India wins Mid Zone qualifiers to secure a spot at the U18 FIBA Asia Championship

Once again, India faced no challenge from the basketball forces of neighbouring South Asian nations as they strolled through the Mid Zone Qualifiers this past weekend in New Delhi (Feb 24-26 2012) and secured a spot for themselves in the U18 FIBA Asia Championship, set to be held in Mongolia in August.

Labeled as perennial favourites against most of their South Asian rivals, there is always a certain pressure on India’s basketball teams on all levels to not only defeat our neighbours but to win with style. India’s under-18 basketball team may be young, but it is blessed with a number of players who have already garnered a great amount of national and international exposure at their young age, and it was perhaps this experience that helped their clinical performance in the tournament: India won the three games in the qualifying tournament against Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh with an average of 53 points per game!

Another good point of mention of the Indian performance over this tournament was the balance of offense: While it was Punjab’s Pal Preet Singh and Haryana’s experienced big man Rakesh Sangwan who did most of the damage for India in the qualifying games, the team shared the ball a lot and received offensive sparks from experienced youngsters like Karthickeyen Saminathan, Kushmeet Singh, and Love Neet Singh as well.

India were coached by the JN Nehra, who was an assistant coach of the U16 side that had several memorable victories at the U16 FIBA Asia Championship in Vietnam. Nehra’s team this time around was missing its biggest factor – both in size and influence – in 16-year-old 7-footer Satnam Singh Bharama. But with a focus on defensive intensity and unselfish offense, India didn’t need the services of the talented big man as they efficiently sealed their qualification.

The games were held at New Delhi’s Thyagaraj Stadium. India played the first game against Nepal, where they also scored their biggest victory, 120-41. In a game that became an exhibition of Nehra’s attitude on defense, India held Nepal to just 16 points in the first half while racing away to a huge lead. When the dust settled on India’s victory, the Young Cagers had seven players who scored in double digits, led by Pal Preet Singh (22 points), S. Karthickeyen (17), and Kushmeet Singh (16). Ayush Singh had a big game for Nepal with 20, scoring nearly half of his team’s total points.

India took on Sri Lanka next – on paper, their toughest challenge in the tournament – but they weren’t fazed and saw off the southern neighbours with ease, too. After a good first half, India really caught on fire in the third quarter with a 31-9 run to help seal the eventual 93-45 win. Rakesh Sangwan was the high man for India with 18 points, while Praveen led Sri Lanka with 16.

The final game against Bangladesh was the best on the defensive end of the floor, as India held their opponents to just 31 points. Pal Preet Singh again had a good game with 18 points and 12 rebounds, and Rakesh Sangwan added 16 as India won 63-31 to ensure the qualification.

Nehra was interviewed by Times of India’s Amit Sampat after this win, and on his strategy on the final game he answered: “We had confidence in our offence and after today’s game we managed to find the efficiency behind the centre line that we haven’t had in the last few games. We are on track and raring to go in the Asian challenge.”

On the second day of this tournament, India’s foreign coaches – former NBA coach Kenny Natt (Senior Men’s coach), former Duke assistant Pete Gaudet (Senior Woman’s coach), and Zak Penwell (Strength & Conditioning Coach) held a special clinic for 9-17 year olds from the city at the stadium.

The 22nd U18 FIBA Asia Championship will be held in the Mongolian capital city of Ulaanbaatar from August 17-26, 2012. India had qualified for the 21st edition of the tournament, which took place in Yemen two years ago. That under-18 side played well but couldn’t muster anything better than a 13th place finish in the tournament that was eventually won by China. Nehra’s team this year will definitely be hoping to improve this time around and reach at least somewhere between the 9th-12th place range.

Considering the performance of the U16 side at Vietnam last year, I feel that shooting for 9th place, or even higher, to the Quarter-Final round, is completely possible by this team. A lot of players in the U18 side, like Ajay Pratap Singh, Love Neet, Kushmeet, Rakesh, Narender, and Karthickeyen are stars from the team that had gone to Vietnam last year. Adding this crew to the likes Pal Preet Singh, Amit Kanarjee, and Syed Anam Ali has built an overall balanced looking squad. Of course, the trump card for India could still be Satnam, who is currently back in the US playing at the IMG Academy in Florida. If Satnam – who was the leading scorer in the U16 championship in Vietnam – returns for the tournament in Mongolia, then India could really make a positive leap.

Of course, I’m also perennially optimistic about our chances, especially after dominant qualifying rounds like there. Let’s hope that we’re drawn into a favourable group and can turn a few heads this August. With the youth and junior foundation getting stronger, it is a matter of time before India’s Senior Men’s squad begins to take some serious strides forward amongst all-Asian competition too.