India battle hard in loss against higher ranked Chinese Taipei
New Delhi/Bengaluru, 24th July 2016: After the tough loss yesterday to defending champions China, India came up with a gritty performance against Chinese Taipei in the 24th FIBA Asia U18 Men’s Championship 2016 underway in Iran. The effort though was not enough to earn the win, as India lost, 79 to 93. Though India only had a 3-point deficit going into the second quarter, Chinese Taipei widened the lead over the 2nd and 3rd quarters. Centre Vishal Kumar Gupta and shooting guard Hariram Ragupathy put up impressive numbers once again. Gupta played the entire 40 minutes and managed to finish with 20 points and 15 rebounds, while Ragupathy chipped in with 21 points and 7 rebounds. Between them, they scored more than half of India’s point total for the game. Even though the overall rebounding (50 to 46) and turnover (19 to 16) numbers between the two teams were on par, Chinese Taipei had a better field goal percentage, shooting better from both 3- point territory as well as closer to the basket. India has a rest day tomorrow (25th), before its crucial penultimate round robin match against Iraq, which is scheduled for 26th July at 9:00 PM. A win against Iraq will keep India in the race for a quarterfinals spot. So the side, and especially the starters, could sorely use this day for recovering, given their gruelling schedule. You can watch the game here: [youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5urKtdWz6U[/youtube] Chinese Taipei (K Kao 16 pts 4 rbs, S Ting 16 pts 3 rbs, H Tseng 10 pts 13 rbs) bt India (H Raghupathy 21 pts 7 rbs, V Gupta 20 pts 15 rbs, P Baladaneshwar 12 pts 5 rbs) 93-79 [22-19, 21-15, 28-22, 22-23]
Indian Squad for the 24th FIBA Asia U18 Men’s Championship 2016
Jersey No Family Name(s) /Last Name First Name(s) /Given Name Date of Birth (dd/mm/yyyy) Place of Birth Height (cm)(ft and inches) Weight (Kg) Position 5 Hansraj 04/03/1999 New Delhi 178 (5’ 10”) 64 PG 9 Sayyed Saqlain Jamir 15/02/1998 Kada, Maharashtra 190 (6’ 2”) 78 SG 11 Rachit 16/09/1998 Delhi 186 (6’ 1”) 75 SG 13 Gupta Vishal Kumar 04/01/1998 Village Chapar, Uttar Pradesh 199 (6’ 6”) 78 C 14 Mohammed Ali 06/04/1998 Samo Ki Dhani, Rajasthan 194 (6’ 4”) 70 PF 15 Deepak 13/04/1998 Israna, Haryana 185 (6’ 1”) 78 F 24 Poiyamozhi Baladhaneshwar 07/12/1999 Ullikkottai Mannargudi, Tamil Nadu 180 (5’ 10.8”) 71 SG 25 Ragupathy Hariram 24/04/1998 Chennai, Tamil Nadu 184 (6’) 72 SG 30 Arthur Wilson Daniel Richards 25/10/1998 Chennai, Tamil Nadu 180 (5’ 10.8”) 74 SG 32 Benny Gineeb 09/03/1998 Potta, Kerala 194 (6’ 4”) 78 C 52 Noushad Muhammed Shiras 04/07/1999 Alappuzha, Kerala 190 (6’ 3”) 83 PF 55 Sahil 02/02/1999 Kalkha, Haryana 184 (6’) 69 SG
*PG - Point Guard / Feeder, G - Guard, F - Forward, G/F - Wing, PF - Power Forward, C - Centre, PF/C - Pivot
13) Team Manager: Mr. Ashok Sahu 14) Physio: Dr. Kannan Ratinasamy Bose 15) Head Coach: Mr. Dilip Gurumurthy 16) Assistant Coach: Mr. Paramdeep Singh 17) Referee: Mr. Imran Ali Baig 18) Referee: Mr. Ramesh Koppanathi
About the 24th FIBA Asia U18 Men’s Championship 2016
Venue: Azadi Sports Complex, Tehran, Iran There are 12 participating teams that have been divided into two preliminary groups: Group A – China (WR-12), Chinese Taipei (WR-27), India (WR-52), Iraq (WR-62), Philippines (WR-28) and Thailand (WR-67). Group B – Indonesia (WR-70), Iran (WR-24), Japan (WR-26), Kazakhstan (WR-37), Korea (WR-18) and Lebanon (WR-54). Each team shall play all the other teams within its own group and the top 4 teams from each group qualify for the quarter-final round, followed by the semi-finals and finals. Additionally, placement matches will also be held for positions 3-8. The significance of this Championship is that the top three teams progress to the FIBA Under-19 World Championship that will be held in Cairo, Egypt from 1 to 9 July 2017.
India’s Upcoming Schedule [Timings in IST]
Rest Day – 25th July vs Iraq – 26th July, 9:00 PM vs Philippines – 27th July, 9:00 PM Rest Day – 28th July Knockout & Placement Rounds – 29th to 31st July For more details see: www.fiba.com/asia/u18/2016/fullschedule All the matches are expected to be streamed live on www.livebasketball.tv
Championship History
The Asia U-18 Men’s Championship was first held in 1970 in Seoul and has since been held every 2 years (or 3 years in certain cases). China is the most storied team at the Asian level, having won gold 11 times, followed by Philippines (6) and South Korea (3). Coming into this edition, China is the defending champion, followed by Iran (silver) and South Korea (bronze). For info on all time medallists, see: www.fiba.com/asia/u18/2016/all-time-medalists
India’s Record
Prior to the upcoming edition, India has participated in the Asian Championship 18 times, with its best finish coming at the 1972 Championship held in Manila, Philippines, where the side finished 4th. As hosts, India had conducted the 1998 and 2004 iterations in Kolkata and Bengaluru respectively. From 2006-2010 and in the last 2014 edition, India finished in 13th place, while in 2012, India managed a higher 10th place finish.
About Basketball Federation of India
The Basketball Federation of India or BFI is the governing and controlling body of basketball in India, and is responsible for the development and promotion of the sport at all levels. BFI has been involved in conducting camps, clinics, events, and training sessions at its academies for the development of basketball. BFI came into being in 1935 and took complete control over Indian basketball in 1950. Prior to that time, the Indian Olympic Association handled the conduct of Indian basketball championships. Since 1950, the BFI has been conducting various such championships, from the grassroots to senior team participation in international tournaments. In addition, the BFI has been responsible for the establishment of strong sub-junior and junior level programs. The BFI has to its credit produced several international players of repute, among them 17 have been bestowed with the honour of Arjuna Awards. Earlier in June 2015, 19-year-old Satnam Singh Bhamara made history by becoming the first Indian national to be drafted by an NBA team, when he was selected by the Dallas Mavericks. More information at www.basketballfederationindia.org.