Five Indians among top performers as India’s FIBA Asia U16 campaign ends on winning note
Five Indians among top performers as India’s FIBA Asia U16 campaign ends on winning note
Bengaluru/Jakarta, 2 November 2015: Underlining their continuing development, the Indian boys’ basketball squad have ended their 2015 FIBA Asia U16 Championship on a positive note with a 80-70 win over Hong Kong. The side has now finished the Championship in 13th position.
India beat Hong Kong
After trailing 14-19 at the end of the first quarter, the Young Cagers immediately fought back, winning the second period 24-17. The third quarter proved to be even better, as India notched up a sizeable 58-47 lead. Four Hong Kong players scored in double digits, but India maintained its double digit lead to win the final 13-14 place classification match.
While the scoreline seemed relatively close, it is important to note that India led in multiple statistical categories whether field goal percentage, rebounding, assists or steals. Significantly, the defensive intent of the side was evident with 8 blocks, 7 of which came between centres Harshwardhan Tomar and Adarsh Jayakumar.
Five Indians among top 10 Asian performers
Top performers: L to R- Adarsh Jayakumar, Ankit Joshi, P Baladhaneshwar, Harshwardhan Tomar and Manoj Sisodiya. Images credit: FIBA Asia.
Following in the footsteps of the senior team, five promising youngsters are currently among the top ten Asian performers, as of 2nd November 2015.
Captain P Baladhaneshwar, who led from the front in every game, is 4th in points per game (24.8 ppg), 10th in 2 point field goal percentage (54.1%), 9th in steals per game (3.3) and 10th in efficiency (+17.8).
Hot shooting forward Ankit Joshi topped the charts from beyond the arc, with a 45.5 three point field goal percentage.
India’s youngest player, 14-year-old guard Manoj Singh Sisodiya, showed his immense potential, averaging 5 assists per game, which is 5th best among all competitors.
Thanks to today’s game, centres Harshwardhan Tomar and Adarsh Jayakumar, with 1.3 blocks per game, are joint 5th overall.
India (P Baladhaneshwar 22 pts, 8 rebounds, 4 assists & 4 steals; Ankit Joshi 20 pts & 6 assists, Adarsh Jayakumar 20 pts & 3 blocks) bt Hong Kong (Yiu Pong Yip 21 pts & 12 rbs, Kwok Cheung 14 pts, Yu Li 12 pts) 80-70 [14-19, 24-17, 20-11, 22-23]
INDIAN CONTINGENT FOR THE 2015 FIBA ASIA U16 CHAMPIONSHIP
Jersey No Name Date of Birth (dd/mm/yyyy) Place of Birth (City & State) Plays For Height (cm) Weight
(Kg)
Position* 00 Swapnil Sharma 18/01/1999 Jalandhar Punjab Punjab 192 102 C 04 Manoj Singh Sisodia 05/12/2000 Ratlam Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh 178 63 PG 05 Hansraj 04/03/1999 New Delhi New Delhi New Delhi 178 64 PG 06 Sorav Singha 19/08/1999 Kolkata West Bengal New Delhi 178 66 PG 08 Ankit Joshi 03/01/1999 Faridabad Haryana Haryana 181 66 F 12 Muhammad Shiras Noushad 04/07/1999 Alappuzha Kerala Kerala 190 81 C 13 Harshwardhan Tomar 01/02/2001 Gwalior Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh 208 81 C 14 Baladhaneshwar Poiyamozhi 07/12/1999 Ullikkottai Manargudi Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu 181 68 F 24 Joshua Jaison George 17/05/1999 Cherthala Aleppey Kerala Kerala 184 75 F 43 Amit 23/10/1999 New Delhi New Delhi Chandigarh 178 62 F 35 Adarsh Premsan Jayakumar 23/05/1999 Coimbatore Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu 190 83 C 99 Kanwar Gurbaz Singh Sandhu 30/10/1999 Ferozepur Punjab Punjab 185 90 C
*PG - Point Guard / Feeder, G - Guard, F - Forward, G/F - Wing, PF - Power Forward, C - Centre, PF/C - Pivot
13) Team Manager: Mr Venkata Siva Naga Prasad Takasi (Andhra Pradesh)
14) Head Coach: Mr Mahendra Singh Rathore (Gujarat)
15) Assistant Coach: Mr Aju Jacob (Kerala)
16) Team Physio: Dr. Binish Babu (Karnataka)
Preliminary Round Groups
Group A: Japan, Kuwait, Hong Kong, Malaysia
Group B: Chinese Taipei, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Lebanon
Group C: Philippines, Bahrain, Democratic Republic of Korea and Thailand
Group D: China, India, Korea and Iraq
About the 4th FIBA Asia U16 Championship for Boys 2015
Venues
(Sourced verbatim from: http://www.fiba.com/asia/u16/2015/venues)
The 2015 FIBA Asia U16 Championship is being staged in 2 different venues, both located in Jakarta, Indonesia. The primary venue is the Britama Arena, Sportsmall Kelapa Gading and the secondary venue is GOR Pulogadung.
As per the competition schedule, 41 games will be played in the primary venue (Britama Arena) and 21 in the secondary venue (GOR Pulogadung). (Total of 62 games)
The Championship is also expected to be streamed live here: http://www.livebasketball.tv/
Competition Format
(Sourced verbatim from: http://www.fiba.com/asia/u16/2015/competition-format)
Group phase (16 teams, 6 days)
Day 1 to 3: The first round of the tournament was played in a round robin format, with the sixteen (16) teams divided into four (4) groups of four (4) teams. Every team will take on its three (3) opponents in its respective group.
The top three (3) teams from each group advanced to the second phase. Others played Classification Games 13-16 (on Day 4 and 5).
Day 4 to 6: For the second round, the twelve (12) remaining teams will be divided into two (2) groups of six (6). Each team will play against the three (3) new teams in its group. The top four (4) teams from each group advance to the Quarter-Finals. Others play Classification Games 9-12.
Day 7: Rest day.
Final phase (day 8 to 10) The tournament will be played in a knockout format from the Quarter-Finals onwards. Day 8: Quarter-Finals and Classification Games 9-12. Day 9: Semi-Finals and Classification Games 11-12, 9-10 and 5-8. Day 10: Final, Third-Place Game and Classification Games 7-8 and 5-6.
Competition history & India’s participation
Prior to the upcoming iteration, 3 editions of this biennial championship have been held so far, dating back to 2009. China has won all three editions, followed by South Korea (2 silver), Philippines (1 silver) and Japan (2 bronze).
India has participated in all three editions so far. The side finished 10th in 2009 and 2011, and 11th in 2013. The Indian team is currently ranked 51 in the world.