Veteran coach Veselin Matic named head coach of India's Men's Basketball team

India were grouped in the preliminary round of the 2019 FIBA World Cup Asia Qualifiers with Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria. The former two - higher ranked sides with notable star players - began as favourites over India even before the players took the court. But there was hope that India could finish ahead of Syria, a country with sporadic and limited basketball experience relative to India's, and without the perceived quality of some of the top players that India could potentially field for the matchup.

Alas, India's qualifiers campaign was a disaster, as the team lost all six of their home and away games to finish bottom of the group and missed the opportunity to step into the next round. The most disappointing of these losses came against Syria, to whom India fell 74-57 at home in Bengaluru in November 2017, and then again 81-76 on the road in Zouk Mikael in June 2018. 

The losses, and the backroom turmoil that accompanied them with the Basketball Federation of India (BFI), were part of one of the worst stretches of results in recent Indian men's basketball history. India lost every game in every major tournament for nearly two years, including the FIBA Asia Cup, the aforementioned World Cup Qualifiers, and the Commonwealth Games. The team was helmed by a carousel of head coaches during this stretch without finding long-term stability with any single one. 

In contrast to India's failure stood the surprisingly emerging Syrian side. Coahed by veteran Serbian coach Veselin Matic, Syria were able to move on to the second round of the World Cup qualifiers, and despite losing all the games at this tougher stage, they managed to put the Asian basketball fray at notice.

And noticing from the far end of the bench were Syria's disappointed victims: India. Nine months after they were knocked out by Matic's men, India have turned to a new saviour to help turn around their basketball fortunes: Matic himself.

At the most-recent Annual General Meeting of the BFI in Bengaluru, the federation's Secretary-General Chander Mukhi Sharma announced that Matic has been appointed as the new head coach of India's senior men's basketball team, replacing a series of interim/temporary coaches. Sharma stated that Matic is expected to begin his stint in India by the end of April.

The annoucement came during the BFI's AGM elections where K. Govindraj was again elected as the Federation's president. 

According to a report by Sportstar, Govindraj was confident of improvement under the new head coach. "We will have aggressive camps. We have already appointed a foreign coach (Matic). We will do much better in the coming years."

Matic (58) is a veteran of European and Asian basketball and arrived in India with a wealth of successful international experience. Originally from Belgrade in Serbia, Matic spent his professional playing career as a guard for the Serbian club OKK Beogard. He even applied for the NBA Draft in 1982 but went undrafted. After retirement in 1988, Matic turned his attention to coaching, starting with his team Beogard. Over the next few decades, he held coaching roles for clubs in Germany, Poland, Estonia, Lebanon, and more, while also becoming a part of the national basketball coaching/scouting structure of the former Yugoslavia and the Polish national team. He was an assistant coach for Yugoslavia's squads that won the 2001 EuroBasket and the 2002 World Championship. 

Matic served as the head coach of Iran's national team from 2009-2011, and during this stretch bagged the gold medal at the 2009 FIBA Asia Cup and bronze at the 2010 Asian Games. He served brief stretches as the head coach of Lebanon, and most recently, of Syria. Since 2012, he has been an official FIBA scout for the FIBA Men world championships. 

Matic's wealth of experience is sure to be invaluable for the federation and players in India. Over the past 30 years, he has been a part of nearly every type of basketball situation. Although no details of his contract are yet confirmed, the BFI should retain him for the long-term to give the entire basketball framework a chance to grow and develop under his wing. The country's top players like Amjyot Singh, Amritpal Singh, Vishesh Bhriguvanshi, Satnam Singh, and more should benefit under his tutelage and be able to use his network to propel their individual careers to new avenues. 

Indian basketball has seen some dark days in recent years. The Matic hiring isn't an instant game-winning shot, but it is a sign of a positive rebuild that should bring the sport back to its proper trajectory. 

Serbian Zoran Visic appointed head coach of India's Women's Basketball Team

The biggest date on India's basketball calendar is approaching this year - the FIBA Asia Women's Cup - and this year's tournament is going to be extra special: India will have the privilege and pressure of hosting this prestigious championship on their home soil, in Bengaluru, and this will be the first time that the FIBA Asia Women's Cup will incorporate the top teams from the Oceania region, too. Two years ago, India fell to lower level of this championship after a forgettable performance in Wuhan, China: now, playing on home soil, they will be hoping for extra motivation to rise back up the ranks of Asian basketball.

To help complete that complicated task, the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) officially announced the appointment of seasoned Serbian Coach Zoran Visic as the new Head Coach of the Indian women's national team. Visic took over Team India at the national camp from June 1 and will serve his contract until the end of July. The FIBA Asia Women's Cup is scheduled in Bengaluru from July 23-29, 2017. Before the big tournament, Visic and the squad will get a chance to play in preparatory games as they will also participate in the William Jones Cup in Taiwan from July 5-9. The BFI says that Visic's term may be extended after the end of July if mutually agreed by both parties.

Although he had already been working with the national team for two weeks, the BFI only made the announcement of Visic's appointment in a press conference at Bengaluru on Friday, June 16. BFI's President K Govindraj, Secretary-General Chander Mukhi Sharma, assistant coach Shiba Maggon, and senior-most player Anitha Paul Durai were present for Visic's official introduction.

"India has done a lot to improve in both the women’s and men’s sides [in the last few years]," Visic said at the press conference. "We are now in Division B. So for sure our target is to be once again in Division A. This is a new age for Indian basketball and I believe the girls have the confidence and pride necessary to deliver a good result."

India have been drawn in Division B's Group A at the tournament, along with Sri Lanka and Uzbekistan - the fourth team in their group, American Samoa, has backed out of the championship. India's aim will be to top the entire division make it back up to the hither Division A for the next iteration of this championship.

Visic will be the first foreign coach with the national team since the departure of Spaniard Francisco Garcia in 2015. Although incorporating his leadership skills and experience with Indian coaches like Paramdeep Singh and Shiba Maggon should definitely assist the national team, it is still a pity that the BFI waited so late - less than two months before the championship - to bring in a new coach. Every coach has a different philosophy and system, and to truly make a change in the basketball programme, needs to understand the structure of the sport, recruiting, facilities, and other options thoroughly. Visic, unfortunately, will not have the time to pick his own preferred team for his preferred system, and will instead have to make do with the probables available.

Which is, of course, not to say that the available probables aren't top notch. India will feature a great mix of youth and experience at the championship this year, including the aforementioned Paul Durai, star player Jeena Scaria, Shireen Limaye, Poojamol Kochuparambu, Poonam Chaturvedi, Kavita Akula, Barkha Sonkar, and more. Unlike 2015, India will also get a chance to prepare for the big tournament at the William Jones Cup this year, and hopefully, the team is able to find some chemistry in this short period of time before the FIBA Asia Women tips off.

Visic (61) has been the head coach of Yugoslavia's Women's national team, Serbian junior national team, and has coached professionally in Serbia, Russia, and most-recently, in Romania, over the past 22 years. If he does a good job in India, I hope for some continuity at the top and for him to spend a longer time in developing the national basketball programme here.

International Watch: Ranking the top 10 FIBA World Cup players outside the USA

Although the USA – the world’s number one ranked team – were an automatic favourite to be crowned champions at the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup in Spain, few predicted that they would achieve the feat with such relative ease, winning each game by an average margin of 32.5 points per game and continuing their 63 game unbeaten streak in international basketball contests. But don’t let the Americans’ dominance distract you from the top performers from the rest of the world, many of whom, even in defeat, used the World Cup stage to further define their legacies.

Here are the top 10 players from the 2014 FIBA World Cup outside the USA. Click here for full feature.

USA stamps basketball dominance with another FIBA World Cup win

Without Kevin Durant, LeBron James, Blake Griffin, or Carmelo Anthony. Without even Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul, Kevin Love, or Paul George. On paper, the 2014 World Cup featured a younger and 'weaker' USA side. This wasn't the 'redeemed' USA side that - since their last competitive loss in 2006 - had been undefeated and dominated opponents in every international basketball tournament since. This was, what many critics called, the 'C Team', the youngest USA side since the NBA began sending professionals back in 1992.

But basketball games aren't won on paper; Team USA's so-called 'C Team' turned the 'C' into 'Championship', defending the rebranded FIBA World Cup title for the first time in their history with a dominant performance that easily blew out the rest of the global competition. Winning every game by an average margin of 32.5 points, Team USA went an undefeated 9-0 at the World Cup in Spain, capping off their wonderful tournament with their best performance in the final: a 129-92 victory over Serbia in Madrid on Sunday, September 14.

After a slow start as Serbia raced to a 15-7 lead early in the game, USA bounced back with a 15-0 spurt and never looked back. USA made the most of the shortened international three-point line, hitting 11-16 threes in the final. Kyrie Irving (26) and James Harden (23) were the chief perpetrators as Serbia had no answer for the American onslaught. By the end of the contest, eight of the 12 USA players had scored in double figures en route to the 37 point win.

This was USA's fifth gold medal at the FIBA World Cup, tying for top slot with the former Yugoslavia. They have now won 63 straight games - 45 in official FIBA events and 18 in exhibition play - and are automatically qualified for the 2016 Olympics in Brazil.

USA won all of their group games with relative ease, yet, because of their slow starts and the quality of their opponents, doubts remained about the true talent of this young team. By knocking out Mexico, Slovenia, Lithuania, and then Serbia on the way to the gold, USA went on to erase all such doubts. Kyrie Irving was named tournament's MVP, but this was far from a one-man effort: the likes of Kenneth Faried, James Harden, Anthony Davis, Stephen Curry, DeMarcus Cousins, Klay Thompson, and more came up big from game to game to keep the Americans at the head of the race.

Since breaking up with Yugoslavia, the silver in 2014 was Serbia's first ever medal at the tournament. Serbia were the competition's unlikely finalists: they won only two of their five group games to sneak into the knockout stage, and then, they suddenly found a way to turn their performances around. The Serbs blew out favoured opponents like Greece and Brazil and held on to win in a classic Semi-Final over France to reach the final.

France won the bronze medal by scraping past Lithuania 95-93 for a close win on Saturday. Led by 27 points by Nicolas Batum, France bounced back from a fourth quarter deficit to claim victory. Lithuania's high scorer was their young center Jonas Valanciunas, who finished with 25 points and nine rebounds. France, who won last year's EuroBasket, will be happy with their performance at the World Cup, especially since they were able to win a medal without the likes of Tony Parker or Joakim Noah in their lineup.

The biggest disappointment at the World Cup was the performance of hosts Spain. Featuring the likes of Pau Gasol, Marc Gasol, Ricky Rubio, Serge Ibaka, Jose Calderon, Juan Carlos Navarro, and Rudy Fernandez, Spain entered the tournament at full strength and seemed to have all the pieces to be the only true challengers to USA's ascent. This was perhaps the last opportunity of Spain's "golden generation" heralded by Pau Gasol to beat the USA and claim their second World Cup win after 2006. Alas, after a fine start in the group stage and the round of 16, Spain were shocked in one of the great upsets in world basketball by France in the Quarter-Final. A defensive masterclass by the French knocked out the Spaniards and ended any hopes of the dream USA-Spain clash in the Final.

Final Standings

• 1. USA
  
• 2. Serbia
  
• 3. France
  

All Tournament Team

• Kyrie Irving (USA) - MVP 
• Kenneth Faried (USA) 
• Milos Teodosic (Serbia) 
• Nicolas Batum (France) 
• Pau Gasol (Spain)

USA complete three-peat of FIBA U17 World Championship with victory in Dubai

Led by rising young star Malik Newman, USA survived their toughest challenge yet in the final against Australia to capture the 2014 FIBA U17 World Basketball Championship in Dubai on Saturday. The final was a repeat of USA's triumph over Australia in the tournament in 2012 and it marked the Americans third consecutive victory of the under-17 world title.

USA won all seven of their games as the Senior World Champions showed the world that their future is set to be as bright as their present.

The final was a surprisingly closely-matched contest between two of the strongest young sides in the tournament. Newman scored 16 of his team-high 21 points to hand the Americans a seven-point lead in the first half. Newman, the USA captain, also grabbed 11 rebounds in the game. Australia made a comeback after halftime, led by Dejan Vasiljevic who had 29 points and six three-pointers. In the end, the USA survived a tight fourth quarter to secure a 99-91 win and the gold medal.

Australia's captain Tom Wilson poured in 23 points in a losing effort.

Newman was named the tournament's MVP as he helped the United States continue their undefeated streak in the tournament going back to all the three editions of the championship, totaling to a total of 23 victories.

USA had used a balanced effort a day earlier to defeat Serbia 89-68 in the competition's semi-final, eclipsing a triple-pronged attack by Serbia's Nikola Rakicevic (19), Vojislav Stojanovic (18), and Stefan Peno (18). Australia made a huge comeback after being 22 down early in the game in their Semi-Final versus Spain to trump their opponents 80-74 in overtime of a memorable contest.

Serbia finished at third place by defeating Spain in a close tie, 62-59, on Saturday. Rakicevic had 17 for Serbia while Spain were led by Ramon Vila (20) and Santiago Yusta (17).

Final Standings

• 1. USA
  
• 2. Australia
  
• 3. Serbia
  
• 4. Spain
  
• 5. Puerto Rico
  

All Tournament Team

• Malik Newman (USA) - MVP
  
• Diamond Stone (USA)
  
• Isaac Humphries (Australia)
  
• Dejan Vasiljevic (Australia)
  
• Nikola Rakicevic (Serbia)
  

USA win U19 FIBA World Basketball Championship for fifth time

The American basketball future - much like the American basketball present - is shining bright.

USA's under-19 Men's Basketball team defeated Serbia on Sunday night in Prague (Czech Republic) to lift the 2013 FIBA U19 World Championship for a record fifth time. No other team has won the tournament more than once. The USA used an impressive 13-1 run in the fourth quarter to sneak away to a 82-68 victory, thus ending the tournament undefeated.

It was Serbia's second consecutive silver medal at the tournament, after finishing as runners-up to Lithuania in 2011.

The Americans, who were dominated through the course of the tournament, were given some healthy competition for three quarters by a feisty Serbian side in the Final. Jovan Novak of Serbia was the game's leading scorer with 21 points, but the USA used a balanced attack, led by forward Montrezl Harrel (17) to slip away to victory.

USA's Aaron Gordon, who only had six points and six rebounds in the Final, was named the tournament's MVP for his efforts leading up to the Final game of the tournament. He was the finest amongst near-equals in a balanced USA team. Gordon, who is committed to the attend Arizona next season, is one of the brightest young American players and was named the MVP of the 2013 McDonald's High School All American game.

Defending champions Lithuania had to settle for the bronze medal after defeating Australia 106-100 in overtime earlier in the day. Lithuana were led by Tomas Dimsa (19) while Dante Exum (28) and Dane Pineau (20) led the way in a losing effort for the Aussies.

Earlier on the semi-finals, USA had destroyed Lithuania 100-60 in a balanced effort led by Marcus Smart. Nikola Jancovic scored 21 points to lead Serbia past Australia 63-58 in the other semi-final. Dante Exum had 20 for Australia.

Final Standings

1. USA
2. Serbia
3. Lithuania
4. Australia
5. Spain

All Tournament Team

• Jahlil Okafor (USA)
  
• Aaron Gordon (USA)
  
• Dario Saric (Croatia)
  
• Dante Exum (Australia)
  
• Vasilijie Micic (Serbia)
  

Lithuania win gold at 2011 FIBA Men’s U19 World Championship

Lithuanian superstar and captain Jonas Valanciunas continued his dominant streak into the Final of the 2011 FIBA Men’s U19 World Championship to help his side secure the gold medal on Sunday night after defeating Serbia 85-67 at Riga, Latvia. This was Lithuania’s first gold medal at the event.

Lithuania went on an 18-3 run to end the third quarter which killed off the game. Valanciunas, who had been dominant throughout the tournament, finished with 36 points and 8 rebounds. The young star, who was the named the fifth pick at this year’s NBA Draft by the Toronto Raptors, was named MVP of the tournament after leading all players in points (23.0), rebounds (13.9), and blocks (3.2).

Earlier in the day, Russia beat Argentina 77-72 to win the bronze medal.

All Tournament Team:

Jonas Valanciunas (Lithuania)

Aleksander Cvetkovic (Serbia)

Dmitry Kulagin (Russia)

Hugh Greenwood (Australia)

Jeremy Lamb (USA)

Team USA are World Basketball Champions

The americans are officially back on top of the basketball world.

After what seemed to be like an endless stream of upset losses, mediocre play, underwhelming performances, and bronze medals in the international game, Team USA completed their process of redemption by winning gold at the FIBA World Championships in Turkey. USA beat the hosts 81-64 in the final on Sunday, providing the perfect ending to an impressive unbeaten tournament. Paired with the awe-inspiring exploits of the 'Redeem Team' which won the Beijing Olympic gold in 2008, the US have left no doubts on being the best international team in the business.

But, unlike the 'Redeem Team', the World Championship squad, labelled the 'B' team by their detractors, did not arrive with the same superstar hoopla. The team had no super-duper-star except for Kevin Durant. Gone were the Dwyane Wades, the Kobe Bryants, the LeBron James', and the Carmelo Anthonies. They were replaced by the likes of Lamar Odom, Derrick Rose, Russell Westbrook, and Andre Igoudala. The only other veteran presence except for Odom in this team was Chauncey Billups.

The 21-year-old Durant, the NBA's leading scorer last season (the youngest ever!) grabbed this opportunity with both hands to become the best player in the world. He ended up as the tournament's MVP, averaging 22.8 points and 6.2 rebounds per game during the course of the tournament. He showed up as the going got tougher, scoring 33 in the Quarter Final against Russia, 38 in the semis against Lithuania, and 28 in the final against Turkey. He was the USA's most consistent and trustworthy player, game after game, and has staked his claim to replace some of the other "stars" when USA prepare their squad for the 2012 Olympics.

Durant scored more points than any American in the World Championships ever (205) and scored more points in a single game than any American ever (38). If I had to bet today, I can see him easily becoming the NBA's MVP in the 2010-11 season.

Hosts Turkey put up a brave show, going undefeated until the final, led by Hedo Turkoglu and Ersan Ilyasova. Lithuania defeated Serbia to win the bronze medal, and both teams an excellent overall tournament. The play of the tournament would probably be Serbia's Milos Teodosic's game-winning three to shock Spain.

Speaking of: Spain were probably the biggest disappointments of the tournament. Playing without last World Championships' MVP Pau Gasol, Spain failed to really make a mark, finishing sixth, below Argentina, who were fifth. Argentina featured some amazing play by Luis Scola, who averaged 27.1 ppg (tournament leader), 7.9 rpg, and was an influence all over the court.

FIBA's team of the tournament was:

Kevin Durant (USA)
Luis Scola (Argentina)
Hedo Turkoglu (Turkey)
Linas Kleiza (Lithuania)
Milos Teodosic (Serbia)

Unfortunately, for us hoop fans in India, the World Championships were not shown on TV, because apparently fixed Pakistan-England cricket series' are more important.

The tournament was by far the most hyped World Championships ever, but it still lost a lot of credibility after many of the world's best players decided to skip it. Players such as Gasol, Manu Ginobili and Andres Nocioni (Argentina), Yao Ming (China), Dirk Nowitzki (Germany), Tony Parker (France), Nene (Brazil), and Andrew Bogut (Australia) did not play. Of course, USA played without and of their Redeem Team players, such as Kobe, LeBron, Wade, Carmelo, Dwight Howard, Deron Williams, Chris Bosh, and Chris Paul.

It is sad that so many great players (by choice, fatigue, or injury) did not show up for this competition, because a tournament like this deserves to have a stature in basketball equal to the FIFA World Cup. Fortunately, the teams that did show up put up an amazing show, and Durant's heroic contributions will be remembered for years to come.

Indian team returns with a 2-5 record from Youth Olympics

The Indian youth basketball team may have come back from the Singapore Youth Olympic Games (YOG) with a losing record, but gained valuable experience playing with youngsters from some of the top hoop countries in the world, as well as became part of a select few countries to play in FIBA's new 3-on-3 form on an official world stage.

Four Indian youth players – Shyam Sunder (Chhattigarh), Sukhjeet (Delhi), Amit Kanarjee (Madhya Pradesh), and Kirti Goswami (Madhya Pradesh) – represented India in the basketball tournament at the YOG. The four youngsters were accompanied to Singapore by their coach Shanmugam Sridhar. The team finished 18th out of the 20 participants.

Each game in the tournament was set to be 15 minutes long, with three quick five minute periods. The first team to 33 or the team that is leading at the end of regulation time wins. It was a fast-paced affair since each possession was only allowed a 10-second shot clock and a shot could only be pulled up after at least two passes per possession.

"This competition was a great experience for these youngsters," said Sridhar, "The YOG is a big competition. All the players performed well – we always managed to keep the games close in the first half before conceding heavily in the end. I think we would have performed better had we had taller players."

India were pitted in a group with Puerto Rico, Greece, New Zealand, and Gold Medal winners Serbia. Although they lost all their group games, they fared well in the 17th-20th place playoffs, beating Panama and South Africa before losing to hosts Singapore in the finale. Another positive was that the team showed an improved performance after every result until their last game.

Kirti Goswami was the leading scorer of India, pitching in 47 points over the seven games, at an average of 6.71 ppg. Goswami also received third place in a shooting competition held at the YOG.

"The 3-on-3 format made for very quick games," added Sridhar, "It especially helped in showcasing the talent's of individual players."

The complete results were:

Boys Preliminary Group A

- India – Puerto Rico: 15-33
- India – Serbia: 19-33
- India – Greece: 20-33
- India – New Zealand: 12-17

Boys Round Robin 17-20

- India – Panama: 28-22
- India – South Africa: 27-11
- India – Singapore: 20-31

The Boys' Gold was won by Serbia, who beat Croatia 22-9 in the Final.

Here's a video with highlights of India's win over South Africa

Four young hoopsters to represent India at Youth Olympic Games

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Held for the world's best athletes between the ages of 14-18, the first ever Youth Olympic Games (YOG) set to be held in Singapore are just around the corner now. The competition will take place from the 14th-26th of August, and the basketball tournament of this competition will be featuring a team of India.

The basketball tournament in the YOG will feature a 3-on-3, half-court format, and will include the participation of 20 countries from around the world. The Indian men's team has been drawn in a group with Serbia, Greece, Puerto Rico, and New Zealand.

After a tryout held at Ludhiana amongst nine probables from July 22-August 11, the BFI has announced that they will be sending four players (three starters and one substitute) to Singapore to represent India:

Shyam Sunder (Chhattisgarh)
Sukhjeet (Delhi)
Amit Kanarjee (Madhya Pradesh)
Kirti Goswami (Madhya Pradesh)

As noted above, this is a 3-on-3 half-court competition - each game will be 15 minutes long with three quick five minute periods. The first team to 33 or the team that is leading at the end of regulation time wins.

The schedule for India's games is:

15th August: India vs. Puerto Rico
16th August: Serbia vs. India
18th August: India vs. Greece
19th August: New Zealand vs. India

Other countries taking part in the men's competition are Argentina, Iran, Lithuania, Panama, Egypt, Israel, Singapore, Turkey, USA, Central African Republic, Philippines, Spain, South Africa, US Virgin Islands, and Croatia.

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Indian Ballers to play at Singapore Youth Olympic Games

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A team from India will feature in the basketball tournament to be held at the first Youth Olympic Games (YOG), set to be held from August 14-26th in Singapore. The basketball tournament will be a 3-on-3 halfcourt competition, featuring teams from 20 countries around the world. The athletes will be the best basketball stars between the ages of 14-18. The YOG is the biggest gathering of athletes of 18 years and below, and will feature a total of 26 sports.

In the basketball tournament, the teams were drawn recently into four brackets, and the Indian men's squad have been drawn in a group with Serbia, Greece, Puerto Rico, and New Zealand. There is no Indian women's team. Click here to see the full draw.

India's group games are:

15th August: India vs. Puerto Rico
16th August: Serbia vs. India
18th August: India vs. Greece
19th August: New Zealand vs. India

The top two teams from each group will move on to knock-out quaterfinals, and the Final will be held on 23rd August. Harish Sharma, the secretary general of the Basketball Federation of India (BFI), confirmed that a short-list of eight players has been decided already, out of which four will be sent to Singapore for the competition.

Other countries taking part in the men's competition are Argentina, Iran, Lithuania, Panama, Egypt, Israel, Singapore, Turkey, USA, Central African Republic, Philippines, Spain, South Africa, US Virgin Islands, and Croatia.

As noted above, this is a 3-on-3 half-court competition - each game will be 15 minutes long with three quick five minute periods. The first team to 33 or the team that is leading at the end of regulation time wins.

I know that this 3-on-3 half court concept is being done to accomodate more teams and thus more games in a shorter span of time, but I still feel that it is really not the right way to go about promoting basketball. Anyone who has actually played basketball will testify how different this format is to an actualy full-court 5-on-5 game: players are not tested on their stamina and the games become more individual skill based than team-oriented. A different caliber of player will perform better in this situation as compared to REAL basketball.

Still, I think that the YOG are a great idea, and it's awesome that India will be representing a basketball team amongst countries featuring some of the best ballers in the world like USA, Spain, Greece, or Serbia.

P.S.: If you live in Singapore and are looking for a place to go play some recreational, corporate 3x3 basketball, check out my friend Karan Talwar's site http://www.basketballcanlah.com/. It will improve your life. Thank me later!

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