
• Bhandavya Hemmige
• Jeena Scaria - captain
• Rajapriyadharshini Rajaganapathi
• Raspreet Sidhu
• Shireen Limaye
• Priyanka Prabhakara
• Madhu Kumari
• Sangeeta Kaur
• Stephy Nixon
• Head Coach: Shiba Maggon

Scaria has been consistently the team's leader and best performer for the past few years, and the forward has helped usher in the team to a new era after the departure of Geethu Anna Rahul and Anitha Paul Durai. Limaye, India's game-winning hero and another multi-talented forward, is again a part of this squad. Experienced shooting guard Raspreet Sidhu will be looked upon for leadership and offensive prowess. Rajapriyadharshini Rajaganapathi could also prove to be an important part of the main rotation. Missing from the squad are point guard Kavita Akula and youngster Grima Merlin Varghese, both of whom were important contributors in last year's FIBA Asia Women's Cup.

India's Preliminary Round Schedule - all timings IST

• August 17 - India vs. Kazakhstan - 2:30 PM
• August 19 - Chinese Taipei vs. India - 8:30 AM
• August 20 Korea vs. India - 8:30 AM
• August 23 - India vs. Indonesia - 5 PM

Unlike a lot of international basketball tournaments, the schedule is well-spaced and India will find time for rest between some of the games in the preliminary round. Their matchup against Kazakhstan is sure to be fuelled with some bad blood, as it was Kazakhstan whom India defeated in the dramatic Division B final in Bengaluru last year. India and Kazakhstan have always been well-matched and this is sure to be one of the most competitive games of the tournament. India will play against a full-strength Chinese Taipei squad after losing to their 'A' and 'B' teams at the William Jones Cup last month. A combined Korea team will be a new challenge for India - South Korea defeated them last month at the Jones Cup, too. Finally, India will take on hosts Indonesia and a hostile home crowd. This should be a fun game, and if India can hold their nerves, they could use their size and shooting advantage to pull off a win.

This gives India two winnable opportunities (Kazakhstan and Indonesia) in the preliminary round. Their performances here will determine their seeding and matchup for the quarter-final stage, and if India can meet a favourable opponent (Thailand, Mongolia, or Hong Kong), they have a real shot at the semi-finals, too.

Group Y has two of the top contenders for the title, reigning Asian champs Japan and the powerhouses China. But the combined Korean team could also spring a surprise if this squad manages to mesh together and add to South Korea's 2014 Asian Games basketball title with another gold in Indonesia.

India's Women basketball team drawn for 2018 Asian Games; Men's and 3x3 teams to not feature

This is what happens when sports becomes a pursuit of the destination - instead of the journey itself.

In the lead up to the 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has come under scrutiny for excluding a number of Indian sports teams - including India's men and women's football squads - after they were deemed "incompetent" to win any medals. IOA officials stressed that they only wanted to send athletes from disciplines that gave them a chance at glory, disregarding those for whom the experience of participation - even if unsuccessful - could've been extremely valuable.

India's basketball contingent, after a rough and tumultuous year, has been one of the victims of this decision. When the Asian Games tip off in Jakarta and Palembang from August 18, India will only be sending their Women's basketball team to the tournament. India's Men's squad - who have lost their last 23 competitive games in various international tournaments - were not included. India will also not be sending 3x3 basketball teams to the event.

A total contingent of 524 Indian athletes will be heading to Indonesia for next month's Asian Games.

India's Women's squad have been in camp in Bengaluru in preparation under head coach Shiba Maggon. The team won FIBA Asia Cup Division B title last year and got promoted to Division A for the upcoming FIBA Asia Cup.

Asian Games Women's Basketball Groups

• Group A: Korea, Chinese Taipei, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, India.
• Group B: China, Japan, Thailand, Hong Kong, Mongolia.

India's Men's exclusion from the tournament is a pity, and it displays both the continuing failure of the team as well as the IOA's shortsighted approach towards medal collection. Hopefully, the women's team can put up some strong performances and convince the officials back home of the potential of Indian basketball.

Hoopdarshan Episode 61: India Women's Basketball Captain Shireen "Big Shot" Limaye

For Episode 61, Shireen Limaye - the most recent captain of India's Women's basketball team - joins Hoopdarshan to talk about India's performances at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Australia, the basketball scene in her hometown Pune, and hitting THAT shot to help India win Division B of the FIBA Asia Cup last year.

In this episode, co-hosts Kaushik Lakshman and Karan Madhok also discuss a variety of topics in Indian basketball like the 3BL League, the BFI's competing 3x3 Tour, Federation Cup, NBA Academy India events, Brook Lopez's visit to India, and reflect on the second round of the NBA Playoffs so far.



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 
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Mongolia (Men), Australia (Women) win 2017 FIBA 3x3 Asia Cup; India women finish 4th, Men 9th

Basketball's new, short version took another successful step towards its exponential growth this week. In Mongolia, the top 3x3 basketball teams from Asia and Oceania took part in the 2nd FIBA 3x3 Asia Cup in Ulaanbaatar from October 27-29. A total of 27 men and women's teams participated in this quickfire tournament, including teams from India. By the end of Sunday, hosts Mongolia took home the Men's gold in front of their home fans, while Australian women finished atop their division.

In the tournament's previous iteration in Qatar, India's women won the gold medal. This time around, however, they were ousted in the semi-final stage and had to settle for fourth place. India's men's team failed to make it out of the group stage and finished at ninth.

Mongolia met New Zealand in the Men's final and pulled away in the final minutes for a 19-14, thanks to the play-making of MVP Dulguun Enkhbat and the scoring of Tsenguunbayar Gotov.

Australia, in their debut in this tournament, were led by MVP Isabell Bourne en route to a 21-15 victory in the women's final.

China defeated India's women 21-16 to secure third place. Australia won third-place in the men's division, defeating Kazakhstan 21-18.

India's women, a team that featured Shireen Limaye, Jeena Scaria, Raspreet Sidhu, and Grima Merlin Varghese came into the tournament with aspirations to defend their gold medal from Qatar. In the group stage's Pool D, India beat Kyrgyzstan in their first game 20-12, but lost to New Zealand in nail-biter 16-15. India defeated Mongolia in the Quarter-Final 16-14, but their entry to the finale was blocked by Malaysia who defeated them 19-13. India's final game was a third-place matchup against China, which they lost 21-16 and finished fourth.

India's men's team featured Ravi Bhardwaj, Anil Kumar Gowda, Gurvinder Singh Gill, and Jeevanantham Pandi. They had to begin the tournament in the qualifying round. After losing to Chinese Taipei 21-15 in the first game, they defeated Lebanon 21-19 to sneak into the group stage. Here, they lost both of their matchups, first to China 22-15 and then to Kyrgyzstan 21-19, and their hopes of making the knockout rounds were dashed. India finished at 9th place.

India's Women had two scorers in the tournament's top ten, Raspreet Sidhu and Shireen Limaye.

Men's Team of the Tournament: Dulguun Enkhbat (MVP - Mongolia), Alonzo Burton (New Zealand), Lucas Barker (Australia).

Women's Team of the Tournament: Isabella Bourne (MVP - Australia), Fook Ye Yap (Malaysia), Jinxian Wang (China).

Shoot-Out Contest winner: Fook Ye Yap (Malaysia).

Final Standings

Men

• 1. Mongolia
• 2. New Zealand
• 3. Australia
• 4. Kazakhstan
• 5. China

Women

• 1. Australia
• 2. Malaysia
• 3. China
• 4. India
• 5. Mongolia

Australia win gold at 2017 FIBA U16 Asia Championship for Women in Bengaluru; Team India celebrate Division B victory!

For the second time this year, India played host to one of FIBA Asia's marquee basketball events in the region, with the top youth women from over a dozen Asian nations descending into Bengaluru's Sri Kantaveera Stadium for the 2017 FIBA U16 Asia Championship For Women. As the week-long tournament concluded on Saturday, October 28th, newcomers Australia - playing under the Asian banner for the first time - took the gold medal with a thrilling win over Japan in the final.

India, meanwhile, began the tournament in the lower Division B. With many encouraging performances, India dominated the second-tier of the competition, winning all of their games in comfortable fashion and securing a qualification to Division A in front of their home fans.

The Division A final pitted the two strongest teams of this year's competition - Australia and Japan - against each other. Japan have been to every final of this tournament (five consecutive times), but only won once, back in 2011. Leading 41-32 at halftime on Saturday, it seemed that they would finally add another gold to their tally. But Australia amped up their defense after halftime were able to edge Japan to secure a nail-biting 61-60 win. This was the first time that teams from Oceania (Australia, New Zealand) were playing in this tournament, and Australia celebrated their entry with a debut gold.

Also on Saturday, 2015 champions China defeated New Zealand led by Ming Zheng (20) and Yutong Liu (17) to secure third place.

The top four teams from Division A - Australia, Japan, China, New Zealand - qualified for the FIBA U17 Women's Basketball World Cup.

Two years ago, India had a forgettable experience at the FIBA U16 Asia Women in Medan (Indonesia), losing all of their higher division games and getting relegated to Division B. This had been a similar situation with India's senior women's team for this year's FIBA Asia Women's Cup in Bengaluru earlier this year. India's coach - the Serbian Zoran Visic - helped the senior team finish that previous tournament in perfect fashion and regain Division A status. Visic was named head coach of the U16 team by the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) to help repeat his achievement for the younger girls.

India started the 2017 U16 championship in Division B's Group A, alongside Nepal, Sri Lanka, and the last-minute addition, Iran. India opened the tournament in dominant fashion with their best offensive performance: led by a dominant all-round performance by Vaishnavi Yadav (23 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists, 8 steals), India blew past Nepal to a 106-37 win. Captain Pushpa Senthil Kumar added 18 points and 11 rebounds to India's winning effort.

Game 2 against another South Asian competitor Sri Lanka proved to be more of the same. India started the first quarter in style, getting a 30-7 lead, and cruised to a 86-58 victory. Monica Jayakumar had her breakout moment with 19 points and 8 rebounds, while Kumar was unstoppable in the post again (18 points, 19 rebounds).

India's most interesting group opponent was set to be Iran, a late entrant to the women's basketball stage in the continent. After a hesitant start, India took complete charge in the second quarter and dominated on both ends of the floor after halftime for a convincing 97-53 win. Vaishnavi Yadav (29 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists) was at the top of her game, leading five Indians in double figure scoring.

India had now earned a qualification straight for the semi-final, where they played a much taller Kazakhstan side. But the height disadvantage didn't stop India, and instead, spurred to the team to a strong defensive effort. Led again by Yadav (21 points, 15 rebounds), India shut down the Kazakhs to win 77-40.

In the senior women's final against Kazakhstan, India had needed a dramatic game-winning shot by Shireen Limaye to secure their Division B victory. In the U16 final against Malaysia, however, no such heroics were necessary. Like they had been all tournament, India were dominant from the star, holding Malaysia to just three points in the first quarter and holding a 32-24 halftime lead. Another spurt in the third and some tenacious defensive work helped India close the game out with a 64-48 win.

India ended the tournament with a perfect 5-0 record, won Division B, and secured their promotion to Division A for the next iteration of this tournament.

The biggest star to emerge for India from this championship was Uttar Pradesh girl Vaishnavi Yadav. After making a name for herself at the Youth Nationals for UP earlier this year, Yadav enjoyed her major international breakthrough in front of an eager home crowd. She finished the tournament as Division B's leader in points (20.4 ppg) and joint leader, with another Indian Neha Karwa, in assists (6.2). Yadav was also India's second-best player on the boards, grabbing 8.8 rebounds per contest. The team's captain Pushpa Senthil Kumar was also a major force in the post, finishing as the division's second-best rebounder (13.2 rpg). Karwa was a steady presence for India all tournament, too, and could be a guard to watch for the future.

Final Standings

• 1. Australia
• 2. Japan
• 3. China
• 4. New Zealand
• 5. Korea

Durant, Yao, and FIBA Asia Success – It was an auspicious week for basketball in India

This article was originally published in my blog for the Times of India Sports on August 2, 2017. Read the original piece here.

A ‘muhurat’ is an auspicious date, or series of dates, which bring good fortune to any venture. Hindu shaadis, for example, have been sticking rigorously to wedding muhurat days for centuries, ensuring that all the holy matrimonial unions are tied in the same two-week stretch in December when every citizen gains an extra six kilos on the laddoo overdose and bombastic brass bands become the soundtrack to every traffic jam.

There are muhurats for naming your child, muhurats for entering your new house, muhurats for that first haircut, and muhurats for buying a new car. Recently, however, it seemed that the basketball pundits finally shone their grace on the game: with major victories, star power, and record-breaking events, this past week ended up being one of the most auspicious weeks for basketball in India.

We should probably begin this propitious week down in Bengaluru, where India played host to the top women’s basketball teams from Asia and Oceania in the prestigious FIBA Women’s Asia Cup 2017. This was the first time that India was hosting a tournament of this magnitude since the same event was held in Chennai in 2009. India weren’t in the top tier at this championship and could only contend against lower pool teams in Division B. However, fans in attendance got to see several of the top players from the region hooped on Indian soil, including the Australian-American Kelsey Griffin (eventually the tournament’s MVP), China’s Li Yueru, Manami Fujioka and Moeko Nagaoka of Japan’s title-winning team, Korea’s Lim Yung-Hui and Danbi Kim, and more.

Team India, however, made the most of their circumstance in Division B and went on to top their group. Stars like Anitha Paul Durai, Jeena Scaria, Grima Merlin Varghese, and more all looked in top form with the hope to win the knockout stage and earn promotion to Division A.

By the time the knockout stage arrived, the tournament got ready to face a certain big distraction. Seven-foot-six-inches big, to be exact. In what turned out to be a pleasant surprise, Chinese basketball legend and Basketball Hall of Famer Yao Ming arrived on India to watch the Cup in Bengaluru. Yao, 36, indisputably the most successful Asian basketball player in history, retired from the game in 2011 and is currently the president of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). Without much fanfare, Yao sat in his corner at the Sree Kantaveera Stadium, took in some high-level basketball action, and briefly donned a turban and shawl in a traditional Indian welcome from the Basketball Federation of India (BFI).

Less than 24-hours later, the basketball excitement in India was about to tuned up to a fever pitch. Kevin Durant of the NBA’s Golden State Warriors-the reigning NBA champion, Finals MVP, former MVP, four-time scoring champions, and definitely the greatest player to set foot on Indian soil-landed in New Delhi. The 28-year-old’s mission was to help the development of the sport in India, and from raising public awareness to helping out in the grassroots, and he did all of that in a couple of short days.

Durant was greeted with a happy set of fans when he landed in Delhi, and the fandom got considerably more star-studded at a reception with some of India’s biggest sports and entertainment celebrities on his first night. The next morning: Durant got to work. His foundation donated two basketball courts to the Ramjas School in New Delhi and he interacted with young schoolkids at the courts’ inauguration. Later, Durant headed to the NBA’s state of the art elite India Academy in Greater Noida, where he trained several of India’s top teenage basketball prospects. Durant’s time at the Academy ended up as he was joined by hundreds of more young players from the Reliance Foundation Jr. NBA programme, as well has a few thousand who checked in via a live-stream from around the country, to create a Guinness World Record for “largest basketball lesson” (3,459 attendees).

While Durant was taking cheesy photographs at one of the seven wonders of the world in Agra, the basketball action was heating up down in Bengaluru. India had defeated Lebanon to reach the Division B final, and needed one more victory-against Kazakhstan-to ensure promotion. After falling to a 14-point deficit, India made a brave comeback to ensure that the game came down to one final shot. That shot was delivered by Pune-girl Shireen Limaye, who hit a clutch game-winner as time expired to give India a 73-71 victory and send the fans home more jubilant than a successful shaadi cocktail/sangeet party.

In the midst of all this, the BFI-Indian basketball’s governing body-were finally granted recognition among India’s National Sports Federations after spending a year outside this list by the government’s Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. Two years ago, a drama between two parties competing for the BFI’s executive committee role had split the federation and caused the committee leading Indian basketball to lose support of several national bodies. Last month, the Indian Olympic Association finally granted affiliation to this “new” BFI, and the Sports Ministry decision last week was a cherry on the cake of the successful FIBA Asia Cup.

All in all, yes, it’s been a great few days to be a basketball fan in India. But like every married person know, a successful shaadi is not made by the date of its muhurat; it’s about all the hard work that follows. Indian basketball has enjoyed a fantastic week: now, it’s time to build about this awareness and positive energy and help the game reach the potential it deserves.

Japan win threepeat at FIBA Asia Women's Cup 2017; Undefeated India win Division B in front of home fans!

The biggest women's basketball tournament in the continent - and beyond! - was held in our very own shores as India hosted the FIBA Women's Asia Cup 2017 from July 23-29 in Bengaluru. The top teams from the Asia and Oceania region took part in a week of memorable action at the Sree Kantaveera Indoor Stadium. The event came to a breathless end with two huge moments on Saturday: Japan defeated Australia in a nail-biter to win their third straight gold medal; and India were lifted in spectacular fashion with a game-winning shot to the Division B title and promotion to the higher Division A.

The FIBA Women's ABC was the first time India hosted a major FIBA event since the same championship was held in Chennai in 2009. A total of 15 teams took part this year in the two Divisions, featuring, for the first time, teams from the Oceania region, too. It was was the qualifying tournament for FIBA Asia at the 2018 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup in Spain.

Japan landed in India as two-time holders of the title, including the most-recent win in 2015 at Wuhan, China. In Bengaluru, they finished another magical run with a thrilling final victory over Australia. In a contest truly befitting a final fight for the crown, Australia and Japan went through seven lead changes and several ties in the final. Shooting guard Saki Mizushima ended up being Japan's unlikely hero, exploding for 26 points in the final including a clutch three that broke the deadlock in the game's dying minutes. Australian superstar Kelsey Griffin scored 30 in the final, but her efforts weren't enough and Japan sneaked by to a 74-73 victory at the end of regulation.

This was Japan's fourth title overall and third in succession, cementing their place atop Asian women's basketball. Griffin was named the tournament's MVP. Australia's Griffin was named tournament's MVP.

China won the bronze medal on Saturday with a comfortable 75-51 victory over Korea. Sijing Huang and Yueru Li each scored 16 for China in the victory.

The top four teams from Division A - Japan, Australia, China, and Korea - qualified for the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2018.

After falling out of the top division at the tournament's previous iteration in 2015, India had to begin the 2017 competition at home from Division B. They would have no chance to compete for the title, but a Division B victory could secure them a place in Division A for the next FIBA Asia Women's Cup. With this mission in mind, India hired Serbian head coach Zoran Visic to lead a healthy and talented squad, featuring important players like the veteran Anitha Paul Durai, Jeena Scaria, Shireen Limaye, Kavita Akula, and more. India were placed in Group A of Division B along with Sri Lanka, Uzbekistan, and American Samoa, but American Samoa pulled out of the tournament before it began.

India opened their account on home floor against Uzbekistan in their first game, and captain Anitha Paul Durai ensured that the team got off to a positive start. A 19-9 run in the first quarter proved to be the big difference in the game. Paul Durai led all scorers with 28 points, five rebounds, and five assists. Grima Merlin Varghese, a late replacement to the squad in place of Poojamol KS, was India's surprise x-factor, scoring 17 in the victory.

India showed no mercy to South Asian neighbours Sri Lanka in their second preliminary group game, flying off to another quick start 23-10 and holding Sri Lanka to just three points in the second quarter. Varghese continued her dream run, pouring in 19 points and 10 rebounds for India's 88-42 win, which put them through to the Quarter-Final as group leaders.

The knockout stage began with another easy rout for India, an impressive 93-51 win over Fiji. Captain Paul Durai led India with 19, while Fiji's star player Miji Koiyamainavure (24) fell short despite a strong individual performance.

The semi-final presented India with their toughest challenge yet, against Lebanon. India had a hesitant start to the crucial match, and Lebanon, the more confident team from the get-go, marched to a 38-33 halftime lead. With Lebanon still leading by 2 at the end of the third quarter, India needed one last boost to carry them to the final stage. They got just that from Kerala's star Jeena Scaria, who went into beast mode in the fourth quarter, ultimately finishing with 20 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists to help India go on a late run and win the game 79-69. Raspreet Sidhu added 17 in the win. Lebanon's Rebecca Akl and Chirin El Charif scored 20 and 17 respectively in the loss.

India's biggest test, appropriately, came in the Division B final against Kazakhstan. Playing in-front of a sell-out home crowd in Bengaluru (which was a relief, after several days of sparse audience at the event), India once again started slow, and fell down by 14 points midway through the second half. Led by the amazing Nadezhda Kondrakova (who finished with 30 points and 18 rebounds) and Zalina Kurazova (17) Kazakhstan were up by 8 at the end of the third quarter. Once again, Scaria came to the rescue (20 points, 6 assists), helping ignite India's big comeback in the fourth quarter. In crunch time however, India's hero turned out to be All-Around talent Shireen Limaye. Limaye hit two huge baskets in the game's last minutes, including a memorable game-winning shot with just five seconds left on the clock that gave India the 73-71 victory. The heroics capped Limaye's biggest game of the tournament, as she finished with 17 points, 10 rebounds, and 6 assists.

73-73. 23.6 seconds left. Coming out of a time out. This happens. @shireenlimaye95 was a freaking beast! What a game. @india_basketball . #india #basketball #indiabasketball #fibaasiacup2017 #beastmode #comeback

A post shared by Jonathan Rego (@regosjonathan) on Jul 29, 2017 at 10:36am PDT

The victory earned India promotion into Division A for the next iteration of the tournament in 2019. They will replace North Korea, who will fall to Division B.

This well be a tournament that basketball fans won't easily forget. Even though India played in the lower division, they delighted the fans and the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) by going 5-0 with incredible performances, and then winning the division in dramatic fashion. BFI announced a reward of Rs. 15 lakhs for the team for their efforts.

Coach Visic's contract technically expires at the end of this tournament, and the BFI will now decide whether or not they will choose to extend this successful coach to stay and build up Indian basketball for a longer period.

The BFI counted another major win as they hosted Hall of Famer and Chinese basketball legend Yao Ming, who attended the FIBA Women's ABC in the knockout stages, too.

Paul Durai, who returned to this team after maternity leave, ended up as India's top scorer at the tournament (16.4 ppg). 22-year-old Varghese was the surprise package for the squad and should now feel confident of playing a major role in the team in the future, too. Raspreet Sidhu, Kavita Akula, Jeena Scaria, and Rajapriyadarshani Rajaganapathi were all part of India's main rotation throughout the tournament. And Limaye can return home safe knowing that she hit one of the biggest shots in Indian women basketball history!

Final Standings

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

All Tournament Team

• Manami Fujioka (Japan)
• Lim Yung-Hui (Korea)
• Moeko Nagaoka (Japan)
• Kelsey Griffin (Australia) - MVP
• Li Yueru (China)

India needs to make home support count for the FIBA Asia Women’s Cup 2017

This article was first published in my blog for The Times of India Sports on July 19, 2017. Click here to read the original piece.

One of the theories of how ‘Bengaluru’ gets its name dates over a millenia ago. An inscription found in Begur village, 14 kilometres from the city, states that the place – called ‘Bengaval-uru’ was part of the Ganga Kingdom till 1004. To face the battles fought at this spot, the inscription means ‘City of Guards’ in Halegannada (Old Kannada).

A few hundred years, many more kingdoms and governments, and a couple more name changes later, the city named Bangalore became Bengaluru again. And in 2017, some of the best guards on the continent- the basketball-playing kind- get set to invade India’s third-largest city.

Starting from Sunday, July 23, Bengaluru will host Asian basketball’s most-prestigious women’s trophy- the FIBA Asia Women’s Cup 2017-at the Kanteerava Indoor Stadium, situated in the heart of the city’s Central Administrative Area. This will mark the first time that India will host a major FIBA (the International Basketball Federation) tournament since the same tournament was held in Chennai back in 2009.

Basketball is still a niche sport in India, but a major tournament like this should shine a spotlight not only on the beauty of the game itself but also on India’s potential. With the help of home support, India’s national squad will be hoping to rise back to the elite division of teams in Asia.

India have never finished better than fifth-place in Asia, after the continent’s usual powerhouses: China, Japan, South Korea, and Chinese Taipei. This year, the addition of Oceania squads like Australia and New Zealand will add the two squads among the long-list of title contenders, too.

Following a miserable performance at the same tournament in 2015 in Wuhan, China, India fell to the lower level-Division B-of the championship, meaning that the home team will not have a chance to contend for the title with the Division A teams. But there is a silver-lining to this cloud: with most of the top teams in the continent in the tougher division, India will have a chance to put out winning performances against lower-ranked teams to delight the home fans.

The team’s hope will be to finish top in Division B and qualify for Division A for the 2019 iteration of the championship. India were drawn in Group A of Division B, along with southern neighbours Sri Lanka, Uzbekistan, and American Samoa, but the latter eventually pulled out of the competition. For India to be promoted to Division A, we will have to win Group A in our division, and then defeat the top ranked team from Group B, likely to be Lebanon or Kazakhstan.

To help see India through this task, the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) appointed veteran Serbian Zoran Visic as Head Coach of the Women’s squad a month before the championship. Although Visic will face the challenge of getting the team prepared for this big challenge in such a short span of time, he will have a good mix of veteran and youth players on the roster to help lead the brigade. Team India will be captained by Tamil Nadu’s veteran star Anitha Paul Durai, and she will definitely be one of the stars to watch in the tournament. India’s best player is most likely Kerala-born Jeena Scaria, a multi-talented forward who was our leading scorer at the tournament in 2015. Others likely to play major minutes in this team will be Raspreet Sidhu, Kavita Akula, Rajapriyadharshini Rajaganapathi, and Shireen Limaye. Our tallest-ever women’s player-the 6’11” Poonam Chaturvedi-will hope to shrug off her injuries to play an important role, too.

Visic’s squad stammered in their first exposure against international challenge at the William Jones Cup in Chinese Taipei earlier this month, finishing without a win in five matches against all higher-ranked squads. But the experience should definitely pay dividends when the team returns home to face more beatable competition.

The last time India hosted a tournament of this stature, Arjuna Awardee Geethu Anna Rahul ended up finishing as the leading scorer in the entire tournament. There is no game-changer like Rahul in the squad anymore, but between Scaria, Paul Durai, Akula, and more, India has players who will hope to make their turn towards superstardom in Bengaluru.

But as important as India’s performances on-court will be the performance and participation of fans off of it. This tournament is going to offer a chance for Indian sports fans to watch some of Asia’s best basketball talent competing at the highest level. Reigning champions Japan will return to defend their title with stars like Asami Yoshida and Yuka Osaki. Australia will feature many players that starred in their team for the Rio Olympics like Mariana Tolo, Belinda Snell, and Abby Bishop. Other players to watch will include China’s Sun Mengran, Chinese Taipei’s Lin Yu-Ting and Huang Ping-Jen, and South Korean superstar Danbi Kim.

The priority for home fans, however, will obviously be the home team. For those who are based in or near Bengaluru, the tickets to watch high-level basketball action for a whole day are going to be just ?100. The games can be followed online via the tournament’s official website. And there is hope that a domestic TV network (most likely Neo Sports) might show some of the games live in India.

So, watch the games, cheer on the team, and support the other stars showing up in India for the championship, too. Tournaments like these don’t come often in Indian Basketball, and it is a responsibility for fans like us to make them count. A successful performance by our home team – whom I like to call ‘Desi Heights’ – will just be the cherry on the cake. Let’s make the ‘City of Guards’ showcase its skills on battles on the hardwood, too.

2016 FIBA Asia Challenge: Iran win for 3rd straight time; India have best performance in 27 years!

The headlines from the 2016 FIBA Asia Challenge - deservedly - will be about Iran. Led by Hamed Hadadi's continuing brilliance, Iran won the tournament (previously known as the FIBA Asia Cup and the FIBA Asia Stankovic Cup) for the third straight time, this time defending the crown as the tournament's hosts. Iran were nearly flawless throughout the 10-day tournament and put the cherry on top of their dominance with an impressive 77-47 victory over Korea in the final on Sunday, September 18, at the Azadi Sports Complex in Tehran.

But there was much more to this tournament than the headlines. Cushioned between the mid-tier teams at 7th place, the Indian Men's Team return from Tehran after one of their finest international basketball basketball performance in decades. Entering the 12-team tournament as one of the underdogs, India upset several higher-ranked teams and announced - once and for all - that they will be a threat in the Asian basketball circuit for the foreseeable future.

The tournament ended on Sunday with Iran - hosts and reigning champs from 2014 in Wuhan - defeating Korea with a monstrous, 20-point, 23-rebound performance by Hadadi. After a tense, low-scoring first quarter, Iran opened up a ten point lead at halftime, and then completely dominated after the break, outscoring Korea 47-27 in the third and fourth quarters. Hadadi's performance took his overall tournament averages to 18 points and 13.8 rebounds per game.

Earlier in the final day, Jordan started off strong against Iraq to run away to a 94-72 victory and win the bronze medal. Jordan's Darquavis Tucker led all scorers with 19.

A day earlier, Jordan had fallen victim to Iran in the semi-final 74-63, giving them one of their only close matchups of the entire tournament. The game was led by the usual suspects: Hadadi had 26 points and 20 points for Iran while Tucker scored 25 for Jordan. Korea defeated Iraq 78-72 in the second semi-final which came down to the wire. Iraq held a surprising two-point lead at the end of the third and only a final period surge helped see Korea through to the final. Seonghoon Lee (22) and Ilyoung Heo (18) were the leading scorers for Korea, while Iraq were paced by Mohammed Al-Khafaji (17) and Kevin Galloway (16).

The FIBA Asia Challenge is the second-most prestigious tournament in the continent, and because of its secondary status, many of the top teams like China and Philippines chose to send younger or less experienced teams to Tehran. Due to this, there were several major upsets in the tournament, and both China and Philippines - ranked 1 and 3 in the Asia - didn't make it to the Semi-Final stage.

While the others rested, India rose. Although they were denied the services of NBA D-League chasing Satnam Singh and Palpreet Singh, players from the UBA League, and the injured duo of Arvind Arumugam and Aravind Annadurai, India sent the best of the available options. The lineup including the country's superb 'Big Three' of captain and center Amrit Pal Singh, superstar forward Amjyot Singh, and veteran guard Vishesh Bhriguvanshi. Flanking around the top three were the point guard duo of Akilan Pari and TJ Sahi, experienced forward Yadwinder Singh, and important role-players Prasanna Sivakumar and Rikin Pethani. Coached by Sat Prakash Yadav and CV Sunny, India were ready for the challenge, and their inspirational performances eventually earned them laurels and respect like never before.

In the Preliminary Round stage, India were grouped with Philippines and Chinese Taipei. The opener against the Philippines turned out to be just the confidence boost that India needed. The Philippines had sent an inexperienced squad to Tehran, and India took full advantage. After trailing by five in the first quarter, India dominated proceedings, outscoring their opponents in the second and third by double digits, and eventually, holding off a late game rally to win 91-83. It was a historic moment for India, as they hadn't defeated the Philippines at the senior stage for decades. The Big Three didn't disappoint: Amjyot Singh was marvelous with 24 points and 18 rebounds, Vishesh Bhriguvanshi scored 20, and Amrit Pal Singh added 16 points to go with 8 boards.

But India got a major reality check the next day against Chinese Taipei. After staying with arm's length at the end of third quarter, India lost their composure in the third and a 26-15 run for the opponents settled the game for good. Taipei went out to win by a blowout, 90-66, led by 18 points and 14 rebounds by Quincy Davis and 23 by Yi-Hsiang Chou. While most of the team struggled, Bhriguvanshi carried India's load in the losing effort with a valiant 34 points.

India then entered Second Round Group E carrying a 1-1 record when they faced eventual semi-finalists Jordan. This turned out to be one of the worst-ever performances by India. The lackluster team came out slowly from the gates and fell into a 37-17 pit by the end of the first quarter. Jordan's offense was irresistible all game, and the likes of Sinan Eid (19), Darquavis Tucker (17), Sami Bzai (17) and Zaid Abbas (17) were too much for India to handle. Jordan went on to win the game 121-65.

However, even after the hard fall, India bounced right back up, in the most spectacular of fashions. Two years after upsetting China in the legendary 'Wonder of Wuhan' when the tournament used to be called the FIBA Asia Cup, India faced them again. China was without most of their Olympics team, but still packed a punch and were undefeated thus far in Tehran. But India were not deterred. The duo of Amrit Pal Singh (23 points, 14 rebounds) and Amjyot Singh (16 points, 8 rebounds) dominated the interior in the close, back-and-forth game. India made up for a first quarter deficit to take a two point lead into halftime. They maintained their composure through the second half, and held on in the close finale to upset China - Asia's top-ranked team - once more, 70-64. Jinqiu Hu scored 19 for the losing side.

India were now guaranteed a Quarter-Final spot, and carried on their new confidence to their final Second Round game against Kazakhstan. It was a competition between two big teams, but the smallest guy on court became the most valuable of the night. India's point guard TJ Sahi hit six threes in a 14-minute stretch in the first half to give India a 51-43 lead. India allowed Kazakhstan to catch up and tie the game in another weak third quarter, but they finished in style to win 100-90, their highest-scoring game at the tournament. Sahi finished the game with 32 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists, while Amrit Pal added 28 points and 7 rebounds. Kazakhstan were led by Mikhail Yevstigneyev (30) and Pavel Micheev (22).

Despite their strong performances, India finished fourth in Group E, an effect of the huge loss to Jordan. This handed them the toughest Quarter-Final matchup, against the loaded Iran squad. India stayed competitive for the first half while Iran led just 38-31. But the home team revved into top gear in the second half, relying on a huge 26-2 third quarter run to blow India out and secure a 77-47 win. Hadadi was the difference maker on the inside with 17 points and 23 rebounds. Oshin Sahakian added 16 for Iran.

Out of the tournament, India still had some work to do as they were placed in the 5th-8th place around. Their first game was against Japan, but a slow start proved costly for India. Japan took a 22-14 first quarter lead, and despite staying neck-to-neck with the opponents for the rest of the game, India couldn't close the game and lost 77-66. Ira Brown had 20 points and 14 rebounds for Japan, battling in the middle against Amrit Pal who notched up 22 and 14. Japan's Makojo Hiejima added 19 while India's Amjyot scored 18.

India's last game in Tehran was a rematch against their Preliminary Round opponents Chinese Taipei, and this time, India was out for revenge! Taipei led 22-17 in the first quarter, but India bounced right back to take a 33-32 lead into halftime. The game remained close until the final period, when India once again showed their ability to remain calm under pressure, as they outscored Taipei 28-18 in the fourth quarter to notch yet another huge upset victory, 80-68. Vishesh Bhriguvanshi was the star for India with 22 while Rikin Pethani stepped up in the absence of the ailing Amjyot to score 17 with 9 rebounds. Taipei, who lost captain Liu Ching earlier in the tournament to injury, were led by Yu-An Chiang (16) in the loss.

This finish saw India end the tournament at 7th place, a repeat of the previous iteration of this tournament, but with an impressive 4-4 record that included victories over China, Philippines, Chinese Taipei, and Kazakhstan. The Basketball Federation of India (BFI) declared this the best-ever finish for India since the 6th place finish at the 1989 FIBA Asia Championship. This is also the only time when India has beaten 3 higher ranked sides (China, Philippines and Taipei) in the same event. The performance marked India's rapid pace to improvement, as the team finished 8th in last year's FIBA Asia Championship, their best finish in 12 years.

From an individual performance standpoint, India’s ‘Big Three’ of centre Amrit Pal Singh, power forward Amjyot Singh and shooting guard Vishesh Bhriguvanshi have reaffirmed their status as one of Asia’s best players in their respective positions. Amrit Pal led India in scoring (17.8 ppg) and rebounds (10.4 rpg - 4th best overall in the tournament). Bhriguvanshi added 16.9 ppg and 3.8 assists per game (fifth-best overall). Amjyot notched in with averages of 12.8 ppg and 8.2 rpg. The three stars were top three for India in all three major statistical categories: scoring, rebounds, and assists. Guard TJ Sahi scored 11 ppg, too, with most of this scoring coming in the outburst against Kazakhstan.

Recognising the significance of this performance, the BFI's President K Govindaraj announced a cash prize of INR 5,00,000/- to the entire team and coaching staff.

"Reaching the top 7 in Asia is an excellent achievement, especially considering the circumstances and opponents," said Govindraj. "We beat three teams who have better world rankings. This cash prize is a small token of appreciation for our players’ indomitable spirit. They have kept India’s flag flying high. This is a culmination of all that sacrifice by everybody involved."

"It is important to remember that even though our national federation has approval from the international body i.e. FIBA, we have not received any government funding for almost two years now," Govindraj added, "In spite of this we have been able to send our national teams for participation in ten international events and conducted all the National Championships."

BFI Secretary Chander Mukhi Sharma said, "Prior to the team’s departure, I had wished that the players put up a performance that is even better than in all the previous championships they have attended. They have superbly delivered."

Govindraj's comments are true. Because of rift between the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports with the BFI, the basketball federation has operated independently of support and funding from the government for one and a half years now. It is truly a testament to India's star players - who we may well remember as a golden generation - that they have continued to perform so well and improve against Asia's toughest teams.

Reflecting on the side’s performance, Head Coach Yadav said, “The Indian team has earned lots of appreciation from FIBA President (Horacio Moratore) and other officials as well as from other good teams in Asia. This time around we have focused especially on defence and were able to successfully execute our tactics as practiced in the training camps. Our boys and India overall are now confident about taking on any challenge in the near future. This achievement does not belong to a single person but was a good team effort by all."

“It feels good and I’m happy with the performance," added Bhriguvanshi. "We can still do a lot better in the upcoming tournaments and I hope we will continue with this energy and morale."

Despite the domestic uncertainties, these are truly glory days for Indian Basketball. The current team is definitely the best collection of Indian Men's basketball talent that I have witnessed in my adult lifetime, and clearly the best Indian squad since the "golden generation" - led by Ajmer Singh - of the 70s and 80s. However, if the likes of Amrit Pal, Amjyot, Vishesh, continue to improve, this team could have a lot more success scripted in the future. Hopefully, players like India's first NBA-draftee Satnam Singh (who will be playing for the D-League's Texas Legends) this season can contribute to the national team in the future. If India can add a few more solid pieces to the rotation - particularly the backcourt - they can have legitimate dreams of repeating this performance at next year's prestigious 2017 FIBA Asia Cup, which will be the highest-level of basketball competition in Asia.

Final Standings

• 1. Iran
• 2. Korea
• 3. Jordan
• 4. Iraq
• 5. China