Indian U18 Men reach quarterfinals of FIBA Asia Championship after a gap of 12 years
Indian U18 Men reach quarterfinals of FIBA Asia Championship after a gap of 12 years
New Delhi/Bengaluru, 28th July 2016: The league stages of the 24th FIBA Asia U18 Men’s Championship 2016, that is underway in Iran, concluded last night, with India progressing to the quarterfinal stage as the 4th best team from Group A. In the knockouts, India will be joined by fellow Group A teams China, Chinese Taipei and Philippines. From Group B, Lebanon, Korea, Japan and Iran are the qualifying teams
This is the first time since 2004 that the Indian U18 men’s team has reached the final 8. India ended the league stages with a 2-3 record, having beaten Thailand and Iraq, while losing to higher ranked China, Chinese Taipei and Philippines.
India will now face Group B’s surprise topper Lebanon in the quarterfinals, a side that upset higher ranked Korea and Japan en route to a 4-1 league record.
The India vs Lebanon match is scheduled to tip off on 29th July from 5 pm onwards, and is expected to be streamed live on FIBA’s YouTube channel.
Philippines beat India in last league game
You can watch the game here: [youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8dur-iDycI[/youtube]
Late last night, India lost to Philippines 82-105 in their final league game. Despite the loss, with a 2-3 record, India had already progressed to the next round, since closest rivals Thailand and Iraq (both 1-4) too had suffered losses.
Captain, Guard P Baladhaneshwar in action against Philippines. Image credit FIBA Asia.
India used the opportunity to test its bench strength, and guard Daniel Arthur Wilson made the most of the occasion, scoring 16 points that included 3 threes. Philippines (Jolo Mendoza 23 pts, Kemark Carino 14 pts, Fran Yu 12 pts) bt India (Daniel Arthur Wilson 16 pts, Vishal Gupta 11 pts 11 reb, Sahil 11 pts) 105-82 [30-21, 21-18, 28-18, 26-25]
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]
QF vs Lebanon – 29th July, 5 pm onwards For more details see: www.fiba.com/asia/u18/2016/fullschedule
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 13thplace, while in 2012, India managed a higher 10th place finish.