Amjyot Singh starring Team Hamamatsu through to quarterfinals of FIBA 3x3 World Tour Final
Amjyot Singh starring Team Hamamatsu through to quarterfinals of FIBA 3x3 World Tour Final
India international basketball player Amjyot Singh Gill, who has also entered his name in this year’s NBA D League draft, is competing at the FIBA 3x3 World Tour Finals in Abu Dhabi, UAE on 27-28 October.
The FIBA 3x3 World Tour Finals is a hugely prestigious event and is the equivalent of a World Cup for 3x3 basketball for professional players.
The team comprises 2 other Indian-origin players: Inderbir Singh Gill (USA) and Bikramjit Gill (Canada) apart from a fourth from Japan.
The three Indian players (aka ‘Team Gill’) had trained at the world-class Jaypee Greens facility in Greater Noida before flying out to Abu Dhabi.
Slotted in preliminary Pool C, Team Hamamatsu beat Piran (Slovenia) and Gdansk (Poland), to sail through to the quarterfinals.
India Basketball superstar Amjyot Singh Gill against Piran. Image credit: FIBA.com.
Abu Dhabi/Delhi, 27th October, 2016: Team Hamamatsu, Japan, comprising India Basketball superstar and NBA D League prospect Amjyot Singh Gill, apart from Inderbir Singh Gill (USA), Bikramjit Gill (Canada) and Chihiro Ikeda (Japan), is through to the knockout stages of the two day FIBA 3x3 World Tour Finals that tipped off earlier this evening in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
The team progressed to the quarterfinals in style, having won both its Pool C league matches, albeit in contrasting fashion.
Hamamatsu bt Piran 19-18
Inderbir Gill makes the decisive game tying three against Piran. Image credit: FIBA.com.
In the first match, the side came from behind against Piran (Slovenia) to win 19-18 in a thrilling last gap effort. Piran (seeded 3rd) was ranked much higher than Hamamatsu (11th seed) and looked in control for most of the game, leading 17-13 with 1:05 mins left for the final buzzer. That’s when the match turned on its head. With 45 seconds left, first Amjyot knocked down a corner three before Indo-American guard Inderbir came on in place of Ikeda. Hamamatsu still trailed 15-17, and with 9.6 seconds left in the game, Inderbir first knocked down an off balance three despite getting fouled hard. He then proceeded to make both his freethrows (an extra freethrow was awarded as penalty since Piran was over the team foul limit) to seal the 19-18 victory against the run of the play.
Hamamatsu bt Gdansk 21-12
In the second match, Hamamatsu faced off against Gdansk (Poland). Buoyed by the previous win, Hamamatsu started off strong, moving the ball on both sides of the floor. Bikramjit, whose offensive production in the first game was limited, caught fire early, knocking down a three pointer to open the scoring. Amjyot then took over, first with a big block on the three point line followed by a three of his own to tie the game at 4-4 (In the 3x3 game, three pointers are awarded two points, while two pointers add 1 point to the score). Not to be left behind, super sub Chihiro Ikeda brought some much needed energy off the bench hitting three threes to get Hamamatsu up 13-9 with 5:45 mins left.
The play of the match though was reserved for Amjyot, who, in a span of 7 seconds, registered back to back blocks in the paint, then rushed out to secure the loose ball and drove inside all by himself for an almost-dunk like finish. Hamamatsu led 16-10 at this time, and smelling blood, Bikramjit again took over to get his side the easy 21-12 win.
As Pool C toppers, Hamamatsu is through to the quarterfinal rounds tomorrow, where it will face Pool B’s second placed team (to be decided). The match will start at 7:00 pm IST.
About the 2016 FIBA 3x3 World Tour
Abu Dhabi Finals
There will be 12 teams competing in the World Tour Finals, divided into 4 Pools of three teams each:
Pool A: Novi Sad Al Wahda (UAE); Belgrade (Serbia); St Petersburg (Russia)
Pool B: Ljubljana (Slovenia); Sao Paulo DC (Brazil); Chicago (USA)
Pool C: Piran (Slovenia); Gdansk (Poland); Hamamatsu (Japan)
Pool D: Saskatoon (Canada); Kranj (Slovenia); Caguas (Puerto Rico)
The teams within each pool will play against each other in a round-robin first round. The top two placed teams from each pool advance to a standard knock-out round which starts at the quarter-finals stage. The winners are crowned FIBA 3x3 World Tour champions and earn a ticket to the FIBA 3x3 All Stars.
The competition will also feature dunk and shootout contests.
For more details, visit: www.fiba.com/3x3worldtour/2016/abu-dhabi
How to Watch
For those not attending the games at the Abu Dhabi International Tennis Complex in Zayed Sports City (free entrance) – the games will be available from 17.00 local time (GMT+4) on Thursday 27 October live on FIBA 3x3's official YouTube channel and Facebook Live. The top-two placed teams from each pool advance to a standard knock-out round which starts at the quarter-finals stage, from 17.00 local time on Friday 28.
Qualification Rounds
The FIBA 3x3 World Tour Abu Dhabi Final features the winner of the 7 stops, (Mexico DF, Utsunomiya, Prague, Lausanne, Debrecen, Beijing and Rio de Janeiro) plus the 5 best teams in the World Tour standings at the end of the season (between 5 and 11 depending if a team has won more than one Masters).
The Amjyot starring Team Hamamtsu qualified via the latter route, having finished 6th in the first Utsunomiya leg (30-31 July) followed by a 3rd place finish at the Beijing leg (16-17 September). This gave them an overall world ranking of 11 (as of 17.10.2016 at the time of the draw) to make the cut in the 12-team field at the World Tour Finals.
About FIBA’s 3x3 Basketball Programme
As sourced verbatim from www.fiba.com/3x3/faq
3x3 basketball is already today the number one urban team sport in the world. (*According to an IOC-commissioned study.)
In line with FIBA's vision to make basketball the most popular sports community in the world, FIBA is embracing 3x3 with the aim of further promoting, uniting and developing the game of basketball. FIBA believes that 3x3 presents an excellent opportunity to attract new people to basketball and to raise awareness that everyone can play basketball, anywhere in the world. Embracing an additional stand-alone discipline offers the opportunity to extend the reach of participating or hosting countries in international competitions.
FIBA’s vision is to establish a pro FIBA 3x3 World Tour that allows 3x3 stars to make a living out of 3x3. Create the largest sports community in the world by having all 3x3 events worldwide included on 3x3planet.com.
The goal is to eventually make 3x3 Basketball an Olympic sport.
For more details visit: www.fiba.com/3x3/faq
About 3x3 Basketball- Basic Rules
Four members per team. Three active players on court at all times, with one rolling substitute.
Played using only one half of a traditional basketball court.
12 second shot clock
Match duration:10 minutes (with stoppages for dead ball situations and freethrows)
The team which scores 21 points or more within the match duration, wins the game. If neither team is able to reach 21 points, then the team with the higher points after the conclusion of 10 minutes is declared the winner.
Scoring:
Traditional three point shots from behind the arc will be awarded 2 points.
Every shot inside the arc is awarded 1 point.
Every successful freethrow is awarded 1 point.
If the scores are tied, then an extra period of time is played. Here the first team to score 2 points in overtime wins the game.
Following each successful field goal or made free throw, a player from the non-scoring team will resume the game by dribbling or passing the ball from inside the court directly underneath the basket (not from behind the end line) to a place on the court behind the arc.
If the defensive team steals or blocks the ball, it must return the ball behind the arc (by passing or dribbling).
For full text of latest official FIBA 3x3 rules, visit: www.fiba.com/documents/2016/01/29/3x3%20Rules%20of%20the%20game%202016%20text.pdf
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 3rd among forwards and 8th overall. His 2 double doubles (i.e. when a player crossed double digits in any two statistical categories in a single game) was 3rd among forwards and 7th overall. His 12.8 ppg was 6th best among forwards. His .6 blocks per game is 3rd best among forwards. His +14.1 effpg is 6th best among forwards. His 2.4 apg is 5th best among forwards. His 37% from the field is 10th among forwards.
About Pursuit
Amjyot Singh Gill is represented by Pursuit, India’s leading basketball talent management and scouting entity. Pursuit’s aim is to find and create the right opportunities for budding athletes with the talent and potential to succeed at the international level. Through its grassroots network, Pursuit is able to spot athletic talent from a young age and help them along their playing careers, whether in India or abroad. Pursuit is headed by Vishnu Ravi Shankar and is India’s pre-eminent and pioneering basketball scouting and talent management agency.
For more information visit: www.pursuitindia.com