India's top under-14 state teams head to Nashik (Maharashtra) for 41st Sub-Jr National Basketball Championship

Don't equate India's lack of international basketball success to a lack of potential talent: As some of the top late-bloomers in India have shown, it wasn't their talent which was lacking, it was only their timing. To create a revolution in Indian basketball and produce world-beaters from our country, we have to focus on identifying and training the players with the best upside as early as possible. For about a week in Nashik (Maharashtra), fans will get a chance to see the work put in to hone the craft of the youngest members of the Indian hoops fraternity. The Sub-Junior (Under-14) nationals is the youngest national-level basketball tournament in the country: From November 22-28, Nashik is hosting the 41st Sub-Jr National Basketball Championship for Boys and Girls. 27 boys' teams and 25 girls' teams gathered for tip off at the Meenathai Thakrey Stadium on Saturday.

The onus will be on Chhattisgarh - champions in both the boys' and girls' divisions at this tournament last year in Patna - to continue their dominating performances this year, too. Chhattisgarh's girls have won every Sub-Jr title since 2002 (12 in a row!), and last year, their boys' team joined in the celebrations, too. Madhya Pradesh will be another team to watch in both divisions while Tamil Nadu (Girls) and Rajasthan (Boys) have enjoyed stellar performances in this competition in the recent past. Hosts Maharashtra will be out to defend their home court, while this tournament will also mark the debut of Telengana - India's newest state born out of northern Andhra Pradesh - at the national basketball level as an independent team.

The tournament is being organized by the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) and IMG Reliance in partnership with the Maharashtra Basketball Association.

Participating teams at the 41st Sub-Jr National Basketball Championship

• Boys: Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Tripura, Karnataka, Mizoram, Telengana, Jammu and Kashmir, West Bengal, Delhi, Punjab, Goa, Kerala, Manipur, Jharkhand, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh.
  
• Girls: Assam, Bihar, Odisha, Uttarakhand, Telengana, Rajasthan, Goa, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Manipur, Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Delhi, Chhattisgarh, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Haryana, Gujarat.
  

Chhattisgarh's Boys team opened up their title defense in style on Saturday, taking a 11-point lead at halftime up to a convincing 75-57 victory over the tough Andhra Pradesh squad. Salim Ali was impressive for Chhattisgarh with 27 points in the win. In a battle of the silver and bronze medalists from 2013, Madhya Pradesh used a scintillating fourth quarter to turn a close game into a blowout victory against Rajasthan. Harshwarohan Tomar had 21 for MP, who won 60-40 after a 16-4 run in the final period of the game.

In a girls' contest of two strong neighbouring southern states, Kerala used tough defense to see off Karnataka 49-27. Sreekala R led the way for Kerala with 23 points in the win, nearly single-handedly equaling the total of her opponents. In their first game as an independent state, Telengana Girls maintained a steady lead over Rajasthan en route to a 50-31 win.

Selected Scores

Boys

• Chhattisgarh (Salim Ali 27) bt Andhra Pradesh (S. Syed 14) 75-57 (23-16, 16-12, 25-20, 11-9).
  
• Madhya Pradesh (Harshwarohan Tomar 21) bt Rajasthan 60-40 (12-8, 14-14, 18-14, 16-4).
  
• Odisha (Suresh Das 36) bt Uttar Pradesh 66-58 OT (9-17, 17-6, 22-15, 5-15, 13-5).
  

Girls

• Odisha (Papli Patra 14) bt Uttarakhand 41-25 (14-10, 2-4, 15-6, 10-5).
  
• Telengana bt Rajasthan 50-31 (13-12, 15-9, 13-4, 9-6).
  
• Kerala (Sreekala R 23) bt Karnataka 49-27 (12-8, 10-10, 10-5, 17-4).
  

The finals of the tournament are scheduled to be held on Friday, November 28.

2013-14 BFI-IMG Reliance College Basketball League tips off in Mumbai

After a successful start in Hyderabad, the BFI-IMG Reliance College Basketball League tipped off in the second city in India this season, Mumbai on Thursday, January 23rd. The league is being held in association with the Maharashtra Basketball Association.

In the same format as the recent school basketball leagues that are being held around India, the college league in Mumbai will also involved 10 Men's and 10 Women's teams. Mumbai is the second stop of the College League, which will be held in a record eight cities this season.

Mumbai's BFI-IMG Reliance College Basketball League - Participating Teams

Men

• Group A: Kishinchand Chellaram College of Arts, Science & Commerce (KC), Ramniranjan Jhunjhunwala College, Smt. MMK College of Commerce & Economics (MMK), Gurunanak Khalsa College of Arts, Science & Commerce (Khalsa), Maharashtra College of Arts, Science & Commerce (Maharashtra).
  
• Group B: HR College of Commerce & Economics (HR), St. Xavier’s College, Veermata Jijabhai Technological Institute (VJTI), RA Podar College of Commerce & Economics (Podar), Dwarkadas J Sanghvi College of Engineering (DJ Sanghvi).
  

Women

• Group A: RA Podar College of Commerce & Economics (Podar), Ramnarain Ruia College (Ruia), HR College of Commerce & Economics (HR), Smt. MMK College of Commerce & Economics (MMK), Dwarkadas J Sanghvi College of Engineering (DJ Sanghvi).
  
• Group B: Thakur College, St. Xavier’s College, Gurunanak Khalsa College of Arts, Science & Commerce (Khalsa), Veermata Jijabhai Technological Institute (VJTI), Sophia College For Women.
  

Junior National Championships 2010 at Vashi

43 teams from all across the country are here in Vashi (Navi Mumbai) right now for an 8-day long festival of hoops. This is the 61st edition of the IMG-Reliance National Championship for Junior Boys and Girls, and it tipped off at the Fr. Agnel Sports Complex on October 24th. 23 boys' teams and 19 girls' teams from different states and territories around the India are present. The Final of the tournament will be held on October 31st.

The championship has been organized by the Maharashtra Basketball Association under the aegis of Basketball Federation of India (BFI). Young deserving players will be selected to undergo intense training under the guidance of international coaches and facilities that are world class to help them develop their skills & game in the long run.

Rev. Alex Dais, Bishop of Andaman inaugurated the tournament.

Mr. Harish Sharma, Secretary, BFI said, “It has been our ongoing endeavor to promote basketball in India. We are certain that the Indian youth has immense potential to perform on a global stage. Championship like these help the young boy & girls showcase and develop their game. Going forward we will provided world class infrastructure & coaching facilities to all the promising players and work towards creating many such opportunities that will help us in developing basketball as a sport that is second to none.”

Commenting on the championship Mr. M. Venkatesh, Associate Secretary, Maharashtra Basketball Association said, “We are pleased to received participation in huge numbers from across the country. I believe The 61st National championship shall see fierce & exciting competition amongst teams; each and every team is ready to face on the challenge and deliver a game that will surpass the expectations of many. I am sure this championship will be a foundation stone for many young budding Basketball stars of tomorrow.

The organizers are providing the sport-court (synthetic) for the first time at the Junior National Championship. One of the coaches from the IMG-Academy, who had helped pick young Indian players for scholarship at the academy in Bradenton, Florida, will be in attendance to observe the tournament, too.

On the first day of games, the Karnataka Boys beat Kerala and Tamil Nadu Girls beat Madhya Pradesh. Girls reigning champions Chhattisgarh started off their campaigin in style, beating Uttar Pradesh 57-23, led by Shahranjeet's 24 points. Full results can be found here.

I will be brining comprehensive coverage of these championships from Vashi for both this blog and the BFI website. Also, check out the scores page at the BFI site to keep up with regular updates of results from the matches at the championship.