India's Men squad head to Chinese Taipei for 2017 William Jones Cup: Roster, Schedule, Preview

India's big summer of international basketball action continues. After the women's team's experiences at the William Jones Cup last week, the Senior Men's squad will have their chance at the prestigious invitational tournament in Chinese Taipei. Under a new, experienced head coach, but minus several of our top players, India heads to Chinese Taipei for the 2017 William Jones Cup - the Men's tournament - to be held from July 15-23 at the Taipei Heping Basketball Gymnasium in Taipei. The tournament will serve as crucial practice for India as they prepare for the summer's biggest extravaganza: next month's FIBA Asia Cup in Lebanon.

India's squad from the 2017 BRICS Games last month

This year's large fray of the round robin championship will feature ten teams, including international squads from Asia and a couple of club teams from the rest of the world. India's schedule will be jam-packed, with nine games in nine consecutive days. Participating teams include two host Chinese Taipei teams, Asian champions Iran, Philippines, Japan, South Korea, Iraq, and club sides from Lithuania and Canada.

Last year's the Philippines' club squad Mighty Sports won the William Jones Cup. India showed potential but finished with a 1-7 record. Memorably, a couple of important Indian players arrived late to Chinese Taipei because of a visa issue.

India will not be held back by visa problems this year, but injuries and travel will reduce the team to a more depleted squad, compared to what the coaching staff will hope will be the full team for Lebanon. India is being led by Rikin Pethani as captain and will feature international star Amjyot Singh. Missing from action will be Vishesh Bhriguvanshi and Yadwinder Singh (injury) and Amritpal Singh, Palpreet Singh, and Satnam Singh (busy with international club obligations). Their absence will give other veterans and up-and-comers like Pratham Singh, Basil Philip, Prudhvi Reddy, Baladhaneshwar Poiyamozhi, Gurvinder Singh Gill, and Prasanna Sivakumar a chance to shine.

All the spotlight, however, will be on Phil Weber, newly-hired coach of the Indian Men squad - even though at the time of writing, the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) is set to finalise his contract or make an official announcement. Weber is an experienced NBA assistant coach who is currently working for the New Orleans Pelicans alongside Alvin Gentry and has worked in the past for the Phoenix Suns and the New York Knicks. This will be the first opportunity for Weber to put to test about ten days of practice time with the national team and get an idea of how India will shape up against top-ranked teams from the region (and beyond). Assisting him in India's coaching staff will be experienced national coaches Bhaskar Sappaniambalam and Sebastian Padipurakkal Joseph.

India Men's roster for 2017 William Jones Cup

• Prudhvi Reddy
• Anil Kumar Gowda
• Arjun Singh
• Pratham Singh
• Basil Philip
• Jeevanantham Pandi
• Rikin Pethani - captain
• Amjyot Singh
• Baladhaneshwar Poiyamozhi
• Gurvinder Singh Gill
• Prasanna Venkatesh
• Muin Bek Hafeez
• Head Coach: Phil Weber
• Assistant Coach: Bhaskar Sappaniambalam
• Assistant Coach: Sebastian Padipurakkal Joseph
• Manager: Devender Kumar

India Men's schedule for 2017 William Jones Cup - all timings IST

• July 15 - Iraq vs. India - 8:30 AM
• July 16 - India vs. South Korea - 8:30 AM
• July 17 - Chinese Taipei Blue vs. India - 4:30 PM
• July 18 - India vs. Iran - 12:30 PM
• July 19 - Atletas All-Star Lithuania vs. India - 8:30 AM
• July 20 - India vs. Chinese Taipei White - 12:30 PM
• July 21 - 3D Canada vs. India - 8:30 AM
• July 22 - India vs. Philippines - 10:30 AM
• July 23 - India vs. Japan - 12:30 PM

India's last international outing was at the 2017 BRICS Games in Guangzhou, China, from where they returned with a 0-3 record. Without Amritpal and Bhriguvanshi on the roster for the William Jones Cup, a lot of hopes will be on Amjyot Singh to be India's star man. Coach Weber will be putting a lot of trust on relatively inexperienced role players beyond the core of Amjyot, Pethani, Pratham, and Venkatesh, but that is why a tournament like this can be crucial to help the team get big match practice.

India's most winnable challenge will be in their very first game, against Iraq. The rest of the national teams are ranked higher than India and the club squads are likely to post a major threat, too. Playing against Iran will give India a good idea of the team they are also scheduled to face in their preliminary round stage at the FIBA Asia Cup.

The 2017 FIBA Asia Cup will be the biggest-ever iteration of the event, featuring the top teams from both the Asia and Oceania regions, held from August 8-20 in Beirut, Lebanon. India are in Group A of the tournament with defending champions Iran, Jordan, and Syria. Hopefully, Weber and the team are able to learn important lessons at the William Jones Cup over the next ten days and have a full, healthy squad available for the bigger challenge ahead.

William Jones Cup 2017 (Women): Japan win; India finish 0-5

Under the leadership of a new, foreign head coach, India's women's team got off to a bumpy start in their first outing - the 2017 William Jones Cup in Chinese Taipei - but gained valuable experience against much-better squads to bring back home with them for the bigger challenge ahead.

India were one of six Women's teams that took part in the 39th William Jones Cup, a round robin tournament at the Changhua Gymnasium in Changhua in Chinese Taipei as a preparatory outing before the FIBA Asia Cup for Women destined to be held back at home in Bengaluru at the end of July. India were the only Division B team (the lower pool of the FIBA Asia Cup) at William Jones and lost all of their games to end at the bottom of the table. Nevertheless, the tournament turned out to be crucial for new Serbian head coach Zoran Visic to tinker with the team's lineups, instill some of his coaching style and philosophies, and provide the women with necessary competitive-game experience.

Three teams - Japan, New Zealand, and Chinese Taipei Blue - finished with identical 4-1 records to top the tournament fray, with a total of 9 points each and identical 1-1 records against each other. Japan, the current Asian champions, held the tie-breaker differential between the three teams with +1.07, and thus were named champions.

India's squad was captained by veteran star Anitha Paul Durai and feature other talents to watch like Jeena Scaria, Kavita Akula, Poojamol Subhashmon, and Shireen Limaye. Visic was joined in the coaching staff by veteran coach Shiba Maggon.

India's final scores at 39th William Jones Cup

• July 5: New Zealand bt. India 75-52
• July 6: Japan bt. India 93-42
• July 5: South Korea bt. India 56-51
• July 5: Chinese Taipei Blue bt. India 113-59
• July 5: Chinese Taipei White bt. India 79-41

India's 0-5 record dropped them to sixth/last place in the tournament. India were definitely a pace slower than all of their Division A opponents, but played a great game against South Korea in the close loss. Visic relied on the team's eldest players - Raspreet Sidhu and Anitha Paul Durai - to play the bulk of the minutes for the team. Paul Durai, Jeena Scaria, and Sidhu were India's top three scorers. Kavita Akula, Rajapriyadharshini Rajaganapathi, and Shireen Limaye also got to play major minutes through the course of the tournament.

India will now come back home for the FIBA Asia Cup in Bengaluru from July 23-29. In an interview a few weeks ago, Coach Visic had told me that the team will have to overcome their relative inexperience if they hope to win Division B and be relegated to the higher division for the Cup's next iteration. After playing against tougher opponents in Chinese Taipei, India should find their group - with Sri Lanka and Uzbekistan - a little easier. They will have to overcome Division B's Group B winners next, most likely to be Lebanon or Kazakhstan. With a home crowd cheering behind him, let's hope that the team can bounce back to Asia's higher level.

India are participating in the men's William Jones Cup, too, set to begin in Chinese Taipei on July 15.

Youth Nationals 2017: Tamil Nadu (Girls) and Punjab (Boys) win gold in Hyderabad

A month ago, Tamil Nadu's Girls and Punjab's Boys rose among the best under-18 talents in the country to win the Junior Nationals gold in Puducherry. This week, it was deja vu of their younger sisters and brothers, as the two states repeated their incredible feat at the under-16 level, too.

Two of India's most-famed factories of young basketball talent - Tamil Nadu and Punjab - continued to stamp their authority at the game's youth level when both emerged as victors at the 34th Youth (U16) National Basketball Championship for Men and Women in Hyderabad. The eight-day tournament concluded at the famed Gachibowli Stadium in Hyderabad with the finals between the top remaining squads in the country on Saturday, July 8.

Tipping off on July 1st in Hyderabad, the 'Youth Nationals' were organised by the Hyderabad District Basketball Association (HDBA) under the aegis of the Telangana Basketball Association and the Basketball Federation of India (BFI). The prestigious championship featured 26 boys' and 25 girls' teams from all across the country.

This year's tournament marked a special high-point for Tamil Nadu's Girls, who have now won four consecutive gold medals at this event and played in five straight finals. In the final, TN clashed against Karnataka, who were India's U18 champions last year and, like TN, reached the final stage undefeated. With a fast start where they took a 14-point first-half lead, however, TN assured their intent of keeping their names on the trophy. Led by the duo of Monica Jayaseeli (23) and Pushpa (20), TN's first half helped secure a 70-53 victory and yet another impressive title. Reshma Ramesh scored 18 for Karnataka in the loss.

Despite being the training ground for so many of India's top players, Punjab hadn't made it to the medal rounds of the Youth Nationals since 2013. This year, however, they fielded a stacked up featuring young phenom Princepal Singh. In the final they faced a surprising Madhya Pradesh side who had risen dramatically from Level 2 to reach the podium stage. But what was supposed to be a blowout turned out to be a closely-contested matchup, as MP's talented wing players helped to neutralise the damage Princepal did in the inside. In a back and forth game where both teams exchanged leads throughout, it eventually ended up being clutch free throws made by Princepal in the game's last 20 seconds that helped secure a 80-77 victory for Punjab. Princepal ended up with 25 points on the day while Rajan (18) and Harsimranjit Singh (16) aided his cause in the win. MP's star player Divyaraj Singh Rathore scored 28 while his teammate Udayveer Yadav added 20.

For the prize and souvenir distribution ceremony, G Kishan Reddy (MLA & Floor Leader, BJLP, Telangana) was the chief guest and Dr V Ragothaman was the guest of honour. MVP awards given to Karnataka's Sanjana Ramesh (Girls) & Punjab's Princepal Singh (Boys). Princepal, you may recall is the same Punjabi youngster who last year won a $75,000 scholarship from the Spire Institute to train in USA. The BFI gave additional 'Most Promising Player' awards to Telangana's Arya Sreeramaneni (Girls) and MP's Divyaraj Singh Rathore (Boys).

The third/fourth place matchups were also held on Saturday. Last year's finalists Kerala defeated a strong Uttar Pradesh side 58-67, led by An Mariya Johny (17) and Ann Mary Zachariah (16). In the men's game, Andhra Pradesh capped off an unlikely surge in this year's tournament with a nail-biting victory over Haryana, 72-68. A Sai Pavan scored 21 for the winning side, assisted by SVV Sai Krishna's 17. Haryana were led by Anil (20), Mukesh (17), and Kapil Mor (17).

Final Scores

• Girls: Tamil Nadu (Monica Jayaseeli 23, Pushpa 20) bt Karnataka (Reshma Ramesh 18) 70-53 [18-14, 19-9, 16-14, 17-16].
• Boys: Punjab (Princepal Singh 25, Rajan 18, Harsimranjit Singh 16) bt Madhya Pradesh (Divyaraj Singh Rathore 28, Udayveer Yadav 20) 80-77 [19-18, 19-19, 20-21, 22-19].

Third/Fourth Place

• Girls: Kerala (An Mariya Johny 17, Ann Mary Zachariah 16) bt Uttar Pradesh 58-47 [16-7, 9-7, 17-13, 16-20].
• Boys: Andhra Pradesh (A Sai Pavan 21, SVV Sai Krishna 17) bt Haryana (Anil 20, Mukesh 17, Kapil Mor 17) 72-68 [15-16, 14-21, 25-11, 18-20].

Final Standings

Girls

• 1. Tamil Nadu
• 2. Karnataka
• 3. Kerala
• 4. Uttar Pradesh
• 5. Chhattisgarh

Boys

• 1. Punjab
• 2. Madhya Pradesh
• 3. Andhra Pradesh
• 4. Haryana
• 5. Uttar Pradesh

Vishesh Bhriguvanshi becomes first Indian signed to Australian basketball league NBL

Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia and the country's fifth-most populous city, is nearly 9,000 kilometres away from Varanasi, the ever-living, ancient Indian city in Uttar Pradesh. And yet, with the supreme power of basketball, one of Varanasi's most accomplished contemporary exports is going to turn that distance into dust with his newest incredible leap.

Bhriguvanshi, one of the most experienced and talented players produced by Indian basketball, has just made history by becoming the first player to be signed by Australia's top-tier basketball league, the National Basketball League (NBL). He has been offered a one-year training contract by the Adelaide 36ers for their forthcoming season, which is set to begin in October. This contract means that Bhriguvanshi will be a part of the team as a reserve to train with the club, but will only get to play if he replaces an injured player.

Bhriguvanshi (25) was part of a four-member contingent of top Indian players who were invited to the NBL's Draft Combine in Melbourne in April. A 6-foot-5 shooting guard, he clearly made an impression on the Adelaide scouts for his ability to lead a team from the backcourt. Bhriguvanshi's Indian squad teammate, Amritpal Singh, has also received serious NBL interest and will be part of a pre-season tour with the Sydney Kings. One of them will surely become the first Indian to play in the NBL.

"Vishesh is an exciting talent from India, renowned for his court presence and intuitive feel for the game," said Guy Hedderwick, the 36ers, CEO. "It’s great to have signed the first Indian player to the NBL and we’re looking forward to connecting with the Indian community during his basketball journey."

Bhriguvanshi spoke to Jamie Alter on The Times of India and acknowledged that the signing was a dream come true for him. "A league in India is what I always wanted, but we still lack in that, so this opportunity makes me feel on top of the world. The NBL is one of the world's biggest leagues after the NBA," said Vishesh. "Every player has a dream to play for a reputed league some day, and so it was my dream. Representing the nation is very different feeling, and I am definitely proud of that, but playing in a league like this has always been my dream and that is what keeps me motivated."

In keeping with that 'dreamy' theme, Bhriguvanshi will also join the Dream Basketball Academy in Adelaide for the 2017-18 season. It is this Academy that introduced Bhriguvanshi to the 36ers by the Dream Basketball Academy. The deal follows the success of former Adelaide 36ers and Dream Basketball Academy player, Terrance Ferguson, who was selected at pick 21 by the Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA Draft last month. Bhriguvanshi was also aided by My Sports Factory, a Coimbatore-based company that got in touch with Dream Basketball Academy to get the deal done.

"We look forward to this new relationship, not only with Vishesh, but with the whole of India," said Managing Director and Co-Founder of The Dream Basketball Academy Raheim Brown. "He will represent the Dream Academy and the Adelaide 36ers proudly for his country and himself. Following Terrance Ferguson’s success, NBA scouts are paying increased attention to the Dream Academy, the Adelaide 36ers and the NBL, as an alternative pathway to achieve an NBA career."

Bhriguvanshi, who had injured himself while playing for India at the BRICS Games 2017 last month, has recovered and is set to participate for the national team at the FIBA Asia Cup in Lebanon in August. He may head to Adelaide before that to begin training alongside the 36ers.

The 36ers have won four NBL titles in their franchise history, the second-most of any team in the league, but their last championship came back in 2002. They are currently coached by former NBA draftee Joey Wright and reached the NBL's semi-finals in the 2016-17 season led by Mitch Creek and Jerome Randle.

Getting a chance to make his NBL debut will be another great feather in Bhriguvanshi's hat. Born to a humble family in Varanasi (my hometown!) he has come a long way over the past eight years, becoming one of India's best young players, getting the post of national captain, dominating the domestic circuit with ONGC, and winning the MVP award of the recent season of the UBA Basketball League with the Bengaluru Beast. I have written extensively about Bhriguvanshi, who is perhaps the most-decorated athlete in India without mainstream name-recognition. Hopefully, this latest honour opens up doors for more opportunities for him and other Indian stars.

As we celebrate Bhriguvanshi's achievement, let us also take a moment to reflect on the first Indian to play professional basketball in Australia: Arjuna Award winner Geethu Anna Jose. The star of the Indian women team over the past decade Jose played for the Ringwood Hawks in 2006, won the MVP award in the Big V division, and played in the WNBL preseason in 2008.

Doordarshan plans to launch university sports leagues in India - including basketball

If you are an avid basketball watcher in India, you know that the grainy, technicolour coverage on state broadcasters Doordarshan and DD Sports have been our only option for domestic hoops for years. "Alternative" sports like basketball get little national media attention and, until the recent Ten Sports/UBA League partnership, have had to settle for the DD coverage for years. But Doordarshan - that eternal time machine to the 1980s - is now deciding to take a surprising step forward for the future of sports in India.

Last week, The Mint reported that Doordarshan is currently making plans to launch three different university sports leagues in India later this year, in basketball, tackle football (a modified form of American football) and kabaddi. According to Doordarshan's director general Supriya Sahu, the network has already initiated talks with a yet-unnamed American company that has experience in the university sports sector.

More details as reported by Harveen Ahluwalia on Livemint:

The idea, Sahu said, is to develop a public-private partnership in a bid to put in place a structure for university sports—beginning with the aforementioned sports and later expanding the format to others.
“DD Sports is in the process of reinvigorating the content of the channel and rebranding it to make it relevant for its target audience. Sports leagues are major content differentiators in the genre. It sees potential in university sports,” she said.
Once the leagues are in place, the plan is to air the zonal matches on the regional channels of Doordarshan and the finals on DD National. “However, all the matches will be aired on DD Sports. The leagues will be launched with a strategic publicity and promotion plan which includes cross-channel, print, radio and outdoor publicity,” said Sahu.

“The television rights for collegiate sports are widely contested for and are sold at huge prices in the US. It’s a multi-billion-dollar industry. To replicate this in India is a great proposition by Doordarshan, only if it is marketed, promoted and produced well,” said Tuhin Mishra, managing director and co-founder of sports marketing firm Baseline Ventures.

“Most of the developed sporting nations have grown on the back of strong university league infrastructure. In India, there is no structure for someone who wants to become a professional football or cricket player,” said Vinit Karnik, business head of ESP Properties, the sports and entertainment arm of media buying agency GroupM.

A university basketball league and circuit has existed in India for a long time, starting with the old All India University Tournament, which immediately morphed into the Association of Indian Universities (AIU) tournament that was most-recently run by the UBAU, bringing the best teams from all four Indian zones for a national championship. UBAU's intention was for this tournament to be inspired by the American NCAA basketball structure.

The Basketball Federation of India (BFI) along with their sponsors IMG-Reliance also launched the Indian College Basketball League (ICBL) several years ago, which at its height was held in 24 Indian cities. But the break-up within the BFI into two competing factions hurt the IMG-Reliance partnership and the ICBL has been in hiatus for the past two years.

It is unclear how Doordarshan's proposed university basketball league will differ or compete with the AIU championships or the ICBL, which will likely make a return soon. Of course, some shade of politics will be in the backdrop of these two competing university basketball events: the ruling BFI has been opposed by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports of the Government of India, and Doordarshan happens to fall fully under the government's lap. With a basketball league launched by Doordarshan itself, fans can at least be certain of guaranteed basketball broadcast of the games.

It is good to see that non-Cricket sports are getting more attention in India. According to Ahluwali's Livemint piece, there are currently six major sports leagues played across the country: Indian Premier League, Indian Super League, Pro Kabaddi League, Hockey India League, Premier Badminton League and International Premier Tennis League. Non-cricket leagues saw their franchise revenue growing 4.97% from Rs 201.2 crore in 2015 to Rs 211.2 crore in 2016.

All of these, however, are leagues where the athletes are not university students but professionals. No matter if the source is Doordarshan, the BFI, or the UBAU, I hope that a college/university basketball league can eventually gain more traction and popularity and usher in demand for a full, professional basketball league in India.

NBA's second Basketball School in India launched in New Delhi

What better place to get a basketball education than at school... with the NBA?

After the success of their first-ever Basketball School in Mumbai earlier this year, the NBA has followed up this week with the launch of its first Basketball School in New Delhi. NBA India announced that the school will be part of a network of tuition-based basketball development programs around the world open to international male and female players ages 6-18. The NBA School in New Delhi will be at the city's Apeejay School in Seikh Sarai.

The first NBA Basketball School globally was launched in Mumbai in April, as part of a multiyear agreement with India On Track (IOT), one of India’s leading sports management, marketing and development companies. Additional NBA Basketball Schools will be launched in India and around the world in the coming months.

The new initiative adds an additional layer to the NBA’s existing basketball development efforts, including the Jr. NBA, Basketball without Borders (BWB) and NBA Academies.

The Jr. NBA, the league’s global youth basketball participation program for boys and girls, will help identify young players who have the talent to attend NBA Basketball Schools. From there, the top players at each NBA Basketball School will have the opportunity to be selected to attend NBA Academies, the league’s network of elite basketball training centers around the world to develop top international male and female prospects. Registration to attend the NBA Basketball School is now open at indiaontrack.nba.com.

The NBA's first Academy in India also opened earlier this year, in Greater Noida.

Each NBA Basketball School will feature year-long, tuition-based programmes open to international male and female players ages 6-18. The NBA Basketball School curriculum, which is designed to help players, parents, coaches and organizations better understand the process of improvement, has been developed by the NBA’s Elite Basketball Development team in consultation with current and former NBA coaches, former NBA players, and player development experts. The comprehensive curriculum covers oncourt training, strength and conditioning, and basketball education for young players ages 6-18 and will be implemented by local coaches working directly with the NBA’s International Basketball Operations staff around the world.

India Women NT begin 2017 William Jones Cup campaign in Chinese Taipei today

It's been a little over a month since India hired Serbia's Zoran Visic to be the head coach of the Senior Women's National Basketball Team, with an eye for the marquee event of the summer: the 2017 FIBA Asia Cup for Women. Now, with about two weeks to go before the big tournament, Visic will get the first chance to see how the past month of practice and team-building has paid out as India's Women's NT have headed to Chinese Taipei to take part in the 39th William Jones Cup from July 5-9.

This will be a chance for India's first competitive games under the new coach. India's squad will be captained by veteran star Anitha Paul Durai and feature other talents to watch like Jeena Scaria, Kavita Akula, Poojamol Subhashmon, and Shireen Limaye. Visic will be joined in the coaching staff by veteran coach Shiba Maggon.

India are set to play against New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, and two local Chinese Taipei in the round robin tournament at the Changhua Gymnasium in Changhua, Taiwan. This is the first time India will play in the Women's tournament since 2011.

India roster for 39th William Jones Cup

• Anitha Paul Durai - captain
• Anjana Geetha
• Anmolpreet Kaur
• Barkha Sonkar
• Jeena Scaria
• Kavita Akula
• Navaneetha Udayakumar
• Poojamol Subhashmon
• Rajapriyadarshani Rajaganapathi
• Raspreet Sidhu
• Shireen Limaye
• Poonam Chaturvedi
• Head Coach: Zoran Visic
• Assistant Coach: Shiba Maggon
• Manager: Srinivasa Murthy

Last year, the South Korean team took the gold in the women’s tournament, while Japan and Chinese Taipei A finished second and third respectively.

Participating Teams: New Zealand, India, South Korea, Chinese Taipei Blue, Chinese Taipei White, Japan.

India's schedule at 39th William Jones Cup for Women - all timings IST

• July 5 - New Zealand vs. India - 11:30 AM
• July 6 - Japan vs. India - 11:30 AM
• July 7 - South Korea vs. India - 11:30 AM
• July 8 - India vs. Chinese Taipei Blue - 3:30 PM
• July 9 - Chinese Taipei White vs. India - 1:30 PM

"Our team is very fast, very quick, and they are very good athletes," Visic had told me in an extensive interview for Scroll last week. "So, we can work with this positive and to try as much as possible to cover the ‘negative’ part – our inexperience."

This tournament should serve as important match practice for India as the team gears up for the FIBA Asia Cup, the biggest tournament in Asia which will be hosted by India in Bengaluru this year. India will play in the men's edition of the William Jones Cup, too, which will be held in Chinese Taipei from July 15-23.

The William Jones Cup is a basketball tournament that has been held annually in Chinese Taipei since 1977. The tournament was named in honor of Renato William Jones, who was one of the founders of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA). One team represents each country, and that team could be the national team, a professional club, or a college team. The tournament will be played in a single round-robin format, and the final points tally will determine the placing of the teams.