Hyderabad, 4^th July 2017:  The 34^th Youth National Basketball Championship for Boys and Girls entered Day 4 today at the Indoor Stadium, Gachibowli in Hyderabad.

The Championship is being organized by the Hyderabad District Basketball Association under the aegis of the Telangana Basketball Association and the Basketball Federation of India.

Haryana, WB girls elevated to Level 1; TN girls stay undefeated

Tamil Nadu girls (3-0) stayed unbeaten by outclassing Madhya Pradesh (2-1) today. Both teams are assured of quarterfinal berths, but Tamil Nadu will look to win its final league match tomorrow against Maharashtra and end the league stages at the top of Group A. From the lower Level, West Bengal and Haryana have progressed to the upper Level 1, and simultaneously securing a spot in the pre-quarterfinals. West Bengal managed to keep a fighting Delhi side at bay, winning 61-58, while Haryana had it fairly easy against Odisha with a 53-41 victory.

Karnataka and Maharashtra girls too posted wins over Gujarat and Rajasthan respectively. The 4-0 Karnataka has finished as the top side in Group B and will take on the to-be-announced 4^th placed team from Group A in the quarterfinals.

Kerala and UP boys continue to impress

In the boys’ section, Kerala (3-0) beat Karnataka (2-1) in impressive fashion. The two sides were coming into this game undefeated and guaranteed of knockout berths. But it was defending champs Kerala who showed their class with a 75-45 drubbing of their southern neighbours. Kerala will face Rajasthan tomorrow while Karnataka takes on Delhi.

Later in the evening, in an overtly physical encounter, Punjab boys beat Maharashtra 75-58 to go 2-1 with 1 league match remaining. Meanwhile Haryana boys (2-2) drubbed Rajasthan (1-2) by 21 points to book their spot in the quarterfinals. In Group B action, Uttar Pradesh continued to impress by beating Tamil Nadu and ending their league rounds with perfect 4-0 records.

Results from Day 4 (4^th July 2017) until 6:00 pm

Girls

Level 1

Group A

1. Tamil Nadu (Monica Jayaseeli 19, Pushpa 15, Lakshmi Priya 11) bt Madhya Pradesh (Ruchi Patel 14, Rajvi Desai 10) 67-42 [17-17, 16-11, 22-7, 12-7]
2. Maharashtra (Khushi Dongre 21, Suzanne Pinto 16, Purvi Mahalle 8) bt Rajasthan (Shataksh Rathore 14, Akshita Jain 10) 70-34 [18-10, 20-8, 17-8, 15-8]

Group B

1. Karnataka (Sanjana Ramesh 19, Reshma Ramesh 11) bt Gujarat (Tanisha Shah 13) 59-38 [18-11, 19-6, 6-10, 16-11]

Level 2 to Level 1 Qualifying Matches

1. West Bengal (Jyothi Routh 16, Babita Das 13, Liza Deb 12) bt Delhi (Bharti 19, Khushi 18) 61-58 [15-16, 12-10, 17-15, 17-17]
2. Haryana (Ritika 16, Priyanka Gupta 14, Varsha 11) bt Odisha (Lipramayee Satapathy 16, Pragati Ray 12, Anuradha Seth 6) 53-41 [16-12, 17-13, 11-7, 9-9]

Level 2 Loser’s Knockout Quarterfinals*

*This is a standalone tournament for Level 2 teams that have already been eliminated from the main draw

1. Telangana (Arya A Sreeramaneni 12, G Sandhya 11) bt Goa (Katherine Barreto 4, Naomi Nunes 4) 49-15 [11-5, 22-2, 8-4, 8-4]
2. Himachal Pradesh (Pallavi Bramla 15, Ananya Sanoria 10) bt Jharkhand (Anu Oraon 13) 50-25 [15-8, 14-0, 12-13, 9-4]

Boys

Level 1

Group A

1. Kerala (Jerom Prince 23, Joshua Abraham 16, Abhishek Joseph Jason 12) bt Karnataka (Prashant Tomar 12, Pranav 11, Akshan 9) 75-45 [19-11, 26-9, 17-5, 13-20]
2. Haryana (Kapil Mor 29, Anil 14) bt Rajasthan (Rajveer Singh Bhati 19, Kuldeep Singh 15) 78-57 [13-12, 12-16, 24-19, 29-10]

Group B

1. Uttar Pradesh (Priyhanshu 34) bt Tamil Nadu (Gokul V 18, G R Balaji 11, R Harikara Prabhu 11) 65-59 [16-12, 15-19, 18-18, 16-10]
2. Punjab (Princepal Singh 20, Mani Singh 15, Harsimranjit Singh 14, Rajan 13) bt Maharashtra (Tanay Thatte 29, Arjun Yadav 14, Om Pawar 12) 75-58 [20-15, 9-12, 27-5, 19-26]

Level 2 Loser’s Knockout Quarterfinals*

*This is a standalone tournament for Level 2 teams that have already been eliminated from the main draw

1. Himachal Pradesh (Manmohan Singh 16, Abhay Dhadwal 13, Ajay Kumar 8) bt Odisha (Harshvardhan Nayak 10) 51-28 [27-5, 17-7, 3-8, 4-8]
2. Assam (Salew Kadete 16, Shivam Sunar 10) bt Jammu & Kashmir (Harithik Choudhary 30, Deepak Bhardwaj 7) 59-46 [20-9, 8-12, 14-15, 17-10]
3. Telangana (Vighneshwar Upadhyay 35, Aman Topno 15) bt Jharkhand (Prabhat Kr Mahato 12, Varun Raipat 11, Sushant Deep 10) 86-49 [15-18, 19-13, 26-12, 26-6]

Pending Results from Day 3 (3^rd July 2017) after 6:30 pm

Girls

Level 2

Group C

1. Haryana (Rupal 15, Varsha 10, Priyanka Gupta 6) bt Himachal Pradesh (Ramandeep Kaur 9, Ananya Sanoria 8) 55-25 [14-3, 15-7, 10-9, 16-6]

Group E

1. Jharkhand (Arpita Mohan 11, Anu Oraon 6) bt Bihar (Kavya Singh 14) 35-31 [14-12, 10-5, 6-6, 5-8]

Group F

1. Odisha (Lipramayee Satpathy 27) bt Assam (Lakshmi Kachari 13, Juhi Kedia 8) 42-23 [11-9, 16-9, 10-1, 5-4]

Boys

Level 1

Group A

1. Karnataka (Akshan Rao 23, Prashant Tomar 15, Nideesh Naik 11) bt Haryana (Mukesh 36, Anil 7) 70-66 [21-15, 14-21, 17-15, 18-15]

Group B

1. Tamil Nadu (Gokul V 27, G R Balaji 14, A Adhisiva 9) bt Chhattisgarh (Saif Ali Khan 19, Harendra Kumar 12) 69-46 [17-17, 20-11, 18-9, 14-9]

Bengaluru, 3^rdJuly 2017:  The Indian women’s basketball teamis all set to depart for the 39^th William Jones Cup International Basketball Tournament, which is being played from July 5^th to July 9^th 2017 in Taipei, Taiwan.

The team is led by veteran cager Anitha Paul Durai, and comprises Anjana PG, Barkha Sonkar, Raspreet Sidhu, Poojamol Subhashmon, Navaneetha P Udayaumar, Kavita Akula, Rajapriyadharshini Rajaganapathi, JeenaSkaria, ShireenLimaye, Poonam Chaturvedi, and Anmolpreet Kaur. The team is being coached by newly appointed Serbian Head Coach Zoran Visic, and Coach Shiba Maggon.

Ahana Puranik will be the team physiotherapist and Mr Srinivasa Murthy will be the team manager. Maniraj Moses Henry will be the international referee from India officiating at the event.

The William Jones Cup is a basketball tournament that has been held annually in 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.

The women’s team will depart in the wee hours of 4^th July, and arrive in Taipei in the afternoon. Their first game is against New Zealand, on 5^th July at 1500 hrs(local time). Their second game is against Japan, on 6th July at 1500 hrs. Their third game is against Korea, on 7^th July at 1500 hrs. Their fourth game is against Republic of China -A, on 8^th July at 1900 hrs. Their final game is against Republic of China -B, on 9^th July at 1700 hrs. All their games will be played at the Changhua Gymnasium, Changhua County, Taiwan.

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.

INDIAN CONTINGENT FOR THE 39^TH WILLIAM JONES CUP

Hyderabad, 3^rd July 2017:  The 34^th Youth National Basketball Championship for Boys and Girls witnessed Day 3 today at the Indoor Stadium, Gachibowli in Hyderabad.

The Championship is being organized by the Hyderabad District Basketball Association under the aegis of the Telangana Basketball Association and the Basketball Federation of India.

MP, Karnataka and Kerala girls through to the quarters

In girls’ Level 1 Group A games, Madhya Pradesh girls (2-0) continued to impress, with back to back wins against Rajasthan yesterday and against Maharashtra today. Rajvi Desai of MP was especially prolific, scoring 38 points in the close 62-57 win that has already guaranteed them a spot in the quarterfinals. Maharashtra meanwhile has gone 1-1. Both teams still have two league matches left to be played. In another Level 1 league match, bottom placed Punjab rallied to beat Rajasthan 50-18 and stay in the hunt for a spot in the pre-quarterfinals.

Meanwhile in girls’ Group B, Karnataka continued to steamroll past varied opponents. This time it was Uttar Pradesh at its mercy as the two ‘Rameshes’ of Karnataka, Reshma and Sanjana had 36 points between them in the 59-40 win. The 3-0 team from the south will be looking to top its Group as it takes on Gujarat tomorrow. Kerala girls (2-1) had an easy day as well, beating Gujarat 39-21 and setting up a finale league clash against Chhattisgarh (currently 1-1) on 5^th July.

Kerala, UP and Maharashtra progress

The relatively shorter Kerala boys’ team showed that size doesn’t matter as they more than made up for it with their hustle and intensity. After beating Haryana 85-75 late last evening, Kerala outclassed Delhi today in an intensely fought encounter. Kerala (2-0) is assured of a spot in the final 8, while Delhi (0-3) is one loss away from an inglorious league stage exit.

In boys’ Level 1 Group B, Uttar Pradesh beat Maharashtra 61-59 in an exciting back and forth game. Both teams — UP with a 2-0 record and Maharashtra which is 2-1 — are guaranteed of spots in the knockouts.

Delhi girls and AP boys knockout Telangana teams

From Level 2, Delhi girls (3-0) dashed the hopes of Telangana, and are now one step away from progressing to the pre-quarterfinals. Telangana has been knocked out of the competition after finishing 2^nd in their group. West Bengal girls have topped Group D beating Jammu & Kashmir 30-14.

In Level 2 boys, neighbours Andhra Pradesh’s full court defense proved too much to handle for Telangana, who fell 47-94. This was a must win game for both teams in order to stay in contention for the knockout rounds, and now Andhra Pradesh has topped Group F and will face West Bengal (the Group C topper) for a spot in the pre-quarterfinals.

Results from Day 3 (3^rd July 2017) until 6:30 pm

Girls

Level 1

Group A

1. Madhya Pradesh (Rajvi Desai 38, Asmat Kaur 8) bt Maharashtra (Siya Deodhar 12, Suzanne Pinto 11, Khushi Dongre 8) 62-57 [14-18, 13-8, 14-16, 21-15]
2. Punjab (Radha Rani 20, Heena 10) bt Rajasthan (Shataksh Rathore 8, Ankita M 7) 50-18 [18-8, 9-2, 16-4, 7-4]

Group B

1. Karnataka (Reshma Ramesh 18, Sanjana Ramesh 18) bt Uttar Pradesh (Vartika Kushwaha 18, Vrinda Garg 11) 59-40 [10-10, 10-12, 26-11, 13-7]
2. Kerala (Ann Mary Zachariah 13, Sumra Stanly 11) bt Gujarat (Tanisha Shah 8) 39-21 [14-4, 12-3, 6-9, 7-5]

Level 2

Group D

1. Chandigarh (Kamaljit Kaur 9) bt Uttarakhand (Rupali Dhanta 8) 24-11 [4-2, 5-0, 3-7, 12-2]
2. West Bengal (Jyothi Routh 7, Liza Deb 6) bt Jammu & Kashmir (Chitreshi Gupta 5) 30-14 [13-4, 3-0, 10-0, 4-8]

Group E

1. Delhi (Khushi Ahlawat 12, Bharti 10) bt Jharkhand (Soni Kumari 11) 48-22 [14-8, 16-1, 6-3, 12-10]
2. Delhi (Vanshita Singh 25, Bharti 13) bt Telangana (D Devi Reddy 13, K Jyothi 11) 71-52 [21-14, 16-12, 11-10, 23-16]

Group F

1. Andhra Pradesh (P Satya Sai Sushmita 12, A Surya Kamla Kumari 10, K Sudha Madhvi 8) bt Puducherry (Venus Gloriya 8, Rasika S 6) 52-19 [16-4, 8-3, 6-7, 22-5]

Boys

Level 1

Group A

1. Kerala (Jerom Prince 15, Abhishek Joseph 13, Tom Jose 11) bt Delhi (Nitish Beniwal 29, Sanskar Nagpal 13) 70-63 [13-17, 13-18, 26-16, 18-12]

Group B

1. Uttar Pradesh (Priyhanshu 17, Aniket Singh 13, Krishnakant Singh 10) btMaharashtra (Tanay Thatte 24, Kamlesh Rajbhar 12, Pritish Kokate 10) 61-59 [16-11, 12-11, 14-11, 19-26]

Level 2

Group C

1. West Bengal (Amarendra Nayak 26, Avijit Monikar 18) bt Chandigarh (Jaskaran Brar 18, Manpreet Singh 8) 56-40 [10-6, 12-9, 22-7, 12-18]
2. Himachal Pradesh (Manmohan Singh 19, Sahil Chandel 11) bt Jammu & Kashmir (Harithik Choudhary 8) 72-22 [25-4, 20-9, 19-5, 8-4]

Group D

1. Bihar (Bhupendra Bahadur 17, Dharmendar Kumar 12) bt Uttarakhand (Ansh Saini 19) 53-39 [12-14, 21-7, 10-4, 10-14]
2. Jharkhand (Munna Sharma 16, Sushant Deep 15, Deepak Barnwal 8) bt Gujarat () 52-49 [9-11, 18-9, 9-10, 16-19]

Group E

1. Madhya Pradesh (Divyaraj Singh Rathore 20, Udayveer Yadav 16) bt Assam (Salew Kadete 17) 61-43 [8-13, 18-10, 15-13, 20-7]

Group F

1. Goa (Jeshua Pinto 21, Primamsji Triparthi 7) bt Puducherry (Dharun Anand 5) 46-12 [14-3, 4-3, 11-5, 17-1]
2. Andhra Pradesh (M Mani 34, A Sai Pavan 22, V Sai Ganesh 10) bt Telangana (Rithwik Thammareddy 15, Vighneshwar Upadhyay 13, Vinay Kothari 12) 94-47 [18-5, 20-10, 17-16, 29-11]

Pending Results from Day 2 (3^rd July 2017) after 7:00 pm

Girls

Level 1

Group A

1. Madhya Pradesh (Rajvi Desai 17, Ruchi Patel 15, Kashivi Khandelwal 9) bt Rajasthan (Ankita Mandia 11, Shataksh Rathore 9) 63-36 [18-9, 14-16, 19-8, 12-3]

Boys

Level 1

Group A

1. Kerala (Tom Jose 21, Abhishek Joseph 17, Jerom Prince 11) bt Haryana  (Mukesh 23, Anil 17, Gaurav 13) 85-75 [21-17, 26-17, 14-21, 24-20]

Level 2

Group C

1. West Bengal (Avijit Monikar 22, Amarendra Nayak 21) bt Himachal Pradesh (Kabeer 14, Abhay Dhadwal 14) 66-48 [18-8, 10-10, 18-19, 20-11]

Group D

1. Jharkhand (Sushant Deep 17, Varun Raipat 11) bt Uttarakhand (Arin Singh 15, Ansh Saini 8) 57-25 [10-2, 10-6, 11-11, 26-6]

Bengaluru, 2^nd July 2017:  The 34^th Youth National Basketball Championship for Boys and Girls entered Day 2 today at the Indoor Stadium, Gachibowli in Hyderabad.

The Championship is being organized by the Hyderabad District Basketball Association under the aegis of the Telangana Basketball Association and the Basketball Federation of India.

Mr Narendra, MD of APLL, which is one of the sponsors of the event, and his wife Smt Aruna were the chief guests for the Telangana girls’ game played in the evening. For the Telangana boys’ game Smt Sofi Sam, the only international women’s player from Andhra Pradesh/Telangana was the chief guest.

Maharashtra, UP and Telangana boys post wins

In a significant league encounter this morning, last year’s runners up Uttar Pradesh continued to shine at the U16 level this year too, beating Punjab 68-62. UP (1-0) and Punjab (1-1) are both teams favoured to reach the decisive stages of the Championship so this clash between these strong teams was an excellent appetizer for things to come. Punjab centre Princepal Singh, who is already dominating at the National U18 level and only last month helped his state win the Junior National Championship had 21 points today, but it paled in comparison to UP’s Priyhanshu who scorched his way to 42 game winning points. Scores were tied at the end of the first quarter and remained almost neck and neck going into the halfime. Q3 saw UP pull ahead thanks to 5 straight points by Priyhanshu and by the start of the fourth period UP was up by 8 points, 54-46. Punjab’s Akashdeep Sharma hit 5 threes to complement Princepal, but eventually it was UP that secured the W.

Maharashtra boys beat Chhattisgarh by 1 point, 54-53. This was after they upset Tamil Nadu yesterday 69-67. Maharashtra is now 2-0 and is the top placed team in Group B, with 2 matches still to be played. Just like in the game against Tamil Nadu yesterday, yet again, it was Maharashtra’s captain Tanay Thatte who came through for his side. Tanay’s match-high 25 points also included two clutch freethrows in the final few seconds that secured the win.

Earlier in the morning, hosts Telangana boys opened with a lopsided 59-10 win over Puducherry in lower Level 2 action. Telangana will need to top its Group F and finish among the top two Level 2 teams in order to progress to the knockout stages.

In girls’ Level 1 play, Kerala overcame the disappointment of yesterday’s loss to Karnataka by beating Uttar Pradesh 69-48. Balanced scoring by Kerala, with 4 players posting 15 points or more made it hard for UP to contain their talented opponents. Defending champions Tamil Nadu girls had an easy victory over Punjab, while Karnataka continued to impress by beating Chhattisgarh 57-44.

Later in the evening, the Telangana boys returned to action against Goa, effortlessly beating them 67-22. Telangana boys will now face off against Andhra Pradesh in a blockbuster clash that will decide the winners of Group F. The Telangana girls meanwhile also cruised past Jharkhand 50-16 to go 2-0 in their group with one match remaining.

Results from Day 2 (2^nd July 2017) until 7:00 pm

Girls

Level 1

Group A

1. Tamil Nadu (Monica Jayaseeli 17, Pushpa 12) bt Punjab (Priyanka Behal 14, Radha Rani 7) 60-27 [24-13, 13-6, 11-8, 12-0]

Group B

1. Kerala (Anmariya Johny 17, Sandra KA 16, Aparna Sadasivan 15, Anagha Nair 15) bt Uttar Pradesh (Vartika Kushwaha 23, Muniba Ali 16) 69-48 [14-16, 13-12, 22-10, 20-10]
2. Karnataka (Sanjana Ramesh 19, Grishma N 17, Abigail Deepa 11) bt Chhattisgarh (Neha Karva 19, Elijabet Ekka 7) 57-44 [20-8, 7-9, 16-10, 14-17]

Level 2

Group C

1. Haryana (Suman 17, Ritika 9) bt Goa (Kimeron Vas 8, Naomi Nunes 7)36-15 [3-3, 13-5, 8-4, 12-3]

Group D

1. West Bengal (Jyothi Routh 22, Liza Deb 19) bt Chandigarh (Tarini Boprai 31, Nilisha 6) 61-50 [21-12, 13-14, 13-16, 14-8]
2. Uttarakhand (Divyangana 14, Kamaljit 12) bt Jammu & Kashmir (Chitreshi 4, Ananya 4) 22-8 [2-5, 10-3, 5-0, 5-0]

Group E

1. Delhi (Khushi 11) bt Bihar (Kushi Prakhar 2) 43-2 [10-2, 17-0, 14-0, 2-0]
2. Telangana (Khatrawath Jyothi 12, G Sandhya 8, K Geethika 8) bt Jharkhand (Arpita Mohan 8, Anu Oraon 4) 50-16 [18-4, 14-1, 6-4, 12-7]

Group F

1. Andhra Pradesh (P Sathya Sai 21) bt Assam (Lakshmi Kachari 6) 35-14[15-6, 5-1, 6-4, 9-3]
2. Odisha (Lipramayee 18) bt Puducherry (Monisha 4) 39-21 [8-2, 12-11, 12-4, 7-4]

Boys

Level 1

Group A

1. Rajasthan (Rajveer Singh Bhati 27, Digvijay Singh 14) bt Delhi (Nitish Beniwal 19, Aman Ahlawat 11, Sanskar Nagpal 6) 67-50 [13-12, 22-8, 14-16, 18-14]

Group B

1. Uttar Pradesh (Priyhanshu 42, Shubham Karwasara 9) bt Punjab (Princepal Singh 21, Akashdeep Sharma 17) 68-62 [12-12, 18-17, 24-17, 14-16]
2. Maharashtra (Tanay Thatte 25, Om Pawar 14, Arjun Yadav 4) bt Chhattisgarh (Ayushman Singh 16, Govind 15, Ritesh Yadav 9) 54-53 [17-21, 10-9, 9-11, 18-12]

Level 2

Group C

1. Jammu & Kashmir (Shivam Heer 43, Harithik Choudhary 19) bt Chandigarh (Jaskaran Brar 24, Abhinav Sharma 17, Sahaij Pratap Singh Sekhon 14) 79-76 [19-18, 16-20, 17-20, 27-18]

Group D

1. Gujarat (Rishabh Chaudhary 15, Jayraj Jadeja 11) bt Bihar (Md Wasit Ali Sufi 14, Dharmendar Kumar 11, Mannu Singh 10) 57-46 [16-13, 19-12, 10-14, 12-7]

Group E

1. Madhya Pradesh bt Tripura walkover*
2. Assam (Deepjyothi Brahma 16, Salew Kadete 11) bt Odisha (Harshvardhan Nayak 11, Ankit Barla 10) 67-44 [21-10, 14-7, 16-10, 16-17]

Group F

1. Telangana (Vighneshwar Upadhyay 21, Aman Topno 12) bt Goa (Daniel Godinho 4, Primamsji Triparthi 4) 67-22 [25-6, 11-4, 17-8, 14-4]
2. Telangana (Vinay Kothari 11, Vighneshwar 11, Sumant Marni 10) bt Puducherry (P Pavithran 6) 59-10 [22-4, 17-0, 14-4, 6-2]- This match was originally scheduled to be played on 1^st July but was subsequently postponed.
3. Andhra Pradesh (S V V Sai Krishna 14, M Mani Kanta 10) bt Puducherry (P Pavithran 9, D Nandagopalan 4) 77-19 [24-2, 13-8, 22-5, 18-4]

*The Tripura boys team has withdrawn itself from the Championship.

BEIRUT, Lebanon (FIBA Asia Cup 2017) – The finalized competition schedule for the Group Phase and the Final Phase of the FIBA Asia Cup 2017 has been announced.

Asia’s premier basketball event will tip off in the Lebanese capital at 13:30 local time on August 8 with Kazakhstan taking on debutants New Zealand in Group C action in Nouhad Nawfal Arena. The day will also see Group D action take place, before teams in Groups A and B take center stage the following day.

India is pooled along with Iran, Jordan and Syria in Pool A. India will play first match on Day 2 of the tournament against Iran.

The Group Phase concludes on August 13, with the top team from each group advancing to the Quarter-Finals. Teams that finish 2nd and 3rd in each Group will face off in the “Qualification to the Quarter-Finals” playoff games. The competition concludes with the Final taking place at 21:00 local time on Sunday August 20.

India’s Schedule:

9 August 2017: India v Iran

11 August 2017: India v Jordan

13 August 2017: India v Syria

Full schedule: Click here

Bengaluru, 30^th June 2017:  The 34^th Youth National Basketball Championship for Boys and Girls will be held at the Indoor Stadium, Gachibowli in Hyderabad from 1st to 8th July 2017.

The Championship is being organized by the Hyderabad District Basketball Association under the aegis of the Telangana Basketball Association and the Basketball Federation of India.

The opening ceremony will be held on Saturday, 1st July at 4 pm, with Shri T Padma Rao Goud (Minister for Sports and Youth Services as well as Excise & Prohibition) and Shri Dr Vivek Anand (Advisor to Government of Telangana & Chairman & Managing Director, Visaka Groups) as chief guests. Guests of honour include Shri G Kishan Reddy (MLA, BJP), Shri Burra Venkatesam (Telangana Principal Secretary, Youth Affairs & Sports), Shri K Govindaraj (President, BFI), Shri Chander Mukhi Sharma (General Secretary, BFI) and Shri Ragothaman (Treasurer, BFI). Special invitees include Shri Ranga Rao (President, Olympic Association of Telangana), Smt Dr Vidya Sravanthi (Co-option Member, GMHC), Shri S R Prem Raj (General Secretary, Olympic Association of Telangana) and Shri Arvind Krishna (Film Actor).

The fixtures and groupings have been announced. The prestigious Championship will feature 26 boys’ teams and 25 girls’ teams in the U16 age group, from various Indian States and Union territories, and will be played in a league cum knockout format.

The teams are grouped into two levels –Level 1 features the top 10 teams from the previous championship divided into two groups of five teams each (Group A and B), while Level 2 features the remaining teams divided into four groups (Group C, D, E, F).

In the league stages, all the teams play each of the other teams in their group once. The top three teams from each of the groups in Level 1 advance directly to the quarterfinals, while the fourth placed teams play pre-quarterfinal games against the top two teams from Level 2.

The competition is expected to be fierce beyond the immediate prospect of glory, because the teams that finish last in each of the groups in Level 1 are relegated to Level 2 for the next edition of the tournament, while the Level 2 teams that qualified for the pre-quarterfinals will replace them in Level 1 in the next edition

Over the years, this Championship has provided a platform for the country’s best players in the U16 category to showcase their talents. This allows selectors to identify and shortlist the most promising players and coaches to parachute into national team training camps with an eye towards participation in international events.

DELHI, Jun 30, 2017 – The National Basketball Association (NBA) today announced the launch of its first NBA Basketball School in Delhi, a network of tuition-based basketball development programs around the world open to international male and female players ages 6-18.  Apeejay School, Seikh Sarai, is the first center in Delhi for NBA Basketball School.

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 in Mumbai is now open at indiaontrack.nba.com. 

Each NBA Basketball School will feature year-long, tuition-based programs 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.

The NBA Basketball School in Mumbai and now in Delhi builds on the NBA’s existing basketball and youth development initiatives in India.  The Reliance Foundation Jr. NBA program has reached more than 3.5 million youth and trained more than 3,000 physical education instructors nationwide since its launch in 2013.  In November 2016, the NBA announced its plan to launch NBA Academy India, an elite basketball training center in Delhi National Capital Region (NCR) for the top male and female prospects from throughout India.  NBA Academy India, the first of its kind in the country, will open in May.

BENGALURU, India (FIBA Women’s Asia Cup 2017) – The official FIBA Women’s Asia Cup 2017 logo was revealed to the world via FIBA’s social media platforms on Wednesday.

The logo was designed to reflect three key elements – India, Basketball and the City of Bengaluru. They are represented through the tri-color (of the Indian flag) flames covering a basketball, with the Ashoka lion – the official Emblem of India – sitting on the peak of Vidhana Soudha, the Government of Karnataka building which is recognised across India and the world for its architecture.

The FIBA Women’s Asia Cup 2017 will take place in Bengaluru, India from 23-29 July, 2017.

Eight Division A teams will battle for the cup and bragging rights in Asia, while another eight teams will be hoping to clinch Division B and earn promotion to Division A for the 2019 edition.

Both Division A and Division B participating teams will be divided into two groups (A & B) of four teams each. Each team will play all the other teams in its own group a total of three games for each team.

Bengaluru, 22^nd October 2016: The Vijaya Bank organised 3rd Mulki Sunder Ram Shetty All India Basketball Tournament for Men 2016entered its knockout stages at Kanteerava Indoor Stadium in the city.  The tournament is being conducted under the aegis of the Basketball Federation of India and the Karnataka State Basketball Association.

Hosts Vijaya Bank set up a summit clash with fellow Group A rivals Indian Bank. The finals will be played tomorrow evening from 5:30 pmonwards. The third and fourth place match between Customs and Central Excise, Kochi vs SDAT, Chennai will be held earlier in the afternoon from 3:30 pm onwards.

Vijaya Bank bt Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu 106-75

Group A toppers Vijaya Bank took on Group B’s second placed team Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu (SDAT), Chennai in the first semifinal of the day.

The first quarter began in scary fashion for SDAT, with their starting centre P Vijay getting injured and found grimacing on the floor. Luckily, Vijay would stay on in the game and be the anchor of a full court press defense by SDAT that had Vijaya Bank in a spot of trouble. SDAT had started the game playing an active zone defence which Vijaya Bank had the measure of in the initial goings. The switch to the full court press did wonders for the side as they tied the game at 19 at the end of the first quarter, thanks to a buzzer beater by R Karthick. The fact that Vijaya Bank had brought in veteran Sanjay Raj, arguably the slowest player on court, did not help the hosts as SDAT were able to force Vijaya Bank into multiple turnovers and capitalize during the ensuing transition opportunities.

In the second quarter, Vijaya Bank started with back to back threes, first by former India point guard Rajesh Uppar, followed by another by shooting guard Anil Kumar. Two transition buckets followed and in a matter of minutes Vijaya Bank had opened up a 10 point lead. Small forward Karthickeyan then proved unstoppable with his repeated slashing drives to the basket.

SDAT Coach James Daniel could be overheard berating his young players to play better defence and the talk seemed to have a positive effect as P Vijay registered a huge block to spark an SDAT run. SDAT were able to bring it within five points midway through the second quarter before quick transition buckets by Anil Kumar had Vijaya Bank taking a 11 point lead, 48-37 going into the second half.

Having crucially weathered SDAT’s storm, all that Vijaya Bank needed to do in the second half was reduce their mistakes on both ends of the floor and look for quality possessions. On their part, SDAT would need to play a near perfect second half to have a chance for a comeback. Unfortunately that didn’t happen as they missed fairly open looks.

Vijaya Bank kept their scoring tempo going, building on their double digit lead to finish with a final score of 106-75 and memorably seal their maiden spot in the finals of their home tournament. India international PF/C Arvind Arumugam of Vijaya Bank was once again the top scorer with 30 points, benefiting from numerous easy putbacks.

Small forward S Karthickeyan of Vijaya Bank was named the player of the match and received a trophy and cash prize from Vijaya Bank’s former Olympian basketballer Dilip Gurumurthy.

Vijaya Bank (Arvind Arumugam 30, Anil Kumar 26, Karthik 21, Rajesh Uppar 11) bt Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu, Chennai(Justin 24, P Vijay 15, R Karthick 12) 106-75 [19-19, 29-18, 23-19, 35-19]

Indian Bank bt Customs and Central Excise, Kochi 78-75

Group B’s top team Customs and Central Excise, Kochi took on Group A’s second placed side Indian Bank, Chennai in the second semifinals.

Indian Bank started off with Tamil Nadu’s senior state player PS Arun in place of junior India captain P Baladhaneshwar. The move worked wonders as Indian Bank built up an early 9-2 lead.

Customs and Central Excise did not play former India international forward Eudrick Pereira (who sustained an injury in the previous game) and in his absence fellow international Basil Philip handled the bulk of the defensive load. Philip did a commendable job in hindering current senior India debutant Hariram Ragupathy.

In the second quarter, Customs started to pull away with Philip impacting the game on both ends of the floor. He was ably supported by PF/C Shinumon who played some strong defence down low. PS Arun of Indian Bank though kept the side close. Indian Bank’s P Baladhaneshwar finally made an entry into the game and provided some much needed spark, but Indian Bank’s defence still left a lot to be desired. The Bankers made a late surge with timely buckets to cut Customs’ lead to 4 at halftime.

At halftime, Customs led 41-37.

In the third quarter, Customs was struck a big blow when Philip got fouled out of the game. Sensing an opportunity, the young Indian Bank turned up their aggression to convert a 51-55 deficit at the time of Philip’s departure into a tied game 55-55. At the end of the third quarter though, Customs regained a precarious 59-57 lead.

The final quarter started with a lot of back and forth, as both teams found the basket. Former India international Monish Wilson came off the bench and made some late threes but Indian Bank’s trio of Baladhaneshwar, Hariram and Puvaneshwaran kept their scoring going too in the clutch to seal the emotion three point win.

Sudhakar Shetty, Deputy General Secretary of Vijaya Bank Employers Union presented the player of the match trophy and cash prize to forward A Surya of Indian Bank.

Indian Bank (Hariram Ragupathy 21, A Surya 20, M Puvaneshwaran 16, Baladhaneshwar 11) bt Customs and Central Excise, Kochi (Basil Philip 19, Bony Mathew 17, Shinumon 12) 78-75 [19-21, 18-20, 20-18, 21-16]

About the Tournament

Venue: Kanteerava Indoor Stadium in Bengaluru

Dates: 19^th to 23^rd October 2016

The tournament is being held in the memory of the Late Shri Mulki Sunder Ram Shetty, a longstanding former Chairman of Vijaya Bank, who was instrumental in the growth of the bank through the 60s and 70s.

Matches are being played every evening on a league cum knockout basis. There are 7 teams in the fray in this tournament, divided into two Groups. The top two teams from each Group will progress to the semifinals followed by the finals.

This edition of the tournament is featuring some of the nation’s top men’s club sides such as hosts Vijaya Bank, Central Excise & Customs-Kochi, Indian Bank, Integral Coach Factory (ICF)-Chennai, Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB), Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu (SDAT)-Chennai and Karnataka State team (‘President’s 11’).

The following are the 13 international players who are participating: Indian Bank (Hariram- Senior India; Moses Jeevananth- Junior India; P Baladhaneshwar- Junior India), Vijaya Bank (Arvind Arumugam, Rajesh Uppar, Sanjay Raj- Senior India; S Karthickeyan- Junior India), Kerala State Electricity Board (Sreerag N Nair- Junior India, Arun Harikumar- Youth India), Cochin Customs (Eudrick Pereira, Basil Philip, Monish Wilson- Senior India), President’s 11, Karnataka (Guruprasad Nayak- Junior India).

Past Edition Details

The inaugural edition of the tournament was held in 2014 in Malleshwaram, with Indian Overseas Bank (IOB)-Chennai, ONGC, Vijaya Bank and Karnataka State finishing as the top four teams respectively.

The 2^nd edition was held in 2015 at the Kanteerava Indoor Stadium, Bengaluru. Income Tax-Chennai emerged winners, with ONGC, Vijaya Bank and Kerala State Electricity Board rounding off the top four.

Vijaya Bank- A proud heritage in basketball

Notably, Vijaya Bank is the only recruiter of basketball talent in the state of Karnataka, and has contributed 10 international players to the country, starting with Olympian Gurumurthy Dileep, who joined the bank way back in 1984. Other international players honed by the bank are former India captain BS Gautham (1986), A Rajkumar (1988), S Stalin (1993), G Murali Mohan (1995), Roshan Thankachan (1999), Sanjay Raj (2002), Arvind Arumugam and Rajesh Uppar (both in 2012). Including these international stars, in all, the bank has recruited 25 national level players, who have represented their bank and the state of Karnataka with great pride and gusto.

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Bengaluru, 21^st October 2016: The Vijaya Bank organised 3rd Mulki Sunder Ram Shetty All India Basketball Tournament for Men 2016entered its final day of league matches at Kanteerava Indoor Stadium in the city.  The tournament is being conducted under the aegis of the Basketball Federation of India and the Karnataka State Basketball Association.

From Group A, Indian Bank has joined Vijaya Bank in the semifinals. From Group B, Customs & Central Excise Kochi and Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu (SDAT), Chennai are through to the final four.

Indian Bank bt Integral Coach Factory, Chennai 68-51

Indian Bank, Chennai has booked its spot in the semifinals after winning its second and final Group A league match against city rivals Integral Coach Factory. Both these teams had lost their opening games to hosts Vijaya Bank, and this was a win-or-go-home game in the context of securing a spot in the knockouts.

The desperation showed first in the case of ICF, which was aggressive on the defensive end and in terms of pushing the ball up the floor. ICF also had a measure of Indian Bank on the inside and were able to repeatedly back down their rival forwards for multiple points in the paint. At the end of the first quarter, ICF led 18-13.

In the second frame, the scales started tilting in favour of the young Indian Bank side and the scoring were tied 31-31 at halftime. Starting point guard, P Baladhaneshwar, who is the captain of the Indian U18 boys team sat out in the third, and in his absence, senior India debutant Hariram Ragupathy and Sandeep stepped up big time. There was no stopping the duo, as between them they scored 24 of the team’s 30 third quarter points.

ICF, Chennai struggled to connect in the woeful third period, scoring only 9 points to allow Indian Bank a 61-40 overall lead. Seenivasan top scored for ICF with 24 points, but that was not nearly enough to prevent Indian Bank winning easily, 68-51.

Indian Bank has now progressed to the semifinals as the second best team from Group A behind Vijaya Bank, which is already through to the final four. ICF, Chennai will head back home wondering what just happened in that forgettable third quarter.

Indian Bank (Hariram Ragupathy 26, Sandeep 20) bt Integral Coach Factory, Chennai (Seenivasan 24, Anthony 12) 68-51 [13-18, 18-13, 30-9, 7-11]

SDAT, Chennai bt Kerala State Electricity Board 79-46

The deep and disciplined Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu (SDAT), Chennai team was too much to handle for Kerala State Electricity Board which fell to its third straight defeat to get knocked out of the competition.

SDAT meanwhile has finished 2-1 in Group B and is through to the semis. KSEB is knocked out.

The young SDAT, Chennai squad has been impressive throughout this tournament, starting with its close 2 point loss in the opening game to Customs, followed by the win over President’s 11 yesterday. Today, they exploded off the gate against a beleaguered KSEB, raking up a 23-9 lead at the end of the first quarter. Southpaw Justin led the charge yet again for SDAT with 17 points, while for KSEB, the two Aruns scored in double digits. While KSEB matched SDAT in the second and fourth quarters, the damage caused in the intervening periods was too much to overcome.

SDAT, Chennai (Justin 17, R Karthick 15) bt Kerala State Electricity Board (Arun 13, Arun Babu 12) 79-46 [23-9, 18-18, 26-7, 12-12]

Customs and Central Excise, Kochi bt President’s 11, Karnataka

Customs and Central Excise, Kochi started slow before settling into a nice rhythm to beat President’s 11, Karnataka in their final Group B league match. With this win Customs has gone 3-0 to coast into the semifinals as the top team from their Group. President’s 11, Karnataka (1-2) is now out of the tournament. The side had intervals where they matched Customs shot for shot, showing they can run with the big boys. But the seasoned Kochi side had done more than enough in the second quarter (outscoring President’s 11, 31 to 9) to get the easy win.

Kochi Customs will now face Group A’s second placed team Indian Bank in tomorrow’s second semifinals.

Customs and Central Excise, Kochi (Manoj 13, Shinumon 11) btPresident’s 11, Karnataka (Shivraj 17, Akash 11) 74-58 [16-19, 31-9, 12-15, 15-15]

About the Tournament

Venue: Kanteerava Indoor Stadium in Bengaluru

Dates: 19^th to 23^rd October 2016

The tournament is being held in the memory of the Late Shri Mulki Sunder Ram Shetty, a longstanding former Chairman of Vijaya Bank, who was instrumental in the growth of the bank through the 60s and 70s.

Matches are being played every evening on a league cum knockout basis. There are 7 teams in the fray in this tournament, divided into two Groups. The top two teams from each Group will progress to the semifinals followed by the finals.

This edition of the tournament is featuring some of the nation’s top men’s club sides such as hosts Vijaya Bank, Central Excise & Customs-Kochi, Indian Bank, Integral Coach Factory (ICF)-Chennai, Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB), Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu (SDAT)-Chennai and Karnataka State team (‘President’s 11’).

The following are the 13 international players who are participating: Indian Bank (Hariram- Senior India; Moses Jeevananth- Junior India; P Baladhaneshwar- Junior India), Vijaya Bank (Arvind Arumugam, Rajesh Uppar, Sanjay Raj- Senior India; S Karthickeyan- Junior India), Kerala State Electricity Board (Sreerag N Nair- Junior India, Arun Harikumar- Youth India), Cochin Customs (Eudrick Pereira, Basil Philip, Monish Wilson- Senior India), President’s 11, Karnataka (Guruprasad Nayak- Junior India).

Bengaluru, 20^th October 2016: The Vijaya Bank organised 3rd Mulki Sunder Ram Shetty All India Basketball Tournament for Men 2016entered Day 2 at Kanteerava Indoor Stadium in the city.  The tournament is being conducted under the aegis of the Basketball Federation of India and the Karnataka State Basketball Association.

Hosts Vijaya Bank are through to the semifinals, having won both their Group A league matches. From Group B, Customs and Central Excise, Kochi are sitting pretty with two straight wins with one league match remaining tomorrow.

Customs and Central Excise, Kochi bt Kerala State Electricity Board 86-60

In the first match of the day Kerala state rivals Central Excise took on Kerala State Electricity Board. The two teams are very familiar with each other’s playing styles, having competed numerous times at the senior state level within Kerala. The first quarter opened with the favoured Customs team opening up a huge 20-4 lead. KSEB was guilty of turning the ball over too many times.

KSEB though began to show life late in the first quarter, before dominating 20-11 in the second period. The game was tied at 31, with Customs’ point guard Nikhil not helping matters by jacking up long three pointer attempts. At halftime, Customs led 34-33.

As it turned out, the effort of keeping the game close was too much for KSEB to maintain in the second half. Customs had a very easy 34-16 third quarter which broke KSEB’s back. Customs next plays President’s 11, Karnataka in their final league match tomorrow. KSEB, which is already knocked out of the tournament, takes on Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu, Chennai.

Customs and Central Excise, Kochi (Manoj 18, Eudrick Pereira 16, Nikhil R 15) bt Kerala State Electricity Board (Arun Harikumar 22, Gokul G 12, Arun Babu 11) 86-60 [23-13, 11-20, 34-16, 18-11]

Vijaya Bank bt Indian Bank 99-82

In arguably the most awaited match of the day, the talented Indian Bank stepped onto the floor for the first time in this tournament, as they took on hosts Vijaya Bank. Indian Bank features two young and promising international stars- shooting guard Hariram Ragupathy, who made his debut on the senior Indian team recently, and point guard P Baladhaneshwar, the current captain of the Indian U18 team.

Indian Bank was impressive in the first 15 minutes, able to easily blow past the man to man defence employed by Vijaya Bank. At the end of the first quarter, Indian Bank led 26-24. That’s when Vijaya Bank’s own international centre Arvind Arumugam starting dominating at centre. Arvind had a match high 31 points, and he was ably complimented by guard Anil Kumar’s 24, as Vijaya Bank outscored Indian Bank 30-13 in the second quarter.

Indian Bank’s playmaker Baladhaneshwar impressed in the first half but had to sit out the second half due to an ankle injury that had him moving gingerly throughout the game. With Bala out of action, that pretty much meant the death knell for Indian Bank, as Vijaya Bank crusied to an ultimately easy 99-82 win.

Vijaya Bank (2-0) is now through to the semifinals, while Indian Bank will face Integral Coach Factory, Chennai to decide the second semifinal team from Group A.

Vijaya Bank (Arvind Arumugam 31, Anil Kumar 24) bt Indian Bank(Sandeep 20, M Puvaneshwaran 19, Hariram Ragupathy 16) 99-82 [24-26, 30-13, 20-20, 25-23]

Late evening result from Day 1 (19^th Oct): President’s 11, Karnataka bt Kerala State Electricity Board 72-59

In an unexpected result, President’s 11 (i.e. Karnataka State team) beat Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) in the final match of Day 1. Coming into this match, KSEB were favourites since the squad comprised an experienced and set lineup that has regularly featured in national level tournaments over the last few years. However, the upstart Karnataka boys must have missed the memo.

Karnataka led 23-20 at the end of the first quarter before KSEB won the second and third periods by a single point each. Leading by 1 point going into the final 10 minutes, junior India point guard Guruprasad Nayak (who was part of the Indian U18 team that won the South Asian Basketball Association (SABA) Qualifiers earlier this year) came into his own for Karnataka. The 18-year-old was able to get to the foul line repeatedly and knocked down majority of his freethrows to lead Karnataka to a decisive 20-8 scoring differential in the fourth quarter.

Tomorrow (i.e. 20th Oct 2016), President’s 11 will next take on SDAT, Chennai from 7:30 pm, while KSEB will battle fellow Kerala rivals Customs & Central Excise, Kochi (4:30 pm tip off).

President’s 11, Karnataka (Guruprasad Nayak 17, Mufeez Ahmed 11, Vijay 8) bt Kerala State Electricity Board (Tony K Mathew 15, Arun Babu 11) 72-59 [23-20, 11-12, 18-19, 20-8]

Bengaluru, 19^th October 2016: The Vijaya Bank organised 3rd Mulki Sunder Ram Shetty All India Basketball Tournament for Men 2016has tipped off at Kanteerava Indoor Stadium in the city.  The tournament is being conducted under the aegis of the Basketball Federation of India and the Karnataka State Basketball Association.

Vijaya Bank’s General Managers Mr AC Swain, Mr Sidheswar Patra and Deputy General Manager Mr A Sridhara Murthy were present as special guests closely watching the first game between hosts Vijaya Bank and Integral Coach Factory, Chennai.

Vijaya Bank’s India international forward Arvind Arumugam was presented a cash award from Mr Swain, prior to the tip off of the first game.

Vijaya Bank bt Integral Coach Factory, Chennai 78-52

Hosts Vijaya Bank got off to a dream start in the tournament beating Integral Coach Factory, Chennai 78-52.

The first quarter began deceptively close, with the teams locked at 20-20. Vijaya Bank’s Big Three of point guard Rajesh Uppar, centre Arvind Arumugam and shooting guard Anil Kumar showed glimpses of their class in various ways. Rajesh was able to slash into the paint and dish it to his teammate Arvind, while Anil impressed with his scoring in transition. Young forward S Karthickeyan was able to use his athleticism to rise over his opponents for multiple tough left hand layups. For ICF, the undersized bigs passed excellently inside to make up for their lack of size. ICF also showed great hustle to score on second chance opportunities.

But like a matchstick that flares brightly when lit, before fizzling out, ICF got overwhelmed in the second quarter, as Vijaya Bank’s reserve Big Men Sanjay Raj (former Indian men’s team captain) and Roby Thomas kept up the pressure on the glass. Vijaya Bank had outscored ICF 21-8, to take a 41-28 lead at halftime.

In the second half, both teams seemed to have accepted the result, as they went through the motions. Arvind had topscored for Vijaya Bank with 27 points while shooting guard Mukunth had 14 for ICF.

Vijaya Bank will next face Indian Bank tomorrow for a spot in the semifinals, while ICF will face Indian Bank day after in a bid to stay alive in the competition.

Vijaya Bank (Arvind Arumugam 27, S Karthickeyan 10, Anil Kumar 9) bt ICF, Chennai (Mukunth 14, Seenivasan 12) 78-52 [20-20, 21-8, 22-15, 15-9]

Customs and Central Excise, Kochi bt SDAT, Chennai 65-63

In an epic battle between two contrasting teams, the experienced Customs and Central Excise, Kochi held on to beat Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu (SDAT), Chennai by two points.

The young SDAT side exploded in the first half and at one point led 22-6, before the Customs veterans made their inevitable comeback. Guard Manoj was money from deep, hitting three straight three pointers in the second quarter to bring Kochi with 5 points, 22-27, of the Chennai lads. However, at halftime the score still read 36-27 in favour of SDAT.

The third period saw more dominance by Customs, as they outscored SDAT 23-12 to wrest a slender 50-48 lead going into the final 10 minutes.

For SDAT, small forward Justin was spectacular with his supreme strength and athleticism. Led by Justin’s 20 points, SDAT rallied in the fourth to match Customs shot for shot. However, former international centre Eudrick Pereira and current international Basil Philip came good in the clutch. Pereira in particular had multiple blocks to deny SDAT any easy points as his side pulled off the tricky 65-63 opening win.

Customs will next face Kerala State Electricity Board tomorrow at 4:30 pm, while later the same day SDAT will take on Karnataka President’s 11 at 7:30 pm.

Customs and Central Excise, Kochi (Manoj 18, Basil 17) bt Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu (SDAT), Chennai (Justin 20, Karthik 14) 65-63 [6-16, 21-20, 23-12, 15-15]

Bengaluru, 18^th October 2016: Karnataka’s leading nationalised bank, Vijaya Bank, is proud to announce the return of the Mulki Sunder Ram Shetty All India Basketball Tournament for Men.  The 3^rd edition of the tournament will be held at the Kanteerava Indoor Stadium in Bengaluru from 19^th to 23^rd October 2016, under the aegis of the Basketball Federation of India and the Karnataka State Basketball Association.

The tournament is being held in the memory of the Late Shri Mulki Sunder Ram Shetty, a longstanding former Chairman of Vijaya Bank, who was instrumental in the growth of the bank through the 60s and 70s.

Matches will be played every evening from 5:00 pm onwards in a league cum knockout basis. There are 7 teams in the fray in this tournament, divided into two Groups. The top two teams from each Group will progress to the semifinals followed by the finals.

This edition of the tournament will feature some of the nation’s top men’s club sides such as hosts Vijaya Bank, Cochin Customs, Indian Bank, Integral Coach Factory (ICF)-Chennai, Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB), Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu (SDAT)-Chennai and Karnataka State team (‘President’s 11’). Two time runners up ONGC, Dehradun was scheduled to participate but withdrew in the last minute due to injuries sustained to some of their main players during the just concluded FIBA Asia Champions Cup Tournament.

The following are the 12 international players who will be participating: Indian Bank (Hariram- Senior India; Moses Jeevananth- Junior India; P Baladhaneshwar- Junior India), Vijaya Bank (Arvind Arumugam, Rajesh Uppar, Sanjay Raj- Senior India; S Karthickeyan- Junior India), Kerala State Electricity Board (Sreerag N Nair- Junior India, Arun Harikumar- Youth India), Cochin Customs (Eudrick Pereira, Basil Philip, Monish Wilson- Senior India).

Past Edition Details

The inaugural edition of the tournament was held in 2014 in Malleshwaram, with Indian Overseas Bank (IOB)-Chennai, ONGC, Vijaya Bank and Karnataka State finishing as the top four teams respectively.

The 2^nd edition was held in 2015 at the Kanteerava Indoor Stadium, Bengaluru. Income Tax-Chennai emerged winners, with ONGC, Vijaya Bank and Kerala State Electricity Board rounding off the top four.

FIXTURES OF THE 3^RD MULKI SUNDER RAM SHETTY ALL INDIA BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT, BENGALURU

19^th to 23^rd October 2016

Kanteerava Indoor Stadium, Bengaluru

Chandigarh/Bengaluru/New York, 12^th October, 2016: India’s most talented international basketball player Amjyot Singh Gill is all set to soar higher. After dominating in the Asian circuit over the last two years, the power forward from Chandigarh has signed the standard NBA Development League player contract making him eligible to get drafted into the D-League. The ‘D League’ or ‘Development League’ is a key stepping stone towards making a cut to the NBA itself, the most gruelling, competitive and popular professional basketball league in the world.

If Amjyot gets drafted he will have to report to the team within a day or two for an 8-10 day training camp. All players, including Amjyot will be assessed on various physical (such as strength and conditioning) and game parameters (individual and team based basketball skills such as shooting, defence, rebounding, special awareness, passing etc.). If Amjyot suitably impresses then he has a chance to become an official D-League player in any of the 22 D-League teams currently affiliated to their parent franchise in the NBA. From thereon, the sky is the limit for Amjyot, who could then be “Called-Up” to the parent NBA franchise anytime in the upcoming season on short 10-day contracts or for longer durations. Apart from being a stepping stone to the NBA, playing in the D-League in the long term also opens up opportunities in other elite leagues in Europe, Australia, South America or China.

Amjyot expressed confidence and excitement at flying out to New York for the draft. “I’m both nervous and excited. I am motivated with the desire to do whatever it takes to make it to the NBA. Whatever happens, this is an opportunity for me to get exposure and understand the workings of the League.”

Over the last three seasons around 15% of NBA D-League athletes (or an average of 39 players per season) have received a Call-Up to the NBA.

“This is a big step forward for both Amjyot as well as Indian basketball. He has earned the right to be in the D-League draft based purely on his performances with the Indian national team and professionally in Japan. If called up, we have no doubt he can make a splash in the D-League, which would in turn open a world of opportunity for him,” said Vishnu Ravi Shankar, Amjyot’s manager and Business Head at Pursuit, the talent management entity that represents him.

About Amjyot Singh Gill

The 6ft 9inch Gill made the entire Indian sports fraternity take notice when he slammed home a powerful two handed alley-oop dunk during India’s historic win over China in the 2014 FIBA Asia Cup. Since then, the 24-year-old “Sultan of Swat” has grown from strength to strength. As a “stretch four” Amjyot is a matchup nightmare, able to post up, rebound, block shots, handle the ball and score from the outside.

The versatile power forward went on a scoring spree during India’s memorable quarterfinal run in the 2015 FIBA Asia Championship for Men, proving himself to be among Asia’s finest hoopsters. 2016 proved to be an equally significant year, as he, along with fellow Punjab baller, Amritpal Singh, made the brave decision of moving to Japan. The duo led their Tokyo Excellence team to the National Basketball Development League (NBDL) Championship. Amjyot in particular, averaged 13.7 points and 8.1 rebounds per game over 35 games, playing 21 minutes per game.

Most recently, Amjyot had starred at the FIBA Asia Challenge, posting tournament high numbers in various key statistical categories. Amjyot was number 1 overall in freethrow shooting (90.3%) hitting 28/31 freethrows. His 8.3 rpg was 3^rd among forwards and 8^th overall. His 2 double doubles (i.e. when a player crossed double digits in any two statistical categories in a single game) was 3^rd among forwards and 7^th overall. His 12.8 ppg was 6^th best among forwards. His .6 blocks per game is 3^rd best among forwards. His +14.1 effpg is 6^th best among forwards. His 2.4 apg is 5^th best among forwards. His 37% from the field is 10^th among forwards.

Interestingly, Amjyot is also part of a 3×3 side from Japan (Team Hamamatsu), comprising Indian origin players, that has qualified to the FIBA 3×3 World Tour finals to be held in Abu Dhabi, UAE on 27-28 October. The 3×3 World Tour Finals is a very prestigious event that is the equivalent of a World Cup for 3×3 basketball. Amjyot will be competing in this event before flying to the US for the D-League draft.