New Delhi/Bengaluru, 22nd July 2016: Aiming for a quarterfinal berth, the Indian U18 Men’s team got off to a high flying start against lower ranked Thailand, winning 100-93, in the 24th FIBA U18 Men’s Championship 2016 that tipped off at the Azadi Sports Complex, Tehran, Iran earlier today.
Keen to start off on a winning note in this all important first game, Head Coach Dilip Gurumurthy relied heavily on his starters, with India’s ‘Big Three’ of guards P Baladaneshwar, Sahil and centre Vishal Kumar Gupta playing the full quota of 40 minutes. Only two players— Mohammed Ali and Rachit —came off the bench, with the former scoring 15 points in a little under 21 minutes.
If there were any concerns regarding rustiness on India’s part, those were quickly put to rest as the side outscored their South-east Asian opponents 29-21 in the first quarter.
India outscored Thailand by 14 points in the first half, while Thailand managed to score 50 points to India’s 43 in the second half. India’s clear advantage in this match was the fact that they managed to grab 45 rebounds compared to Thailand’s 31. 6ft 6 inch Vishal was a huge part of that, finishing with a double-double of 16 points and 14 rebounds. The UP centre also registered 3 blocked shots.
Apart from Vishal, India predictably utilised talented playmaker Baladaneshwar’s all-round game. The Indian captain was everywhere, scoring at ease (21 pts), grabbing rebounds, making assists (5 each), getting steals and blocking shots (1 each). Rounding off the big three was Haryana shooting guard Sahil, who lived up to his position, knocking down five three pointers to end with a team high 25 points.
Both Vishal and Sahil ended the game with a match best +26 efficiency (calculated in the following manner: PTS + REB + AST + STL + BLK − Missed FG − Missed FT − TO).
Not to be outdone, the supporting cast of Hariram Raghupati (17 pts & 6 rbs) and Muhammad Ali (15 pts) kept India’s scoreboard ticking in the second half, to ensure that the fighting Thailand stayed at least three possessions behind India throughout the game.
India next plays defending champions China tomorrow at 1:00 pm (IST). China too won its opening game today, an easy 93-28 victory over Iraq. Thailand will take on Chinese Taipei.
Indian Squad for the 24th FIBA 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
(c) |
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 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]
vs China – 23rd July, 1:00 PM
vs Chinese Taipei – 24th July, 5:00 PM
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.
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