After reaching top 7 in Asia, BFI announces 5 lakh cash prize to men's Indian basketball team

*Continuing to make its rise among the Asian ranks, yesterday India ended FIBA Asia Challenge 2016 in 7^th place, upsetting 3 higher ranked teams in the process. This is India men’s best ever performance at the Asian level in 27 years, since finishing 6^th at the 1989 FIBA Asia Championship. From an individual performance standpoint, India’s ‘Big Three’ of centre Amritpal Singh, power forward Amjyot Singh and shooting guard Vishesh Bhriguvanshi have reaffirmed their status as one of Asia’s best players in their respective positions. Recognizing these achievements, that could well be the start of a new golden era of Indian men’s basketball, Basketball Federation of India (BFI) President K Govindaraj has announced a cash prize of INR 5,00,000/- to the entire team and coaching staff* New Delhi/Bengaluru, 19^th September 2016: Yesterday, India’s ‘Young Cagers’ had memorably finished in the top 7 at the 2016 FIBA Asia Challenge that concluded in Iran. Immediately recognizing the significance of this achievement, Basketball Federation of India (BFI) President K Govindaraj has announced a cash prize of INR 5,00,000/- to the entire team and coaching staff. “Reaching the top 7 in Asia is an excellent achievement, especially considering the circumstances and opponents,” said Mr Govindaraj. “We beat three teams who have better world rankings. This cash prize is a small token of appreciation for our players’ indomitable spirit. They have kept India’s flag flying high. This is a culmination of all that sacrifice by everybody involved.” Elaborating on the challenging circumstances, Mr Govindaraj said, “It is important to remember that even though our national federation has approval from the international body i.e. FIBA, we have not received any government funding for almost two years now. In spite of this we have been able to send our national teams for participation in ten international events and conducted all the National Championships.” “Prior to the team’s departure, I had wished that the players put up a performance that is even better than in all the previous championships they have attended. They have superbly delivered,” added BFI Secretary General Chander Mukhi Sharma.

Best performance by an Indian men’s team in 27 years

India’s 7^th place finish out of a 12 team strong competition, could well be its best performance in the last 27 years. The side has had better finishes in terms of final standings in previous editions of this competition (which was formerly known as “FIBA Asia Cup” and “FIBA Asia Stankovic Cup”). India had finished 5^th out of 5 teams in 2008, 6^th out of 8 teams in 2004, and 7^th out of 9 teams in 2014. But considering the smaller field on these occasions, India’s current 7^th place (with 4 wins & 4 losses) is its best ever performance in 27 years, after its 6^thplace finish in the 1989 Asian Basketball Championship. This is also the only time when India has beaten 3 higher ranked sides (China, Philippines and Taipei) in the same event. It is also pertinent to note that only last year, at the 2015 FIBA Asia Championship, India had finished 8^th, its best ever since 2003. So the current 7^th place is another big step forward. This is following another historic achievement reached by the U18 boys national team earlier this July, when they finished in the top 8 of the FIBA Asia U18 Championship. What makes the victory over Taipei even sweeter is the fact that this could well be India’s first ever win against the side. Most importantly, the victory proved that on their day, when all guns are firing, India can beat some of the best teams in Asia. Reflecting on the side’s performance, Head Coach Sat Prakash said, “The Indian team has earned lots of appreciation from FIBA President (Horacio Muratore) and other officials as well as from other good teams in Asia. This time around we have focused especially on defence and were able to successfully execute our tactics as practiced in the training camps. Our boys and India overall are now confident about taking on any challenge in the near future. This achievement does not belong to a single person but was a good team effort by all.” “It feels good and I’m happy with the performance. We can still do a lot better in the upcoming tournaments and I hope we will continue with this energy and morale,” said seasoned guard Vishesh Bhriguvanshi.

India’s Big Three Among Asia’s best- Again!

India’s role players of Rikin Pethani, Talwinderjit Sahi, Prasanna Venkatesh, Akilan Pari and Ravi Bhardwaj, all admirably put their best foot forward when it was needed. But it was the core ‘Big Three’ that led the charge yet again. Here are their impressive numbers across the 8 games India played:

• Shooting guard Vishesh Bhriguvanshi: The Varanasi veteran was superlative to say the least. The overall assist leader from the previous edition of the tournament in 2014, when India had famously beaten China for the first time, this time around he led all players in steals per game (2.5 stlpg)! With 16.9 points per game (ppg), he was 11^th overall in scoring (3^rd among guards). His 3.8 assists per game (apg) is 5^th overall and 3^rd among guards. His 77.8 free throw % (FT%) was 6^th overall & 4^th among guards. His 4.4 rebounds per game is 5^th among guards. His +14.6 efficiency per game (effpg) — (calculated as: PTS + REB + AST + STL + BLK − missed field goals - missed freethrows – turnovers) — is 11^th overall and 2^nd among guards.

• Power forward Amjyot Singh from Chandigarh: Amjyot was number 1 overall in freethrow shooting (90.3%) hitting 28/31 freethrows. His 8.3 rpg was 3^rd among forwards and 8^thoverall. His 2 double doubles (i.e. when a player crossed double digits in any two statistical categories in a single game) was 3^rd among forwards and 7^th overall. His 12.8 ppg was 6^thbest among forwards. His .6 blocks per game is 3^rd best among forwards. His +14.1 effpg is 6^th best among forwards. His 2.4 apg is 5^th best among forwards. His 37% from the field is 10^th among forwards.

• Captain Amritpal Singh: The 6ft 9.5’’ centre was the rock solid foundation on which both India’s offense and defence was built. Statistically, he was arguably the best of the Big Three, finishing in the top 10 in multiple statistical categories across all 5 playing positions combined. His 17.8 ppg is 8^th overall & 4^th among centres. His 10.4 rpg was 4^th overall & 3^rd among centres. His 1.1 blkpg is 7^th overall, 6^th among centres. His +19.3 EFFPG was 8^th overall & 4^th among centres. His 5 double doubles was 2^nd overall and the best among centres. Incredibly for a centre, who are invariably the slowest players on the floor, Amritpal was 8^th overall in steals (1.8), and the best among centres. His 1.5 apg is 6^th among centres. His 34.1 mpg was 4^th highest, showing India’s reliance on the big man.

Bhriguvanshi’s 34 points against Taipei in the preliminary round and Talwinderjit Singh’s 32 against Kazakhstan are the 4^th and 6^th highest single game scoring numbers, respectively, in the entire tournament. For more player stats, visit: www.fiba.com/asia/challenge/2016/playerstats

About the FIBA Asia Challenge 2016

The FIBA Asia Challenge was previously known as the FIBA Asia Cup. It is the first step in the qualification process for the 2017 FIBA Asia Cup (formerly known as “FIBA Asia Championship”). The top 5 teams earned for their respective sub-zones an extra berth at the 2017 FIBA Asia Cup, which will be the first inter-continental tournament featuring teams from both Asia and Oceania (i.e. Australia & New Zealand). The top teams from the 2017 FIBA Asia Cup qualify to play the 2017 New Competition System, from where 7 teams will progress to the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup. Final Standings

1. Iran

2. South Korea

3. Jordan

4. Iraq

5. China

6. Japan

7. India

8. Chinese Taipei

For more information please visit: www.fiba.com/asia/challenge/2016

India’s Squad

The final 12 members of the squad which represented India at the FIBA Asia Challenge were selected at the end of a nearly one-month long training camp held at NMAM Institute of Technology (NITTE) in Karkala, Udupi district of coastal Karnataka. While the Indian side remained largely unchanged from last month’s 38th William Jones Cup International Basketball Tournament, there were a couple of key changes. Veteran swingman and defensive stopper Yadwinder Singh returned to the team, and provided much needed versatility on both ends of the floor in terms of matchups. Also, teenager Hariram Ragupathy, one of the stars from India’s historic 8th place finish at the 2016 FIBA Asia U18 Championship, made his debut into the senior team.

Senior Men’s Squad for the FIBA Asia Challenge 2016

Jersey No Family Name(s) /Last Name First Name(s) /Given Name Place of Birth (City and State) Date of Birth (dd/mm/yyyy) Height (cm)(ft & inches) Weight (Kg) Position 4 Bhullar Arshpreet Singh Jalandhar Punjab 02/10/1996 190 (6’ 3’’) 86 G/F 9 Bhriguvanshi Vishesh Varanasi Uttar Pradesh 13/09/1991 195 (6’ 5’’) 95 G/F 10 Amritpal Singh Ganna Pind Punjab   05/01/1991 207 (6’ 9.5’’) 110 C 12 Philip Basil Sulthanbathery Kerala 10/01/1991 184 (6’) 76 G/F 14 Yadwinder Singh Rasulpur Khurd Punjab 30/12/1986 198 (6’ 6’’) 95 F 15 Pethani Rikin Sajiavadar Amreli Gujarat   02/12/1990 203 (6’ 8”) 104 C 22 Bhardwaj Ravi Chandigarh Chandigarh   31/10/1992 207 (6’ 9”) 100 F/C 25 Ragupathy Hariram Chennai Tamil Nadu 24/04/1998 184 (6’) 72 SG 27 Amjyot Singh Chandigarh Punjab/ Haryana 27/01/1992 203 (6’ 8”) 104 F 46 Sivakumar Prasanna Venkatesh Gobichettipalayam Tamil Nadu 25/09/1992 186 (6’ 1”) 85 G/F 66 Pari Akilan Chennai Tamil Nadu 20/07/1989 180 (5’ 10’’) 70 PG 99 Talwinderjit Singh Patiala Punjab   20/10/1986 182 (5’ 11’’) 80 PG

*PG - Point Guard / Feeder, G - Guard, F - Forward, G/F - Wing, PF - Power Forward, C - Centre, PF/C - Post

13) Coach: Sat Prakash Yadav 14) Coach: C. V. Sunny 15) Physiotherapist: Nikhil N. P. 16) Manager: Shaktikumar Mahipatsinh Gohil 17) FIBA Commissioner: Norman Swaroop Issac 18) FIBA Referee: Atanu Banerjee