Japan win fourth consecutive title at FIBA Women’s Asia Cup in Bengaluru; winless India finish last in Division A

The Japanese dominance over Asian basketball continued last week at the 2019 FIBA Women’s Asia Cup in Bengaluru, India. With a thrilling comeback win over China in the final on Sunday, September 29 at the city’s Sree Kanteerava Stadium Japan completed an impressive four-peat at the championship, cementing their supremacy over Asian basketball.

Hosts India also took part in the tournament but ended the week in disappointment, losing all of their group games and losing the 7th/8th place qualifier to end their Division A appearance at last place.

The final of the tournament was held between long-time Asian rivals Japan and China on Sunday. Japan, who had won the 2017 title with a final win over Australia in dramatic fashion, once again had to muster all of their heroics to complete a comeback and squeak past the Chinese squad. China commanded a 10-point lead in the first half, but slowed down to start the third quarter as Japan began their comeback run. Japan took a lead early in the second and held on for the 71-68 win. Nako Motohashi led all scorers for Japan with 24. Xu Han scored 18 for China in the loss.

Earlier the same day, Australia blew past Korea 98-62 to win the bronze medal game. Rebecca Allen led the Aussies with a game-high 20 in the victory.

Japan’s Nako Motohashi was named the tournament’s MVP for her performances.

After winning the 2017 Division B title in dramatic fashion and making their comeback to Division A, India sent a young squad that hoped to retain its position in the higher throes of Asian hoops. Coached by Zoran Visic and captained by Rajapriyadarshani Rajaganapathi, India were drawn in Group A of the division, along with Japan, Korea, and Chinese Taipei.

Playing against the powerhouse Japanese, India had no shot in their first game, barely being able to score against Japan’s stifling defense on one end, and finding it impossible to contain Japan’s offensive prowess. Led by Himawari Akaho (23) and Sanae Motokawa (16), Japan cruised to a 103-27 win.

India started with more purpose in Game 2 against Korea, taking an early 12-2 lead and holding a slim advantage after the first quarter. But the tables turned when Korea raced to a 24-6 second quarter run which punctured all of India’s spirits. Korea secured a 97-62 win, led by An Jin’s 21 points.

In the final group game against Chinese Taipei, it was India’s weak start that doomed them, as their opponents took a 28-10 lead after just the first ten minutes. India improved after halftime, but Taipei already had a huge advantage by then, as they won the game 87-58.

Last in their group, India’s mission now was to defeat Group B last-ranking team – Philippines – to ensure that they didn’t fall out of the Division. Alas, it was another weak start by India, as Philippines took a 12-point lead early in the game. India made the game close around halftime, but Philippines heated up from behind the three-point line and took advantage of India’s mistakes to win 92-78. Janine Pontejos scored 18 for the Philippines, while India’s Shireen Limaye had a team’s tournament-best 23 points.

The result left India with a 0-4 record at eighth place. As per FIBA rules, India are supposed to be replaced in the 2010 FIBA Women’s Asia Cup by the winners of Division B. But the Division B event hasn’t been held this year, and if it stays this way, India may keep its place in the higher division after all.

Limaye was India’s best player at the tournament, leading the team in scoring (12.3 ppg), assists (3.5 apg), minutes per game (28 mpg) and overall efficiency rating. There were some decent performances by Jeena Skaria and Navaneetha PU, but neither were consistent enough through the course of the tournament.

For a more in-depth story behind India’s unsuccessful campaign at this event, read my article on Firstpost, published on Monday, September 30.

Final Standings

• 1. Japan
• 2. China
• 3. Australia

All Tournament Team

• Nako Motohashi (Japan)
• Yuki Miyazawa (Japan)
• Shao Ting (China)
• Han Xu (China)
• Rebecca Allen (Australia)

Hoopdarshan Episode 83: Jeena Skaria, FIBA Asia Women, and FIBA World Cup

On the eve of the 2019 FIBA Women's Asia Cup in Bengaluru, India's star player Jeena Skaria joins us on Hoopdarshan. In an interview with co-hosts Kaushik Lakshman and Karan Madhok, Skaria tells us about India's strategy in the tougher Division A of the tournament, the top players to watch out for, and playing pro in Australia - an experience that changed her life both on and off the court.

Jeena Skaria is one of the most talented and accomplished basketball players in India today. The Kerala native has graduated from being a teenage phenom to the best player in the women's national team. She was one of the top performers of the squad that won Division B of the FIBA Women's Asia Cup two years ago. Since then, she has seen a rare dream come true, becoming only the third Indian women to play pro overseas - in Australia for the Ringwood Hawks. Now, Skaria is back to India's national team, and the team is back in Division A, for the tournament in Bengaluru.

In addition to our interview with Skaria, Kaushik and Karan deep-dive in Episode 83 into the results of the FIBA World Cup, including the greatness of Ricky Rubio, the surprise rise of Argentina, and the fall of Team USA.



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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India ready to take part in 2019 FIBA Women's Asia Cup: Roster, Schedule, and more!

After winning Division B in dramatic fashion in 2017, Team India will return upgraded in Division A of the 2019 FIBA Women's Asia Cup. The tournament is being held once again in familiar surroundings for Team India, at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru from September 24-29, 2019.

The 2017 champions Japan will return with hopes of completing an incredible four-peat of this tournament. Among the other favourites in this event are Australia, China, and Korea.

Grouping for Division A

• Group A: Japan, Korea, Chinese Taipei, India.
• Group B: Australia, China, New Zealand, Philippines.

India's Roster

• Rajapriyadarshini Rajaganapathi (captain)
• Anmolpreet Kaur
• Shireen Limaye
• Barkha Sonkar
• Navaneetha Pattemane Udayakumar
• Anjana Prasannan Geetha
• Stephy Nixon
• Bhandavya Hemmige Mahesha
• Shruthi Arvind
• Madhu Kumari
• Jeena Skaria
• Lopamudra Thimmaiah Kokkalera
• Head Coach: Zoran Visic
• Assistant Coach: Shiba Maggon
• Assistant Coach: Kuldeep Singh Brar

India's Preliminary Stage Schedule - all timings IST

• Sep 24, 2019 - Japan vs. India - 8 PM
• Sep 25, 2019 - India vs. Korea - 8 PM
• Sep 26, 2019 - Chinese Taipei vs. India - 8 PM

Team India set for 2019 FIBA 3x3 Asia Cup in Changsha, China: Rosters, Schedule, and Preview

From new domestic leagues, successful grassroots programmes, and individual athletes making a name for themselves internationally, 3x3 Basketball has caught on like wildfire in India over the past few years. But when it came to participating in the continent's biggest 3x3 bonanza last year, Team India was marked 'absent'.

Now, they get to rectify their absence and make a comeback to the tournament in style.

The Basketball Federation of India (BFI) has announced four-member squads for India's senior men and women's squads, ready to take part in the 2019 FIBA 3x3 Asia Cup in Changsha, China, from May 22-26, 2019. The teams will be captained by Vishesh Bhriguvanshi and Raspreet Sidhu, and led by the Serbian coaching duo of Veselin Matic and Zoran Visic. Both Indian teams are currently in the Qualifying Draws and will have to win their first few games to qualify for the proper group stage.

India's Women won the first-ever instance of this tournament back in China in 2013. Last year, India did not participate, but two teams from Oceanis took home the golds, taking part in the Asian fray for the first time: Australia (Men) and New Zealand (Women). Both teams will be threats again in the tournament this year, along with the hosts China. Mongolia and Japan also finished in the top three of the Men's tournament last year and should hope to contend this time around, too.

Team India Rosters for 2019 FIBA 3x3 Asia Cup

Men

• Vishesh Bhriguvanshi - captain
• Arshpreet Singh Bhullar
• Akilan Pari
• Yadwinder Singh

Women

• Raspreet Sidhu - captain
• Bhandavya Hemmige Mahesha
• Sreekala Rani
• Shireen Limaye

For the Men's team, Bhriguvanshi will be looking to make up for lost time after spending much of the last two years rehabbing an ACL injury. He is India's best perimeter player, and has good understanding with the experienced forward Yadwinder Singh. Serbian Coach Veselin Matic only came to India a week ago to helm the men's basketball programme, and this will be his first international test. Matic's Serbian counterpart Zoran Visic will be the head coach of the women's team, and experienced Delhi baller Raspreet Sidhu will be expected to carry much of the squad's scoring load.

Groups

Men

• Pool A: Japan, Turkmenistan, Jordan
• Pool B: China, New Zealand, Qualifying Draw A 1
• Pool C: Mongolia, Australia, Qualifying Draw B 1
• Pool D: Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Qualifying Draw C 1
• Qualifying Draw A: Qatar, Philippines, Iran, Samoa, Thailand
• Qualifying Draw B: South Korea, India, Malaysia, Vanuatu
• Qualifying Draw C: Kyrgyzstan, Sri Lanka, Chinese Taipei, Vietnam

Women

• Pool A: China, Australia, New Zealand
• Pool B: Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan
• Pool C: Japan, Sri Lanka Qualifying Draw A 1
• Pool D: Iran, Turkmenistan, Qualifying Draw B 2
• Qualifying Draw A: Philippines, Chinese Taipei, Vanuatu, Samoa
• Qualifying Draw B: Malaysia, Maldives, Thailand, India

India's schedule in the Qualifying Draw - all timings IST

Men

• May 22, 2019 - India vs. Malaysia - 11:30 AM
• May 23, 2019 - India vs. Vanuatu - 10:30 AM
• May 23, 2019 - South Korea vs. India - 12:20 PM

Women

• May 22, 2019 - Malaysia vs. India - 12:40 PM
• May 23, 2019 - Maldives vs. India - 06:10 AM
• May 23, 2019 - India vs. Thailand - 07:40 AM

India will have to win their qualifying groups to have a chance for qualification. The men's team should be able to win their first two games but will face a tougher competition against South Korea. For the women, both Malaysia and Thailand will provide stiff challenge for India to finish at top.

If India win their groups, the Men's team will join Pool C with two podium finishers from last year, Mongolia and Australia. The women's team qualification would place them in women's Pool D with Iran and 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

India hope to defend home court at 2018 FIBA U18 Women's Asia Championship: Roster, Schedule, and Preview

Over the past year or so, Bengaluru has been a sort of lucky charm for India's Women's basketball. Last year, both India's Senior and U16 Women's squads played in their respective FIBA Asia tournaments hosted in the city. And each time - the seniors in July and the Youth players in October - India started in the lower Division B and won all of their matchups to earn promotion to Division A.

Now, the U18 squad find themselves in a similar predicament. Bengaluru. Division B. A FIBA Asia Championship. Even the head coach - Zoran Visic - is the same. And India will be hoping that the culmination of these factors will yield another positive result, another promotion, and finally produce some good news after a cold, barren period in Indian basketball.

192 of Asia and Oceania's finest junior women cagers, across 16 teams, are set to take centre stage in the 2018 FIBA U18 Women's Asia Championship in Bengaluru from October 28 to November 3. The teams are divided into the higher Division A and the lower Division B. The former teams - plus India - will play their games in the showcase Sree Kanteerava Stadium in the city, while the rest of Division B will be at the Koramangala Indoor Stadium.

All eyes will be on China at the top, who have won four straight U18 FIBA Asia Women's titles and are aiming for a five-peat. This team around, however, they will have stiff challenge from Oceania's entrants Australia and New Zealand. Australia will definitely be favourites as they feature a similar squad to the won that won the U17 FIBA World Championship. Other teams to watch will include Japan and Korea, too.

Participating Teams

Division A

• Group A: Australia, Korea, Chinese Taipei, Indonesia.
• Group B: China, Japan, New Zealand, Malaysia.

Division B

• Group A: India, Singapore, Guam, Iran.
• Group B: Hong Kong, Kazakhstan, Syria, Samoa.

Led by Zoran Visic, India have reason for caution even as hosts in their lower division. The team is missing two of its best players to injury, Vaishnavi Yadav and Sanjana Ramesh. Additionally, the captain of the current team, Pushpa Senthil Kumar, is also recovering from injury and will likely be a game-time decision for India's opening match. India will be hoping that a healthy Pushpa, along with other young players will international experience like Sreekala Rani, Sushantika Chakravortty, and Ann Mary Zachariah will be able to lift the team to promotion.

India's Roster

• Arya Achuta Sreeramaneni
• Sakshi Sharma
• Dharshini Thirunavukkarasu
• Harshitha Kelttira Bopaiah
• Pushpa Senthil Kumar - captain
• Srishti Suren
• Ishwarya Janardhanan
• Sreekala Rani
• Gulabsha Ali
• Ann Mary Zachariah
• Anumaria Chenganamattathil
• Sushantika Chakravortty
• Head Coach: Zoran Visic
• Assistant Coach: Thankachan Mulackal Chacko
• Assistant Coach: Priyanka Bhandari

Even with all the injuries, home court and recent experience of a similar U16 team should make India favourites in the division. India were in Division A at the 2016 version of this championship and ended winless to be relegated. Visic will hope that his influence can help a bounce back. However, India will have difficulty preparing for their opponents, featuring a little-seen Iran squad, newcomers Guam, and Singapore in their group.

India's Preliminary Round Schedule - all timings IST

• October 28 - India vs. Iran - 8 PM
• October 29 - Guam vs. India - 8 PM
• October 30 - India vs. Singapore - 8 PM

If India are able to get through this group (and ideally, it should be easy for them to do so), their biggest threat to winning the division will probably come through from a strong Kazakhstan squad in Group B. On Friday, the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) announced a cash prize of ₹10 lakh for the team if it finishes atop Division B.

The top four teams from Division A will grab the spots for the 2019 FIBA U19 Women's World Cup. All Division A games and India games will be live streamed on FIBA’s social media channels. The BFI has announced free entry to the Sree Kanteerava and the Koramangala stadiums for the group stage!

India's Men and Women's basketball contingent departs for Australia early for 2018 CommonWealth Games preparation

It took twelve years for the CommonWealth Games (CWG) to bring back basketball. For India, the wait has been so long that our basketball contingent couldn't help but get to the sporting extravaganza a little early.

The 2018 CommonWealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia (GC2018) are set to be held from April 4-15, 2018, and will welcome more than 6,600 athletes and team officials from 70 Commonwealth nations, taking part in a total 18 sports and seven para-sports. In preparation for their participation in first CWG basketball tournament since Melbourne in 2006, India will be sending its entire basketball contingent - both Men and Women's squad - to Australia three weeks before the ahead of the start of the main event, on Monday, March 12.

The BFI announced India's final Men and Women rosters, India's groups and schedule for the 2018 CommonWealth Games on Sunday.

Indian players will be on a exposure and training trip at the Runaway Bay Super Sports Centre in Queensland. Yadwinder Singh was announced as captain for the Men’s Team, he is the only player for India who will be playing in his second CWG. Shireen Limaye was selected as the captain for the Women’s Team. At the tournament itself, the games will be held at the Townsville Entertainment and Convention Centre and the Cairns Convention Centre.

2018 CommonWealth Games Basketball Groups

Men

• Pool A: Australia, Nigeria, New Zealand, Canada.
• Pool B: England, Cameroon, India, Scotland.

Women

• Pool A: Australia, Canada, England, Mozambique.
• Pool B: New Zealand, Jamaica, India, Malaysia.

India's Basketball rosters for 2018 CommonWealth Games

Men

• Ravi Bhardwaj
• Arvind Arumugam
• Satnam Singh
• Arshpreet Singh Bhullar
• Aravind Annadurai
• Akilan Pari
• Justin Joseph
• Jeevanantham Pandi
• Yadwinder Singh - Captain
• Joginder Singh
• Amritpal Singh
• Amjyot Singh
• Head Coach: Rajinder Singh
• Coach: GRL Prasad
• Manager: Shakti Singh Gohil

Women

• Shruti Menon
• Madhu Kumari
• Navaneetha Pattemane Udayakumar
• Rajapriyadarshani Rajaganapathi
• Raspreet Sidhu
• Bhandavya Hemmige Mahesha
• Grima Merlin Varghese
• Anjana Prasannan Geetha
• Jeena Scaria
• Shireen Limaye - captain
• Anmolpreet Kaur
• Barkha Sonkar
• Head Coach: Zoran Visic
• Coach: Shiba Maggon
• Manager: Ajay Sud

India's Preliminary Round Schedule - all timings IST

Men

• April 5: Cameroon vs. India - 3:30 PM
• April 7: England vs. India - 2:00 PM
• April 8: India vs. Scotland - 5:30 PM

Women

• April 5: Jamaica vs. India - 2:00 PM
• April 7: Malaysia vs. India - 2:30 PM
• April 5: India vs. New Zealand - 1:30 PM

The Indian Women's team enter this tournament after last playing at the FIBA Asia Women's Cup at home in Bengaluru, where a balanced squad won Division B in dramatic fashion. The likes of Scaria, Limaye, Raspreet Sidhu and rising star Varghese are likely play important roles for the squad.

The Men's team feature two players who controversially missed the FIBA World Cup qualifying window games a few weeks ago - Amjyot Singh, who is playing in the NBA G-League, and Amritpal Singh, who played in Australia's NBL. Alongside them, other big names returning for the national squad include India's first NBA draft pick Satnam Singh, Aravind Annadurai, and experienced captain Yadwinder Singh. All of the players named in the official team list will be heading to Australia tomorrow, except for Amjyot who is expected to see out the season with his G-League team OKC Blue before joining India.

India’s long journey to qualify for the 2019 FIBA World Cup begins

This article was first published in my 'Hoopistani' column on The Times of India Sports on November 19, 2017. Read the original version here.

Thirty-seven years ago, in the pleasant late-summer in Moscow, Indian basketball made history. A series of fortuitous circumstances—including a golden generation of Indian basketball stars and a series of international diplomatic breakdowns—made India an unlikely entrant in the Men’s basketball fray of the 1980 Summer Olympics. India were the weakest team in the tournament and lost all seven of their games. Still, it was the competitive high-point in Indian hoops, an achievement that has never been matched again.

Indian basketball has since dipped out of contention of major world tournaments, and India has generally been one of the weaker teams in the Asian level, too. But now, the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) has introduced a new competition system that could help India gain international experience and have a chance to participate against world superpowers at the highest-level.

In a few days, India will begin their First Round games of the 2019 FIBA World Cup Qualifiers. India has never played in the World Cup (formerly known as the FIBA World Championship), which FIBA is now angling as a competition with equal prestige as the Olympics. The road ahead to be amongst the 32 best teams to play at the tournament in China in August/September 2019 will be difficult for the Indian Men (currently ranked 64). But India has been able to unearth a number of exciting young players in recent years with better scouting and development. For the current “golden generation”, the road to play in a prestigious world tournament begins now.

India have been drawn in Group C for the First Round of the World Cup’s Asian Qualifiers, along with Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan. India will play each team in home and away between November 2017 to July 2018. To qualify for the Second Round, India have to finish amongst the top three of their group. The Second Round will be held between September 2018 to February 2019, where India will have to finish top three from their group of six.

India’s last major basketball appearance was at the FIBA Asia Cup in Lebanon in August. Despite entering with high expectations, India performed poorly, losing all three of their preliminary stage games and being ousted in the First Round. Two of those losses came against Jordan and Syria, and in the World Cup Qualifiers ahead, India will have a chance to make amends.

India’s first two qualifying games are on the road against Lebanon on November 23 and then, back home in Bengaluru, for a historic first qualifying home game against Syria on November 26. The next international breaks of qualifiers for India will be held in late February and June/July 2018.

After helping India’s women’s senior and under-16 squads put up respectable performances at FIBA Asia events earlier this year, Serbian head coach Zoran Visic has been named head coach of India’s men’s squad for the first string of qualifying games, too. Visic is a FIBA World Instructor and has over 34 years of professional basketball coaching experience across Serbia, Romania, Russia, Yugoslavia, Lebanon, and Singapore. He will be assisted in coaching the team with former international player Sambhaji Kadam.

The final, 12-man roster of India’s squad was released by the BFI on Saturday. India will be captained by veteran point guard Akilan Pari and will feature one of the country's top players Amritpal Singh, who is on international break from his professional club in Australia's NBL, the Sydney Kings. Amritpal is sure to be the team's centrepiece in the next two games. India is loaded with talented bigs, including the country's first-ever NBA draft pick and former NBA G-League player Satnam Singh, former G-League draft pick Palpreet Singh Brar, Rikin Pethani, Jagdeep Singh Bains, Aravind Annadurai, and more. 

However, the team will be without the services of two of their top three players: Amjyot Singh, who is playing for the OKC Blue of the NBA G-League; and Vishesh Bhriguvanshi, who is recovering from a right knee injury. 

India has featured a string of talented post players in recent years. Unfortunately, the team will again be relying too much on the performance of the bigs. Amritpal, Satnam, Palpreet, and co. can all be wonderfully dominant under the basket, but India is weak in terms of ball-handlers and creative wing players. There will be a lot of pressure for Pari to outplay opposing point guards, and the qualifiers will also be a good litmus test for his young back, Prudhvi Reddy. Without Bhriguvanshi, however, India will again struggle for consistency in setting up their offense as they did when he was hurt at the FIBA Asia Cup. Without Amjyot, they will also need more offense from sharp-shooter Prasanna Venkatesh from the wing. 

Lebanon, who made it to the Quarter-Finals of the FIBA Asia Cup, will be a handful for India, especially on their home court. It is unlikely that a weakened Indian squad will be able to earn a victory in Beirut in their first game, but they should be prepared for the second matchup against Syria later in the week. India will be in the comfort of home, playing in front of home fans at the Sri Kantaveera Stadium in Bengaluru, against their weakest competitor in this group. Syria defeated India two months ago, but a more focused performance this time around could help India get a morale-boosting international victory.

Finishing in top three in the group is attainable for India, and with the rise of the next generation of young stars, the team can hope for a strong performance looking ahead into the Second Round of qualifiers, too. Qualifying for the 2019 World Cup might be unlikely, but the matches will surely help India gain some valuable international experience. Hopefully, it prepares the next generation of the squad to make new history and have the national team playing at the highest basketball level once again.

FIBA World Cup 2019 Qualifiers: India begin Group C with two uninspiring losses to Lebanon and Syria

The first-ever window of FIBA's new World Cup qualifying process began around the world this week. These qualifiers were an incredible opportunity to widen the road to the 2018 Basketball World Cup and allow each team in the preliminary stage to play in home-and-away games in the lead-up to the main event for the next few years. India, who have been placed in Group C of the First Round of Asian Qualifiers, began their long journey to the World Cup in opening clashes against Lebanon and Syria this past week.

Unfortunately, a short-handed Indian team failed to deliver, playing uninspiring basketball to lose both their qualifying games. They already have a grueling path ahead of them with four more group stage games left over the next eight months.

India were coached by the Serbian Zoran Visic for the first qualifying games and featured a 12-man roster that included former NBA G-Leaguer Satnam Singh Bhamara, NBL player Amritpal Singh, former G-League draftee Palpreet Singh Brar, and point guard Akilan Pari. The team was without the services of star players Amjyot Singh (playing in the NBA G-League) and Vishesh Bhriguvanshi (recovering from injury). India were coming off a disappointing outing at the 2017 FIBA Asia Cup in Lebanon and desperately needed to make amends. The away game to Lebanon was always going to be a challenge, but India were expected to perform well in their home contest against Syria.

Lebanon took charge early in the first game in the city of Zouk Mikael on Thursday, November 23rd. By halftime, with the score at 55-27 in Lebanon's favour, the game already seemed out of India's reach. Led by 22 points and 10 rebounds by Ahmed Ibrahim, Lebanon cruised to a 107-72 victory. Lacking top backcourt players, Visic was forced to play a big, but slow lineup of for India, which made the team struggle to set up plays on offense and lag behind Lebanon's athleticism.

India returned home for Game 2 against the team which would be their weakest opponent in the group, Syria, on Sunday, November 26th. The game was held at the Sri Kantaveera Stadium in Bengaluru and was India's first-ever home FIBA qualifier. Family obligations ruled out star player Amritpal Singh, and the team had to contend without any members of their "Big Three". After a competitive first quarter, Syria took complete control of the game and opened up a double digit lead by the third period. Despite a few bright flashes by Satnam Singh, all of India's comeback attempts were futile. The team continued it's offensive struggles and turned the ball over 23 times. Syria, led by Michael Madanly's 21 points, won the game 74-57.

India are now down 0-2 and the road will only get tougher for here. The Syria game was the easiest opportunity for a group stage victory. Their only bright spark has been Satnam Singh - averaging 11.5 points and 8.0 rebounds per game - but even he was expected to be much more dominant with the opportunity to start for the national team.

Over the next two international qualifying windows in February and July, India will face the same two teams plus Jordan twice. Jordan is currently on top of Group C with wins over Syria and Lebanon so far. To qualify for the Second Round, India have to finish among the top three of their group. The Second Round will be held between September 2018 to February 2019. Recovering from this early hole will be a challenge, but hopefully India can have more of their star players available for the next window and pick up a surprise victory or two.

The 2019 FIBA World Cup will be held in China in August/September 2019.

India's Men's basketball roster announced for FIBA World Cup qualifying games next week

After a month in training camp in Bengaluru, India has sharpened up its full list of probables to announce the 12-man roster for the FIBA World Cup qualifying games against Lebanon and Syria in the coming week. In FIBA's new competition system, this will be the first time that India will play in these home-and-away group qualifiers for the World Cup. Last week, the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) announced that Serbian coach Zoran Visic will be leading the team for the away game against Lebanon on Thursday and a clash against Syria at home on Sunday next week.

Team India will be captained by veteran point guard Akilan Pari and will feature one of the country's top players Amritpal Singh, who is on international break from his professional club in Australia's NBL, the Sydney Kings. Amritpal is sure to be the team's centerpiece in the next two games. India is loaded with talented bigs, including the country's first-ever NBA draft pick and former NBA G-League player Satnam Singh, former G-League draft pick Palpreet Singh Brar, Rikin Pethani, Jagdeep Singh Bains, Aravind Annadurai, and more.

Visic, who has coached India's Senior and U16 Women's squads in FIBA Asia tournaments earlier this year, has been appointed the men's team head coach, succeeding Phil Weber of the NBA's New Orleans Pelicans. He will be assisted by former India international Sambhaji Kadam.

India will be without the services of two of their top three players: Amjyot Singh, who is playing for the OKC Blue of the NBA G-League; and Vishesh Bhriguvanshi, who is recovering from a right knee injury.

Team India Roster

• Amritpal Singh
• Aravind Annadurai
• Satnam Singh
• Arshpreet Singh Bhullar
• Akilan Pari - captain
• Prasanna Venkatesh
• Rikin Pethani
• Prudhvi Reddy
• Palpreet Singh Brar
• Jagdeep Singh Bains
• Arvind Arumugam
• Gurvinder Singh Gill
• Head Coach: Zoran Visic
• Assistant Coach: Sambhaji Kadam

In the first round of the qualifiers, India has been grouped with Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon. Teams in each group will play each other home and away between November 2017 to July 2018 in the First Round. Listed below is India's schedule - the home team in each case is mentioned first:

• November 23, 2017: Lebanon vs. India.
• November 26, 2017: India vs. Syria

India's historic first home qualifier game against Syria will be held at the Sri Kantaveera Stadium on Sunday, November 26, starting from 7 PM. India will play the next rounds of games in late February and in June/July 2018.

At the FIBA Asia Cup in Lebanon in August, India lost in the group stage to Jordan, and more surprisingly, to Syria. India were dissappointing after high expectations and were ousted in the first round.

The qualifiers will give India a chance for some redemption, beginning with the first two games later this month. Unfortunately, India will once again relying too much on the performance of their post players. Amritpal, Satnam, Palpreet, and co. can all be wonderfully dominant under the basket, but India is weak in terms of ball-handlers and creative wing players. There will be a lot of pressure for Pari to outplay opposing point guards, and the qualifiers will also be a good litmus test for his young back, Prudhvi Reddy. Without Bhriguvanshi, however, India will again struggle for consistency in setting up their offense as they did when he was hurt at the FIBA Asia Cup. Without Amjyot, they will also need more offense from sharp-shooter Prasanna Venkatesh from the wing.

India will find it difficult to get the win against Lebanon away from home, but back in Bengaluru against Syria is perhaps their best opportunity for a group stage victory. Let the qualifiers commence!

Zoran Visic assigned as Coach of India's Men's basketball team for FIBA World Cup Qualifiers - Probables and Schedule

The Basketball Federation of India (BFI) announced on Thursday that Zoran Visic - the experienced Serbian basketball coach who has been at the helm of India's Women's basketball teams this year - will now be appointed to a new challenge. Visic has now been assigned Head Coach of India's Men's basketball team for the upcoming round of 2019 FIBA World Cup Qualifiers. The BFI has also released a list of 19 probables for Team India for the qualifying games against Lebanon and Syria later this month.

Visic's open attitude to new challenges have helped him become a surprisingly ubiquitous presence in Indian basketball over the course of the past few months. He was originally hired to be the head coach of India’s women’s senior national team in June. In July's FIBA Asia Cup in Bengaluru, he helped India win the (secondary) Division B of the competition. To maintain continuity, the BFI appointed him Head Coach of India's U16 Women's squad, too, and he repeated his feat, helping the team secure the same success (Division B win) in the same city (Bengaluru) at the FIBA Asia U16 Women's Cup last month.

Visic's counterpart for India's Senior Men's team - at the FIBA Asia Cup in Lebanon earlier this year - was experienced NBA coach Phil Weber. But Weber's appointment only lasted a few months in preparation and until the end of the Men's Asia Cup - there had been a void at the helm of the Men's team. With Visic available, the BFI turned inwards to find someone who had gained some understanding of the Indian system to lead the Men's squad forward for the next few games.

Visic is a FIBA World Instructor and has over 34 years of professional basketball coaching experience across Serbia, Romania, Russia, Yugoslavia, Lebanon, and Singapore. He was appointed coach of the Men's team earlier this month at the beginning of the Senior National Men's Coaching Camp for the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers that is currently going on in Bengaluru at Sree Kanteerava Stadium. Visic's assistant coaches for the national team are Paramdeep Singh, Shambhaji Kadam and Laldingsanga Hangsing.

The camp, which started on November 1, will be held until November 20, before India fly to Lebanon for their first qualifying game on the 23rd, and then return home for the second qualifier against Syria on November 26.

The 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup is scheduled to be held in China from August 31 - September 15, 2019. In the run-up to this biggest-ever event, FIBA is holding home-and-away style qualifiers over a space of 12-18 months to decide the tournament's final 32 qualifiers.

In the first round of the qualifiers, India has been grouped with Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon. Teams in each group will play each other home and away between November 2017 to July 2018 in the First Round. Listed below is India's schedule - the home team in each case is mentioned first:

• November 23, 2017: Lebanon vs. India.
• November 26, 2017: India vs. Syria
• February 23, 2018: India vs. Jordan
• February 26, 2018: India vs. Lebanon
• June 28, 2018: Syria vs. India
• July 1, 2018: Jordan vs. India

To qualify for the Second Round, India have to finish within the top three of their group. As they currently stand in the FIBA rankings, India are the third-best team in Group C, behind Jordan and Lebanon. At the FIBA Asia Cup in Lebanon in August, India lost in the group stage to Jordan, and more surprisingly, to Syria, The qualifiers will give India a chance for some redemption, beginning with the first two games later this month.

With the exception of Vishesh Bhriguvanshi, India's lead guard who has been struggling with injuries all year, the BFI has named a strongest-possible list of 19 probables for Team India at the qualifiers. This list includes Indian stars Amjyot Singh and Amritpal Singh who are currently in the NBA G-League and the NBL in Australia respectively.

Full List of India's probables

• Amjyot Singh
• Amritpal Singh
• Aravind Annadurai
• Yadwinder Singh
• Satnam Singh Bhamara
• Arshpreet Singh Bhullar
• Arvind Kumar BK
• Arvind Arumugam
• Gurvinder Singh Gill
• Muin Bek Hafeez
• Akilan Pari
• Prasanna Ventakesh
• Rikin Pethani
• Baladhaneshwar Poiyamozhi
• Prudhvi Reddy
• Palpreet Singh Brar
• Vishal Kumar Gupta
• Jagdeep Singh Bains
• Arjun Singh

It is unlikely that Amjyot and Amritpal will return to the national team from their professional obligations to take part in the first round of these qualifiers. But the team does feature a number of other exciting players to keep an eye on. On top of the list is of course Satnam Singh, India's first NBA draft pick, who left his NBA G-League team a few months ago to focus on developing his game back home. Satnam got limited opportunities behind Amjyot and Amritpal in the FIBA Asia Cup, and these qualifiers could be his chance to prove that he could be a star for the national team. Palpreet Singh Brar, India's first NBA G-League draft pick, is among the probables, too. Experienced Punjabi bigs Yadwinder Singh and Jagdeep Singh Bains will be there to provide veteran leadership. India's issue, as before, will continue to be the imbalance between frontcourt and backcourt, as there is a shortage of star guards in Vishesh Bhriguvanshi's absence. A lot will depend on the development of rising young star Baladhaneshwar Poiyamozhi.

India will struggle without the Big Three of Bhriguvanshi, Amjyot, and Amritpal, but Visic has always focused on team success before highlighting individuals, and hopefully, he can help a new round of players carry the team forward.

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

Hoopdarshan Episode 54: FIBA U16 Women's Asia Championship Preview with Zoran Visic

This week, India will host the FIBA U16 Women's Asia Championship in Bengaluru. To preview the tournament for the home team, Hoopdarshan invited India's head coach, Zoran Visic for Episode 54, for an illuminating conversation. Visic spoke about India's preparation, our biggest challengers, lessons from coaching India's Senior Women's team, and coping without Serbian food in India.

Hoopdarshan hosts Kaushik Lakshman and Karan Madhok also discussed the beginning of the NBA season, the G-League drafting of Indian basketball star Amjyot Singh, and the conclusion of the Sub-Junior Nationals in this episode.



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 
• - Facebook.com/Hoopdarshan 

India U16 Women's team ready to host FIBA U16 Women's Asia Championship in Bengaluru - Roster, Schedule, and Preview

Three months ago, Bengaluru proved its place as a worthy basketball host city, as the city's iconic Sri Kantaveera Stadium hosted the FIBA Asia Women's Cup. This was the first major FIBA basketball event to be held in India in eight years, and in front of the home fans, Team India finished the tournament in style by winning promotion to Division A.

Now, India's youth squad will be hoping that the same arena, in the same city, can provide them the boost that the country's leading ladies received, too. From October 22-28, India will host the FIBA U16 Women's Asia Championship in Bengaluru, featuring the top youth teams from around Asia and Oceania in the youngest FIBA international tournament. India's U16 team, which fell to Division B at the previous iteration of this tournament, will hope to return to the higher stage by the end of next week.

Fifteen teams, divided into two levels of two groups each, will take part in this tournament. In 2015 in Medan (Indonesia), China completed a three-peat at this championship with a win over Japan in the final. India finished the group stage losing all five preliminary round games, and then losing their playoff match against Hong Kong to fall to Division B.

Participating Teams

• Division A - Group A: Australia, Korea, Chinese Taipei, New Zealand.
• Division A - Group B: China, Japan, Thailand, Hong Kong.
• Division B - Group A: India, Sri Lanka, Iran Nepal.
• Division B - Group B: Malaysia, Kazakhstan, Maldives.

Team India will be led by Zoran Visic, the experienced basketball coach from Serbia who also led India's Senior Women's team at the FIBA Asia Women's Cup earlier this year. Visic's assistant coach will be his captain from the senior team - the basketball star Anitha Paul Durai - for whom this will be the first foray into international coaching. The squad is completely changed from the one that played in Medan two years ago. Some of the top players that made a mark in recent Youth and Sub Junior nationals will be featured in this roster, including Vaishnavi Yadav, Ann Mary Zacharaiah, and Elijabet Ekka.

Team India Roster

• Vaishnavi Yadav
• Riya Baliyan
• Ann Mary Zachariah
• Neha Karwa
• Khushi Sanjay Dongre
• Elijabet Ekka
• Monica Jayakumar
• Pushpa Senthil Kumar
• Grishma Niranjan
• Sreekala Rani
• Asmat Taunque
• Sanjana Ramesh
• Head Coach: Zoran Visic
• Assistant Coach: Anitha Paul Durai

India will top to top their group in the preliminary round, and then defeat the top squad from Group B of their Division in a playoff, to secure Division A promotion.

India's Preliminary Round Schedule - All timings IST

• October 22 - India vs. Nepal - 8 PM
• October 23 - Iran vs. India - 8 PM
• October 24 - India vs. Sri Lanka - 8 PM

India is the highest ranked team in this group and their entire division. They should be able to cruise past Nepal, although Iran, whose women's teams haven't played in international tournaments for many years, will be the wildcards. Sri Lanka will pose somewhat of a threat, but hopefully, India can propel past them, too. Group B feature two legitimate challenges to India's promotion ambitions: Malaysia and Kazakhstan. The Senior Women's team had to slay the Kazakhs in dramatic fashion in their final game in July; there's a good chance that one of these teams could be testing India to the limit at the FIBA U16 Women's Asia Championship, too.

Meanwhile, the Division A matches should add for some intrigue as now Oceania's powerhouse Australia will challenging China and Japan's place at the top of this fray. Korea and Chinese Taipei are two other teams that could make some noise in this tournament. India's demotion to Division B is a pity, but it could give the home fans the opportunity to see India notch up more victories and end up with a good record - even if it only comes against worse teams.