India's combined FIBA World ranking remains static at 51 at end of 2014

You may recall that 2014 was a pretty good year for Indian Basketball, particularly the Senior Men's team, who won gold at the Lusofonia Games, won the South Asian Basketball Championship, defeated China at the FIBA Asia Cup, and got the silver medal at 3x3 basketball at the Asian Beach Games. And yet, at the start of the new calender year, little has changed for India's overall ranking among the world's top basketball teams.

Despite their successes, India's combined FIBA ranking (Men, Women, Boys, Girls) has remained static at 51 - the same as last year - after the last update by FIBA on December 7, 2014. This is due to the fact that none of India's successes this year came in the big FIBA or FIBA zone championships, like the FIBA Asia or FIBA World championships. Tournaments like the Lusofonia Games, the FIBA Asia Cup, the Asian Games, the Asian Beach Games, etc. don't contribute to the final FIBA rankings.

FIBA – the world’s governing body of basketball – bases their world rankings on the major FIBA World Championships, the continental championships, and the Olympic Games. Rankings are made based on the performance of each country’s Men’s, Women’s, and Youth rankings where applicable. Youth rankings are based on the performances of the U19, U18, U17, or U16 teams in international competitions.

India's Men remain ranked 61st in FIBA worldwide.

India's U18 boys and girls teams took part in the big FIBA Asia U18 championships but none of the squads improved on India's previous performances. After winning gold at the South Asian Basketball Association (SABA) Qualifiers, India headed to Qatar for the U18 FIBA Asia Championship. The boys' disappointed, finishing 13th (last), losing two of their three Preliminary Round games and failing to qualify for the next stage of the tournament. Their performance dropped them three spots to 51st in the world.

India's U18 girls once again played in the tougher Level I of the FIBA Asia U18 Championship for Women in Amman (Jordan). Thy lost all their preliminary group games but won the crucial Level I qualifier against Malaysia to finish sixth and remain in the higher fray of the competition for 2016. Despite this, India's FIBA ranking in this division dropped two spots to 39th.

India's Senior Women had a quiet and relatively underwhelming year, taking part in only the Lusofonia Games (bronze medal), the Asian Games (sixth place out of 11), and the Asian Beach Games (0-3, seventh place). Despite the inactivity, perhaps the falling performances of other world teams saw Indian Women rise one spot to 39th.

Once again, world champions in all the formats of the sport internationally, USA is dominating the FIBA World rankings, holding the number one spot in the Men, Women, Boys, Girls, and Combined sections.

What USA is to the rest of the world is what China is to Asia. The Chinese are ranked number one in all the various sections across the continent. India has risen one spot to eighth-place in the FIBA Asia Combined rankings.

2015 will bring back the big FIBA Asia Championships for Men and Women - both designated to be held in China - between August to October. The FIBA Asia U16 Championships will also be held, in July for boys and September for girls. India will be hoping to participate in all four competitions and have a chance to improve their world/Asia rankings. The world U19 FIBA Championships - for both Men and Women - will also be held in 2015.

India's FIBA Rankings at end of 2014

• Combined: 51 (58.5 points; Change 0)
  
• Men: 61 (6.9 points; Change 0)
  
• Women: 39 (15.6 points: Change +1)
  
• Boys: 51 (12.9 points; Change -3)
  
• Girls: 39 (23.1 points; Change -2)
  

2014: The Year in Indian Basketball

Flip the calendars and adjust your dates. It's now 2015, and so much has changed in Indian Basketball in the past 12 months. Peaking with India's memorable victory against China mid-way through 2014 as well as other positive international performances, you could say that it was the year that basketball in the country truly began to grow up. Domestically, Indian basketball players were involved in bigger and better BFI, NBA, and Reliance Foundation events, events that reached to farther corners of the nation than ever before.

Let's look back at some of the biggest news stories from 2014 in Indian Basketball.

- In January over in Ahmedabad, ONGC repeated as Federation Cup champions with a big win over rivals IOB in the final, while Chhattisgarh's Women's side closed out the tournament in thrilling fashion with a one-point win over Maharashtra. Chhattisgarh's Radhakrishnan and ONGC's Vishesh Bhriguvanshi were named tournament MVPs.

- Just a few days later, Kolkata's outfit Eastern Railway capitalized their unexpected run with a final victory over Assumption College (Changanacherry) to win the 5th JCI All India Invitational Basketball Tournament, held in Athirampuzha in Kottayam district, Kerala. In the Men's Final that followed, Bangalore's outfit Vijaya Bank blew out Customs (Chennai) for a resounding victory.

- ONGC were back atop the podium the next week, defeating IOB once again in Mumbai to win the 9th Savio Cup in Mumbai. Although they started as favourites to hold on to their title, Southern Railway had to battle till the very end and use every bit of their talent and experience to outlast the spirited hosts Maharashtra in the Women's final.

- Goa played host to the 2014 Lusofonia Games, and Indian Basketball Men's team gave the home fans a real reason to celebrate. Under Head Coach Scott Flemming, India defeated Angola in thrilling fashion to win gold at the Games' basketball tournament. They were undefeated through the course of the tournament. India's Women's team - comprising mostly of under-21 players - finished with a bronze medal. Mozambique won Women's gold.

- Former NBA point guard Muggsy Bogues returned to India for his second trip in the first week of February. Bogues took part to assist the first season of the Reliance Foundation Jr. NBA programme in the country: he visited Mumbai and Kochi to train the hundreds of players and coaches involved in the events.

- February also offered some sobering news as basketball was de-registered as a sport in Jammu and Kashmir by the Jammu and Kashmir State Sports Council (JKSSC), ending all funding for the sport in the state.

- The 64th National Basketball Championship for Men and Women was delayed in 2014 and finally tipped off near the end of February in New Delhi. The delay wasn't the only anomaly: Chhattisgarh's Women ended a 10-year dominating run by Indian Railways at the Senior Nationals by defeating the pre-tournament favourites in the finals to snatch the winner's trophy. Meanwhile in the Men's section, Tamil Nadu's played some brilliant basketball through the course of the tournament and defeated Punjab to secure gold. Tamil Nadu's Rikin Pethani and Chhattisgarh's Kavita Kumari were given the Harish Sharma Most Valuable Player trophies at the end of the tournament, an award named in honour of the BFI's former CEO who passed away two years ago. Former NBA Head Coach Del Harris was a special guest at the nationals and held a 'Train the Trainers' clinic for attending and local coaches and players.

- In mid-April, ONGC (Men) and Southern Railway (Women) defended their titles at 2014 Advani Memorial Basketball Tournament in Jaipur (Rajasthan). Southern Railway's Kokila Subramani (Women) and ONGC's Amrit Pal Singh (Men) were named MVPs.

- After six months of action in eight cities, the finals of the 1st BFI-IMG Reliance National School/College League were held over five days in early May in New Delhi. Teams from Ludhiana and Chennai made their home cities proud with championship medals.

- In mid-May, India's Men's National Team took care of business at the 3rd South Asian Basketball Championship in Kathmandu (Nepal) dismantling four South Asian winners in efficient victories and qualifying for the 5th FIBA Asia Cup in Wuhan (China).

Photo courtesy: Ekalavyas

- The 64th Junior National Basketball Championship for Under-18 Boys and Girls - held at Kochi (Kerala) from May 26th to June 2nd - came down to a double rematch in both the divisions from last year's Finals. Chhattisgarh defended the girls' title with a second consecutive Final victory over hosts Kerala. Punjab's Boys redeemed themselves after last year's loss in Cuttack to snatch the title over Delhi with a win in the Boys' finale. Punjab's Arshpreet Singh (Boys) and Chhattisgarh's Sharanjeet Kaur (Girls) were named MVPs.

- NBA point guard Isaiah Thomas - who was with the Sacramento Kings until the summer and is now with the Phoenix Suns - visited India in June 2014. Thomas spent time in Mumbai and Chennai, where he visited schools, community organizations, and conducted youth clinics. He also joined the NBA's official broadcaster in India Sony SIX to provide analysis of the NBA Finals.

- Three Indian players - Vishal Gupta (Andhra Pradesh), Ashish Briggs (Madhya Pradesh), and Mahipal Singh (Rajasthan) - were invited to NBA/FIBA's Basketball Without Borders camp in Taipei from June 13-16. There were among 50 of the top young players from Asia and Oceania at the camp.

- By defeating Bangladesh and Sri Lanka on consecutive nights in July at the Koramangala Indoor Stadium in Bengaluru, India's U18 men's squad won gold at the South Asian Basketball Association (SABA) Qualifiers for the 23rd U18 FIBA Asia Championship. They qualified to represent South Asia at the U18 FIBA Asia tournament in Doha (Qatar).

- The highlight of 2014 - and really, one of the All Time highlights in Indian basketball history - was India's campaign at the 5th FIBA Asia Cup in Wuhan. In their second game of the tournament India defeated hosts and Asia's top squad China on their home soil, 65-58, in the 'Wonder of Wuhan'. India gave a scare to the continent's other top teams, and despite the Quarter-Final exit and just a seventh place finish, Flemming's team displayed performances on court that are sure to earn them respect in major Asian tournaments in the future. Iran eventually recaptured gold the gold by defeating Chinese Taipei in the final. The tournament was also notable for the flare-up of the nasty FIBA Headgear controversy, hurting India's Sikh star players Amjyot Singh and Amrit Pal Singh.

- Back home, former Portuguese basketball coach, general manager, television analyst, and ambassador Carlos Barroca was chosen to replace Troy Justice as the Senior Director of Basketball Operations for NBA India.

- India's junior boys' squad disappointed at the 23rd FIBA Asia U18 Championship in Doha (Qatar), finishing 13th (last), losing two of their three Preliminary Round games and failing to qualify for the next stage of the tournament. China played fantastic basketball through the course of the 10-day tournament and made this their 11th gold overall in the tournament. The FIBA Headgear controversy returned, as India's Anmol Singh was forced to remove his turban in the first game against Qatar.

- In mid-August, NBA India launched the biggest ever iteration of the NBA Jam, the hugely popular college basketball and youth festival, spreading out to 16 cities and involving a greater number of young Indian basketball fanatics than ever before.

- On August 29, Indian basketball superstar Geethu Anna Jose added another feather to her cap by being officially conferred the Arjuna Award - prestigious national award handed to sports-persons in India by the Government of India - by President Pranab Mukherjee at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi. Jose became the 17th basketball player in India to receive this award, but only the first since 2001. She was also only the second women basketball player to win the Arjuna Award since Suman Sharma in 1991.

- With the expectation to engage over 750,000 youth basketball players and train PE teachers at more than 1,000 partner schools across India, the Reliance Foundation Jr. NBA programme returned with a bang for it's second year in early September, expanding from three Indian cities to eight. The programme focus was on inspiring youth to adopt a healthy, active lifestyle by integrating basketball into each participating school’s physical education curriculum.

- There was massive expansion elsewhere, too. By the end of September, the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) and IMG Reliance announced the new seasons of the Indian School Basketball League (ISBL) and the Indian College Basketball League (ICBL), to be held in 22 and 21 Indian cities respectively. Over 1100 institutions and 13,000 combined school or college students - both men and women - were set to participate in the ISBL and ICBL in 24 total cities.

- India's Senior Men's and Women's National teams played at the basketball tournaments at the 17th Asian Games in Incheon (South Korea). Topsy-turvy performances by India saw some positive moments but also left a lot to be desired. India's Men finished 12th (out of 16) and Women finished 6th (out of 11). South Korea defended their home turf in style, as both their Men and Women's squads outperformed higher-ranked squads to secure the gold medal.

- In mid-October, at the 31st Youth (U16) National Basketball Championship for Boys and Girls in Chandigarh, Tamil Nadu defeated Kerala in both the boys' and girls' finals to win double gold medals. TN's star performers through the course of the tournament - Eshwar PB (Boys) and Ishwarya J (Girls) - were named MVPs.

- With a victory over rivals Japan in the final, the Chinese eves completed a three-peat of titles at the FIBA Asia U18 Championship for Women in Amman (Jordan) on Friday, October 17th. This was China's 14th overall title in the 22nd edition of the tournament as they continued to be the driving force in junior Asian women's basketball. India, who played in the tougher Level I of the tournament, lost all their preliminary group games but won the crucial Level I qualifier against Malaysia to remain in the higher fray of the competition for 2016.

- From October 15-19, the city of Bengaluru hosted the inaugural Mulki Sunder Ram Shetty All India Basketball tournament, a men's championship that featured six of India's top club level or state teams. After five days of high-notch basketball, the tournament was settled with a comfortable final win by Indian Overseas Bank - IOB - against their Chennai city rivals ONGC.

- Three-time former NBA champion Bruce Bowen visited India to take part in NBA Jam and Reliance Foundation Jr. NBA events at Kolkata, Gurgaon, Chandigarh, and Ludhiana in early November.

- India's senior men and women took part in the 2014 Asian Beach Games 3x3 Basketball tournament in Phuket (Thailand). After an undefeated run, India's Men were finally defeated in the final by Qatar and had to settle for the silver medal. India's Women - reigning champs from 2012 - could not repeat their success after choosing to send a far less experienced team to Phuket. India lost all three of their games to finish at seventh place.

- Madhya Pradesh (Boys) and Kerala (Girls) lifted the winner's trophies at 41st Sub-Jr National Basketball Championship for Boys and Girls in Nashik (Maharashtra), with both teams defeating Chhattisgarh in the final. The MVP awards were handed to Kerala's Sreekala R (Girls) and MP's Mani Thakur (MP).

- NBA Commissioner Adam Silver closed his first year as the head-honcho of the league with his first-ever visit to India, and he brought along Kings' Indian-born owner Vivek Ranadive and former Kings/Lakers player Vlade Divac. Silver, Ranadive, and Divac spent their time in Mumbai, visiting a school as part of the Reliance Foundation Jr. NBA programme and interacting with the Indian press.

- 2014 NBA Jam National Finals conclude in Pune on December 7. Punjab Warriors (Boys) and Pune Ballers (Girls) were crowned the national champions.

- Towards the end of December, New Delhi hosted the national finals of the Indian School Basketball League (ISBL) and Indian College Basketball League (ICBL), featuring the winning 40 school and college teams in the men's and women's divisions from 10 cities. After seven days of exciting hoops action, the representatives of two cities - Chennai (Tamil Nadu) and Ludhiana (Punjab) - separated themselves from the rest of the pack to win their respective 2014 titles.

- On the eve of the launch of the 65th Senior National Championship in Bhilwara (Rajasthan), the BFI named December 28th as the official 'Indian Basketball Day', in honour of the late former BFI CEO Harish Sharma on his birthday. On this day, the best players in the country took part in Men and Women's All Star games and a Slam Dunk contest. Cultural performances, prize distribution, and a remembrance ceremony for Sharma was also held.

It was indeed a year to remember, and India can take heed in successes at the Lusofonia Games, the FIBA Asia Cup, and the Asian Beach Games internationally. Back home, the involvement of new cities in grassroots programmes will play a big role in the future development of basketball talent. The interest shown from FIBA and the NBA, as well as the continuing growth of the BFI, promise bigger things ahead for 2015.

65th Senior National Basketball Championship tips off in Rajasthan with Indian All Star Game

It may be the 'Holiday Season' for most of the world, but for the top talents of Indian basketball, the most serious time of the year has begun. At Bhilwara in Rajasthan, 51 combined Men and Women's teams from across the country have assembled to take part in the biggest event in the nation's domestic hoops calendar: the Senior Nationals. The 65th Senior National Basketball Championship for Men and Women tipped off in Bhilwara on Monday, December 29th. The championship is being organised by the Bhilwara District Basketball Association in collaboration with the Rajasthan State Basketball Association under the aegis of Basketball Federation of India (BFI) and IMG-Reliance.

A day before the launch of the championship, the BFI celebrated 'Indian Basketball Day' in honour of late CEO Harish Sharma. On this day, the best players in the country took part in Men and Women's All Star games and a Slam Dunk contest. Cultural performances, prize distribution, and a remembrance ceremony for Sharma was also held.

27 men’s teams and 24 women’s teams are participating in this event that will be played in a league-cum-knockout format. The last iteration of the tournament was held in March 2014 at New Delhi and won by Tamil Nadu (Men) and Chhattisgarh (Women).

On the first day of the tournament, Kerala's Women started off with a dominant victory over Andhra Pradesh 78-39, as two Suryas from each side battled against each other. Kerala were led by Surya PR, who scored 19 points, while Jeena PS added 17. For AP, A Surya scored 23 in the loss. In another dominant showcase of talent, Tamil Nadu's women doubled the output of Uttar Pradesh to blow them out 72-36. Sunita led all scorers on the game with 20.

In an early Men's game, Indian Railways took a 10 point lead over Chhattisgarh in the first quarter, and held on to their advantage till the very end en route to a 76-66 win. M. Mishra (25) and H. Singh (16) were leading scorers for Railways, while AP Singh (20) and Kiranpal S (18) were the high scorers in a losing effort for Chhattisgarh.

The Indian basketball fraternity celebrated 'Indian Basketball Day' on Sunday, December 28th in honour of the late Harish Sharma's birthday. Senior BFI officials such as RS Gill, Ajay Sud, Nandini Basappa, K Govindraj, PJ Sunny and Naresh Aneja (FIBA Commissioner) spoke on the occasion and recalled Sharma’s contribution to the sport. Sharma had been instrumental in inking the long term contract with IMG-Reliance in 2010 that has led to a drastic improvement in facilities for the players, coaches and others involved in the sport.

As part of the ‘Indian Basketball Day’ festivities, two exhibition All Star matches were played that featured the top men and women players in the country. A Slam Dunk contest was also held for the high-fliers in the men’s division which was won by Amjyot Singh from Indian Overseas Bank (IOB), Tamil Nadu. Amjyot, of course, is famous for another dunk earlier this year against China that capped off India's historic win over China at the FIBA Asia Cup.

India's Senior national men's 3x3 team, comprising of Pratham Singh, Yadwinder Singh, Vishesh Bhriguvanshi and Amrit Pal Singh, were felicitated for their silver-medal winning effort at the Asian Beach Games in Phuket earlier this year.

Selected Scores

Women

• Kerala (Surya PR 19, Jeena PS 17) bt Andhra Pradesh (A Surya 23) 78-39 (27-6, 18-9, 11-14, 22-10).
  
• Tamil Nadu (Sunita 20, Ramya 15) bt Uttar Pradesh (R Gour 13) 72-36 (17-4, 16-12, 23-16, 16-4).
  

Men

• Indian Railways (M Mishra 25, H Singh 16) bt Chhattisgarh (AP Singh 20, Kiranpal S 18, KS Kumar 15) 76-66 (25-15, 17-20, 16-17, 18-14).
  

December 28th named 'Indian Basketball Day' in honour of Harish Sharma

If you live and breathe basketball, every single day is a cause for celebration, for playing or watching your favourite game and for honing your skills. But to further raise awareness for the growing status of the sport in India, the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) has announced a special day in honour of desi hoops, a birthday for Indian basketball.

(And it's today! Cue the music!)

In honour of the late Harish Sharma, the former CEO of the BFI and the visionary leader who helped Indian basketball take several steps forward during his 11-year tenure at the head of the Federation, the BFI has named today - December 28th - as 'Indian Basketball Day'. Sharma was born on this day in 1958 and passed away at the age of 53 in February 2012.

"What basketball is today is because of Harish Sharma," the BFI communicated through their official social media account, "He is and will always be known as the true Godfather of Indian Basketball. Thank you for all that you've done, you've provided the foundation that Indian basketball needed. It is now up to the rest of us to take what you taught us and build the sport to the top."

The announcement has come been just days before the commencement of the 65th National Basketball Championship for Men and Women - India's biggest domestic basketball tournament - in Bhilwara (Rajasthan).

So if you love Indian basketball, go out and celebrate the game on its first official birthday. Play hoops, watch hoops, and learn about Indian hoops. My word of selfish advice? Start here on this very blog: read through the articles in the past to learn more about Indian basketball events and players.

Starting this year, I will also share a gift with Indian hoop fans every Indian Basketball Day. This year's gift? Here is the full-length video of India's greatest ever basketball victory, the 'Wonder of Wuhan', an upset over Asian giants China at the 5th FIBA Asia Cup in July. There was no bigger moment for India in 2014!

Easier said than done: Solutions for the NBA’s worst teams

There are several NBA teams with problems. Some teams are dealing with injuries that have plagued their season. Some can’t score. Some can’t defend. The worst among them can’t do either. Some have a personnel that doesn’t fit together. Others have a personnel that can’t stand the sight of each other. Flirting with masochism, I’m diving nose-deep into the concerns of the NBA’s four worst teams and offering quick and ultimately pointless solutions. Let’s just say that they are easier said than done...

Click here for my full feature on SportsKeeda.

Chennai and Ludhiana dominate 2014 Indian School/College League national finals

The confluence of different teams from different Indian cities on the same court created a mishmash of basketball creativity, with each region or city champion determined to prove that their style and talent be crowned as the nation's best. This past week, New Delhi hosted the national finals of the Indian School Basketball League (ISBL) and Indian College Basketball League (ICBL), featuring winning 40 school and college teams in the men's and women's divisions from 10 cities. After seven days of exciting hoops action, the representatives of two cities - Chennai (Tamil Nadu) and Ludhiana (Punjab) - separated themselves from the rest of the pack to win their respective 2014 titles.

After the four finals on Sunday, December 21 at Delhi's Thyagaraj Stadium, the winners were:

• ISBL Girls: Government School (Ludhiana) defeating Santhome School (Chennai).
  
• ISBL Boys: Vellamal School (Chennai) defeating Modern School (Delhi).
  
• ICBL Women: Government College for Girls (Ludhiana) defeating Rajasthan College (Jaipur).
  
• ICBL Men: Sathyabama Engg. College (Chennai) defeating Kirorimal College (Delhi).

This season's expanded ICBL and ISBL were held over three months across a record 24 cities around India, bringing together 13,000 players from over 1100 institutions. The leagues were organized by the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) and IMG Reliance.

In the ISBL girls' semi-finals a day earlier, Government School (Ludhiana) had defeated Montfort School (Delhi), while Santhome School (Chennai) got the better of Mallaya Aditi International (Bengaluru). In the ISBL boys' semi-finals, Modern School (Delhi) had to beat Nav Bharti (Ludhiana) to progress to the finals, while Vellamal School (Chennai) proved to be the victors against Bhavan's Prominent (Indore).

In the ICBL women's semi-finals, Rajasthan College (Jaipur) outlasted MOP Vaishnav (Chennai) and Government College for Girls (Ludhiana) defeated Ra Podar College (Mumbai). In the ICBL Men's semi-finals, Sathyabama Engg. College (Chennai) beat Skit College (Jaipur), while Kirorimal College (Delhi) were victors versus Islamia Karimia (Indore).

Apart from the on-court competition, attending players and coaches got a chance to participate in clinics conducted by India's National Senior Men's Coach Scott Flemming and National Strength and Conditioning Coach Tommy Heffelfinger.

There was also a first-ever national Skills Challenge, including a dunk contest, three-point contest, and more. Delhi's own reggae/dancehall crew the Reggae Rajahs performed at the finals as well.

2014 Indian School/College Basketball League National Finals begin in New Delhi

Whatever your city, your school, your college, or your favourite player, there is sure to be enough drama for the basketball fan in New Delhi over the next week. It took three months of action in 24 cities, bringing together over 13,000 players from over 1100 institutions, and now, finally, the Finals are here. The national finals of the expanded Indian School Basketball League (ISBL) and Indian College Basketball League (ICBL) - organized by the Basketball Federation of India and IMG Reliance - tipped off at the Thyagaraj Stadium in New Delhi on Monday, December 15. 40 school and college teams in the men's and women's divisions from 10 cities around India are battling for the ultimate honours: becoming national ISBL/ICBL champions after the finals on December 21.

The revamped BFI-IMG Reliance ISBL/ICBL tipped off in late September this year with ambitious expansion to various new cities and the involvement of many new schools and colleges in the programme this year. The tournament featured teams two different formats for each division in the ISBL and ICBL: the Premier League and the Challenger League.

Each of the winners of the Premier League cities are now in New Delhi vying for the national crown, while the Challenger League winners will be getting a chance to win promotion into the upper league. Four categories of national champions will be crowned from the Premier League cities: Men’s National College Champion, Women’s National College Champion, Boy’s National School Champion, and Girl’s National School Champion.

“These leagues have given a much needed platform for players to garner attention from scouts and coaches and that bodes well for students who aspire to make a career in basketball,” said BFI's CEO Roopam Sharma in a report to Ekalavyas.com. “This is the first and most important step in creating a sustainable basketball ecosystem that will nurture and develop talent across India and based out on the turnout at the city levels, I except an exciting and competitive Finals that will help further promote the game. My best wishes to all the national finalists and I hope all the participating teams in both the leagues enjoy themselves and learn more about the game, so they come back stronger next season.”

The total prize money for all the categories is valued at Rs. 43 lakhs. Winnings teams will also be rewarded with court refurbishments at the school or college. Runners-ups will also get support on improving basketball infrastructure in their educational institutions.

“The Indian School Basketball League and Indian College Basketball League are the first national multi-city, pan-India events of their kind and represent a key milestone in the Basketball Federation of India and IMG Reliance partnership," said Ashu Jindal, the CEO of IMG Reliance, "Together, for the past four years, we have been working to grow the sport of basketball and improve the technical quality of play in India; through these leagues, youngsters in over 22 cities have been exposed high quality, structured league competition for the first time. The response we have gotten from schools and colleges is phenomenal, this year an unprecedented 13000 young cagers have participated in the three month leagues and we look forward to reaching out to more players every year."

Apart from the on-court competition, attending players and coaches will also get a chance to participate in clinics conducted by India's National Senior Men's Coach Scott Flemming and National Strength and Conditioning Coach Tommy Heffelfinger.

There will also be the first-ever national Skills Challenge, which will include a dunk contest, three-point contest, and more.