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Noida – Arvinder Singh &  Hanos Singh Sindhu (Punjab) Janhejay Singh (Chandigarh) Kushal Singh  (Uttar Pradesh ) Jitendra Kumar Sharma ( Rajasthan)  and Vikrant Ghanghas – (Haryana) 6 prospects will now Join  and will receive scholarships and training at the NBA Academy

The  6 were selected   as National Basketball Association Today Announced From ACG-NBA Jump Who India. ACG-NBA Jump Is India’s First-Ever National Basketball Talent Search Program That Tipped Off Its 2019 National Finals On May 1.

 NBA Champion And Sacramento Kings’ Harrison Barnes Was Present Through The Two-Day Camp And Shared His Personal Drills And Training Techniques With All The Finalists. He Was Also Involved In Selection Of The New Prospects For The NBA Academy India

 About The selection

The 2019 ACG-NBA Jump National Finals Marked The Culmination Of A Talent Search That Comprised Of Scouting Across Various District, State And National Championships. An Open Submission Through TV, Print And Social Media Were Offered Allowing Players To Submit Video Entries Showcasing Their Basketball Skills, Athletic Ability And Attitude. The Top 50 Players From The Nationwide-Scouting Program Were Selected For The ACG-NBA Jump National Finals. ACG, Now In Its 4th Year As An Official Partner Of The NBA, Will Continue To Support Elite Basketball Development In India.

Double Crown for Ernakulam Bronze to Alappuzha Boys and Thiruvananthapuram Girls

Kochi 2nd May – Ernakulam Boys as well as Girls Crowned the 46th Sub Junior State Basketball Championship at Vaduthala in Kochi here at Don Bosco Floodlit Basketball Stadium.

In Girls final was evenly contested one in the first quarter even Thrissur took the lead 11-10 at the end but the second quarter saw Ernakulam taking the command lead 21-40 at the half time before winning the Match at 46-37 for Ernakulam. Amanda Maria and Maria Louis scored 13 and 10 respectively.

The Boys was also a one sided affair as they beat Kozhikode 34-14 with Johan Jenson who also adjusted as Best Player top scoring for Ernakulam with 10 Points.

Earlier Alappuzha Boys defeated Kottayam 29-27 while Thiruvananthapuram Girls beat Kannur 30-16 to claim the Bronze medal.

In the Girls Third Position Match Thiruvananthapuram Girls had no difficulty in beating Kannur 30-17 with Sayana Santhosh making the damage for Kannur scoring 16 points.

In Boys Third place, after leading 13-8 with Aswin top scoring with 9 for the Victory and Alby Mathew did the Bulk of Scoring for Kottayam with 15 points.

Earlier on 1st Semi final matches Ernakulam made a double entry into the Final as their Boys defeated Alappuzha 35-9 and Girls defeated Thiruvananthapuram 37-16 to make the Final Clash against Kozhikode who beat Kottayam 33-25 and in Girls to meet Thrissur who defeated Kannur 30-8

The medals and Certificates were Distributed by Internationals Stephy Nixon and Subash J Shenoy

Special Awards

Promising Players

Girls – Liya Shony Thrissur

Boys – Aravind Kozhikode

Best Player PS Viswappan Award

Girls -Amanda Maria Ernakulam

Boys – Johan Jenson

Best All round Performance
Girls – Laya Maria Antony Thrissur
Boys – Immanuel Ernakulam

Detailed Scores

Final

Girls

Ernakulam- 46(Amanda maria13, Maria Louis 10,Laya Maria Antony9) bt Thrissur-37(Liya Shony 16,Helen Joy9,Aleena Benny8)

Boys

Ernakulam- 34 (Johan Jenson 10, Vasudev7,Immanuel 7) bt Kozhikode-14 (Aravind M6)

Bronze medal match

Girls

Thiruvananthapuaram-30(Sayana Santhosh16,Aleena K Mathew7) bt Kannur-13(Tiyona Anu Philip7)

Boys

Alappuzha-29(Aswin9,Alfaz6) bt Kottayam-27(Alby Mathew15)

Semi Final ( May 1)

Girls

Thrissur-30(Liya Shony20) bt Kannur-8
Ernakulam-37(Amanda Maria Rocha 12,Laya Maria Antony11)

Boys

Ernakulam-35(Immanuel John10,Johnan Jenson 9,Vinay Shankar6,) bt Alappuzha-9
Kozhikode-33(Aravind8,Aosbal7,Divindas7) bt Kottayam-25(Alby Mathew10)

Kochi 2nd May – Alappuzha Boys defeated Kottayam 29-27 while Thiruvananthapuram Girls beat Kannur 30-16 to claim the Bronze medal here for the 46th Sub Junior State Basketball Championship at Vaduthala in Kochi here at Don Bosco Flood Lit Basketball Stadium.

In the Girls Third Position Match, Thiruvananthapuram Girls had no difficulty in beating Kannur 30-17 with Sayana Santhosh making the damage for Kannur scoring 16 points. Boys Third place after leading 13-8 with Aswin top scoring with 9 for the victory and Alby Mathew did the Bulk of Scoring for Kottayam with 15 points.

Earlier on 1st Semifinal matches, Ernakulam made a Double entry into the Final as their Boys defeated Alappuzha 35-9 and Girls beat Thiruvananthapuram 37-16 to make the Final Clash against Kozhikode who beat Kottayam 33-25 and in Girls to meet Thrissur who defeated Kannur 30-8

Detailed Scores
Bronze medal match

Girls

Thiruvananthapuram-30(Sayana Santhosh16, Aleena K Mathew7) bt Kannur-13(Tiyona Anu Philip7)

Boys

Alappuzha-29(Aswin9, Alfaz6) bt Kottayam-27(Alby Mathew15)

Semi-Final

Girls

Thrissur-30(Liya Shony20) bt Kannur-8
Ernakulam-37(Amanda Maria Rocha 12,Laya Maria Antony11)

Boys

Ernakulam-35(Immanuel John10,Johnan Jenson 9,Vinay Shankar6,) bt Alappuzha-9
Kozhikode-33(Aravind8,Aosbal7,Divindas7) bt Kottayam-25(Alby Mathew10)

Quarterfinal matches

Girls

Ernakulam -27(Marisha7,Laya Maria6) bt Alappuzha -17( Akshara13)
Kannur-24(Tiyona11) bt Pathanamthitta-6
Thrissur-16(Liya Stanly8) bt Kottayam-6
Trivandrum-24(Aleena K Mathew13) bt Kozhikode- 16

Boys

Ernakulam 31(Emmanuel12) bt Wayand-6
Kozhikode-30(muhammed10,Stam7) bt Trivandum-28(Karan Gopla8,Thomas7)
Alappuzha-28(awin11.Akshay8) by Pathanamthitta -20(vishnu11)
Kozhikode-30(Muhammed10) bt Trivandrum-28(Rohit9)

League Matches

Boys

Group A

· Trivandrum -26(Thomas6) beat Thrissur -4

· Trivandrum-39(thomas10) bt ,Alappuzha -29(aswin10)

· Ernakulam-44 (Vasudev10,Johan8) beat Alappuzha-19(anandhu13,Aswin10)

· Ernakulam-68(Johan14) bt Thrissur -7,

· Alappuzha – 23(Aswin13) bt Thrissur-3

· Erankulam-37(Sanjeev11) bt Trivandrum-14

Group B

· Kozhikode-28(Aishbel8) beat Kannur -27(Edwin Antony9)

· Kottayam -28(Alby Mathew10) beat Pathanamthitta -26 (Vishnu8)

· Pathanamthitta-23(vishnu8,Aswin Binu7) beat Kozhikode -20 (Shamu7)

· Kottayam-36(Alby Mathew16) beat Kannur -24(edwinAntony8)

· Pathanamthitta-41(Jishnu15,Akshay8) bt Kannur-24(aswin11)

· Kottayam-25(Alby mathew14) bt Kozhikode-18

Group C

· Idukki -44(Nithin15,Bosco10

· Idukki-14 bt Malapuram-11

· Kollam-27(Vish Jowans16) bt Malappuram-21(Vishnu11)

Group D

· Palakkad -17(jeevaj10) beat Kasargod -10

· Wayanad -26( Ashin10) bt Palakkad -12

· Wayanad-30(Akash10,Ashin6)

Girls

Group A

· Kozhikode -23 (Sneha6) beat Kasargod -5,

· Kozhikode-32(Avanthika10) beat Pathanamthitta -14,

Group B

· Alappuzha- 33(Diya S Jayan14) beat Kollam -6 ,

· Thrissur-40(Lisa Antony12) beat Kollam -11

Group C

· Trivandrum -42(Malavik20,Reshma10)beat Palakkad-4 ,

· Kannur-21(Tiyona Ann 16) beat Palakkad -7,

· Kannur-31(Sayona17) bt Trivandrum-29(Sayana15)

Group D

· Ernakulam 39(Amanda13

· Kottayam-23(Devika S nair 15) bt Malappuram-8

· Kottayam-31(Devika S Nair13) bt Wayanad-10

· Erankulam-36(Merisha10) bt Malappuram-10

· Erankulam -28(Ananda11) bt Kottayam-2

· Malappuram-5 bt Wayanad-2

Thodupuzha 27th April 2019:- Thiruvananthapuram anchored by NBA academy product Pranav Prince had no difficulty in beating Kottayam 45-28 while the defending Girls Champion had to fight against Kottayam to beat them to the score 59-56 and to celebrate a double delight victory here at the Finals of the 36th edition of Kerala State Youth Basketball Championship organised by Idukki District Basketball Association under the auspicious of Kerala basketball Association at Shanthal Jyothi Public School Floodlit Indoor Stadium Muttam.

In Boys final, Pranav did the bulk of the scoring for his side as with 28 points to his credit as they defeated the defending champion Kottayam 45-28.

In Girls, the combined effort of Thiruvananthapuram which also enjoyed a good bench strength which made them to scrape past Kottayam who had anchored by International player Ann Mary Zacharia with the score of 59-56.

For the Third Position  in girls, Kozhikode beat Thrissur 52-48 while Ernakulam took the Boys bronze as they beat Thrissur 41-38.

Earlier in semi-finals Kottayam defeated Ernakulam 44-39 and Thriuvananthapuram defeated Thrissur 60-38.

In Girls Semi-finals Thiruvananthapuram defeated Kozhikode 48-29 and Kottayam defeated Thissur 68-47 to make the finals.

Detailed Scores

Finals

Girls

• Thiruvananthapuram-56(Chinnu Koshy-15, Abhirami-15, Amrutha P-13) beat Kottayam-56(Ann Mary Zacharia-21, Aksha Thankam-13, Swapna Marin-10)

Boys

• Thiruvananthapuram-45(Pranav Prince-28) beat Kottayam-28(Jim Paul-10)

Third Position

Girls

• Kozhikode-52(Patisha K-20, Avani-14) beat Thrissur-48(Aleena Antony-14, Christeena Sabu-14)

Boys

• Ernakulam-41(Anwin Saju-1,Aswin-11) beat Thrissur -38(Abhinav CR-12)

Semi-Finals

Boys

• Kottayam-44(Deepak S-15, JimPaul-9, Ajin-8) beat Ernakulam-39(Anwin Saju-4)
• Thiruvananthapuram-60(Pranav Prince-23) beat Thrissur-36(Rajeeb-8)

Girls

• Kottayam-68(Ann Mary Zacharia-29, Aiswarya-12, Swapna Cherian-8) beat Thrissur-47(Criteena Sabu-12, Aleena Jaison-12, Aleena Antony-10)
• Thiruvananthapuram-48 beat Kozhikode -29

Quarter-Finals

Girls

• Thrissur- 46(Aleena Antony-12) beat Wayanad -13
• Thiruvananthapuram-32(Chinnu koshy-11) beat Alapuzha-7
• Kozhikode -52(Patisha-17,Aneya-9) beat Ernakulam-30
• Kottayam-57(Ann Mary Zacharia-25,Swapna Marium-16) beat Kannur-55(Sreelakshmi-20,Jesly PS-16)

Boys

• Thrissur-52(Sonal VS-14) beat Alappuzha -28(Arjun-8)
• Kottayam -58( Deepak S Vettikat-18,Joseh C-14) beat Pathanamthitta-29(Govind Manoj-8)
• Thiruvananthapuram – 69( Pranav prince26,Alotius12) beat Kozhikode-62(Nithin Babu-22)
• Ernakulam- 54(Ananthu KS 12, Anwin Saju-11) beat Idukki-47(Farzeem-15,Joel Vince-11)

Thodupuzha  25th  April 2019-  Thrissur Boys and  Girls along with defending champions Kottayam Boys and Thiruvananthapuram Girls entered the Semi-finals of the 36th edition of Kerala State Youth Basketball Championship  organised by Idukki District Basketball Association under the auspicious of Kerala Basketball Association at Shanthal Jyothi Public School Flood light Indoor Stadium, Muttam.

In the Quarter final match Thrissur boys defeated Alappuzha 52-28 while the girls had an easy victory over Wayanad with the score 46-13.

In other  Quarter final matches in Boys Kottayam defeated Pathanamthitta (58-28) while Thiruvananthapuram Girls had an easy victory over Alappuzha (32-7).

In the Pre-quarter final matches in the morning Boys host Idukki  defeated Kasargod(43-27) then  Pathanamthitta defeated Kannur (55-32) Kozhikode beat Kollam(60-11) Alappuzha defeated Palakkad (30-12).

In Girls Pre-quarter final Matches  Ernakulam beat Pathanamthitta(50-38)Kottayam beat Malappuram (35-6) Wayanad beat Kasargod(24-18) and Alappuzha scrape past Kollam (59-54).

Detailed Scores

Quarter Finals

Girls

• Thrissur- 46(Aleena Antony-12) defeated Wayanad -13
• Thiruvananthapuram-32(Chinnu koshy-11) defeated Alappuzha-7

Boys

• Thrissur-52(sonal VS-14) defeated Alappuzha -28(arjun-8)
• Kottayam -58( Deepak S Vettikat-18,Joseh C-14,) defeated Pathanamthitta-29(Govind Manoj-8)

Pre-Quarter Finals

Girls

• Ernakulam -50(Hridya-17,Neha-12,Ann Mary-11) defeated Pathanamthitta-38 (Talitha-18.Archa Anand-8 )
• Kottayam- 35( Swapna Merin-10,AnnMary zacharia-8) defeated Malappuram -6
• Wayanad – 24 (Liya Shony-9) defeated Kasargod-18
• Alappuzha -59 (Anamika M-15,Thamana Rafeeq-12) defeated Kollam  -54(Nerin Mathew-17,Megha Abhilasa-17)

Boys

• Pathanamthitta -55 ( Jordan Cherian-16,Govind Manoj-15) defeated Kannur -32(Joyal Geroge-11)
• Kozhikode-60 ( Adwaid-10,muhammed Fenzil-10) defeated Kollam-11
• Idukki-43 (Joel vince-8) defeated Kasargod-27(Noyal Mathew-11 )
• Alappuzha-30(Arjun J-11)  defeated Palakkad -12

Thodupuzha  24th  April 2019 – Dhronacharya K P Thomas inaugurated the 36th edition of Kerala State Youth  Basketball Championship organised by Idukki District Basketball Association under the auspicious of Kerala Basketball Association at Shanthal Jyothi Public School Flood light Indoor Stadium Muttam.

The four day championship will feature teams from 14 district in boys and 13 in girls where this time  will be played on a Knock out Basis.Except from girls in preliminary round there will also be an Losers Knock out of matches.

In the preliminary matches of the day in girls division Pathanamthitta girls got better of Palakkad 32-22 and in another match in boys division Kollam defeated Malappuram 32-20.

The Championship will be the Prelude to the 36th Youth National Championship at Coimbatore from 14 to 21 May 2019.

The State Probable’s for the  National Championship will be selected from this championship

Kottayam in Boys and Thiruvananthapuram in Girls are the reigning champions .

Detailed Scores

Girls

• Pathanamthitta -32(Thalitha marium 13) bt Palakkad- 22

Boys

• Kollam- 32 (Jeff J Philip12) bt Malappuram-20(Sumesh K Mohanan12)

Dhronacharya K P Thomas Mash to Inaugurate

Tiruvalla 23rd April 2019- Shanthal Jyothi Public School Flood light Indoor Stadium is all set for the 36th edition of Kerala State Youth  Basketball Championship  organised by Idukki District Basketball Association under the auspicious of Kerala Basketball Association .

The four day  championship will feature Teams from  14 District in boys and 13 in Girls where this time  will be played on a Knock out Basis. Except from Girls in preliminary round there will also be a Losers Knock out of matches.

The championship will officially be Inaugurated on 24th April by  Dhronacharya K P Thomas Mash at 5pm.

The Championship will be the Prelude to the 36th Youth National Championship at Coimbatore from 14 to 21 May 2019 .

The State Probable’s for the  National Championship will be selected from this championship.

Kottayam in Boys and Thiruvananthapuram in Girls  are the reigning champions .

Earlier the championship was to be scheduled  at St Marys Polytechnic College Valliyode Palakkad from 11th to 15th May and has to be played on a League cum Knock out basis has to be preponed due to the announcement of  dates  of Youth National Championship for Boys and Girls by  Basketball Federation of India  at Coimbatore from 14th to 21st May 2019.

The Idukki DBA  came  willing to host the Championship at Shanthal Jyothi Public School Flood light Indoor Stadium at Muttom within a short notice  when at a time  Palakkad DBA   has expressed their inability to host the same before the Nationals  as the Institution they planned to conduct the State Championship  are having  with  their  exams going on over there.

NBA the organisers of the World’s best basketball league in America, has started   a  three-day advanced training at Kottayam St ephrmemes campus on  April 3rd afternoon , 4th Morning and evening and finishing on 5th Morning   2019, by American National Basketball Association (NBA) coaches.

After its comprehensive reliance foundation Jr NBA youth initiative in Kerala ,  20 boys and 20 Girls who were selected for this Kerala tryouts from over 300 schools from the regional competitions held in Kozhikode, Kottayam, Trivandrum and Kochi in January and February 2019.This Under-14 Kerala  cagers who were at  Kottayam have the quality training by the NBA international coaches  lead by Marc Pulles who is in charge of NBA Academy  operation in India  and the Jr  NBA coaches  Sarah Gailer from USA and Carlo Paloma from Spain conducted as part of the by Reliance Foundation junior NBA programme

 The Players on the first day went through gear distribution and measurement details and some icebreaker competitions and interacted with each others to  Know each other as they assembled from different places.The second day went through  with  various basketball drills like – positional drills, shooting, ball handling, defence hot shots, free throws, along with scrimmage games to test their playing strengths and abilities  In the evening the players  were divided into group of four and 5 on 5 games were played

After the end of these try-outs, a 10-member Kerala team in both the boys and girls category will fly over to Noida to  compete in the 12-team NBA National Basketball Championship scheduled to be played at NBA India’s Noida Academy in the end of April which  will select the Indian Team to Travel over to Jr NBA World Championship in America

3 Indian boys and 4 girls selected for the Next Generation Showcase program

Ann Mary Zacariah the Student from Mount Carmel HSS Kottayam will be Joined by , Sunishka Kartik(Karnataka)  the replacement of  Garrishma Nirnajan from Karnataka , Harsiman Kaur (Punjab) and Siya Deodhar (Mahrastra ) who selected from  (NBA Academy India Women’s Program  will  join other  30 women players from 16 countries participating in the NCAA’s Next Generation program at the Women’s Final Four in Tampa.  While Princepal Singh & Vivek Chauhan  (Punjab)  along with Aashay Varma from Hyderabad  will Join other  47 men  players from 16 countries who will be representing the NBA Academies in Africa, Australia, China and Latin America at the Next Generation program at the Men’s Final Four in Minneapolis. The event will take place from April 4-6, culminating with Next Generation Saturday at the Women’s Final Four Tourney Town. Event)

The camp Hosted by the NCAA in partnership with USA Basketball and the NBA Academies program, and with support from the National Association of Basketball Coaches and the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association, the collaboration provides young athletes with educational and life-skills sessions, allows them to compete against their peers from around the world, and lets them experience aspects of the Final Four from a player’s perspective, including attending Final Four national semi-final games.

According to Sports Star – Veselin Matic, who took Iran to an Asian Games bronze medal in 2010, is set to be appointed as the new head coach of the Indian men’s basketball team. The Serbian’s name had been cleared by the sports ministry last week, BFI Secretary General Chander Mukhi Sharma stated here on sunday, with only a few formalities left to be completed. He is expected to arrive by the end of April.

A veteran international coach, Matic helped Iran qualify for its first ever World Championship (2010) with victory in the 2009 FIBA Asia Championship. The 58-year-old has also coached the Polish and Lebanese national teams and was last with Syria. “Our plan is for him to conduct regular zonal coaching camps apart from clinics for our coaches,” said Sharma. “The problem we face is that each zone has its own coaching systems and when players meet for national camps, we lose a lot of time in getting them to adapt to one system. We want to establish a uniform coaching pattern throughout the country.”

K. Govindaraj (Karnataka) was unanimously re-elected as president of the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) at its annual general body meeting here on sunday. Chander Mukhi Sharma (Chandigarh) was re-elected secretary-general as the BFI promised a bunch of new ideas and tournaments. Kerala Basketball Association got his representation through P J Sunny who finds his name in the Executive committee. Dr V Rangothaman from Puducherry re-elected as Treasurer of BFI a new six-team women’s league would be held inside the next three months declared Govindaraj. “We plan to hold it in six cities first. Depending on how it goes, we will take it to other centres,“ he said.

New Committee

Plans are also afoot to restructure the National championships, with a new committee constituted for the purpose.“The committee will give us its proposal in the next 45 days. We intend to have a zone-wise competition before the final round. We will have more matches, which will give us a chance to look at more talent,” said Govindaraj.

The BFI president was confident that the men’s team’s performances would improve. Other BFI plans include conducting a 3×3 tournament of its own and establishing a scholarship for young players. Norman Issac the only FIBA technical Delegate from India is nominated as the Chairman of Technical Committee and Shafeeq Shaik from Gujarat as the convener.

Sakthi Singh will be the New Chairman for Selection Committee. Mr Teja Singh Dhailieal from Punjab will be the Sr Vice President Dr Seema Sharma from Uttar Pradesh will be the Lady Vice President Shri Om Prakash (Karnataka), Ajay Sud (Himachal Pradesh), Gautham Ganguly (West Bengal),  Ajeeth Singh Rathore from Rajasthan will be the Vice Presidents Chengaleraya Naidu from Andhra Pradesh, Juguraj from Chandigarh, Kulwinder Singh from Madhya Pradesh and Fr Ralim Desousa from Goa were the Associate Secretaries along with P J Sunny Kerala other executive members includes Vikram Handa(Jammu &Kashmir), Gyanaranjan Panda (Odhisa), Mandeep S Greewal (Utharkhand), Dalbir Singh Kharah (Haryana) and Sevendar Kumar(Delhi).

ANN MARY ZACARIAH from Mount Carmel HSS Kottayam the Proud daughter of former Internationals Jeena and Zacharia has been chosen along with Grishma Niranjan from Karnataka Siya Deodhar of Nagpur and Harsimran Kaur from Punjab to participate in the 1st ever NBA Academy and National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Next Generation Global Camp. Each player was selected based on her outstanding basketball skills and leadership abilities and should take great pride in this selection.

“My dream is to play in the WNBA and with that intention I started playing basketball. This camp I think is my first step in that direction and I am really excited to perform in front of the renowned coaches in America,” said 15-year-old Ann Mary. The 6-feet-tall center, who loves to play as a forward, had already represented India in the U-18 and U-16 Asia championships. Karnataka point guard Grishma Niranjan, who represented India in the U-16 Asia Cup in 2017 and recently attended the BWB Global camp in the US is aware about the pace at which the game is played globally

The 2019 NBA Academy Next Generation Global Camp will be held in Tampa, Florida (USA) from April 3 – 7, 2019, and will assemble the top players from each regional NBA Academy Training camp from the past year, along with other elite players from around the world. The camp will be a unique opportunity for each player to improve their basketball talents, get to know other basketball players of the same age from around the globe, and be given the opportunity to play in front NCAA Division 1,2, and 3 University coaches. The NBA Academy Next Generation Global Camp will center around the NCAA Women’s Final Four and campers will attend and participate in NCAA and Final Four activities throughout the week.

The players will travel to Minneapolis and Tampa, respectively, for a weekend of player development and educational programming as part of Next Generation Sunday and, for the first time, Women’s Next Generation Saturday.

Hosted by the NCAA in partnership with USA Basketball and the NBA Academies program, and with support from the National Association of Basketball Coaches and the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association, the collaboration provides young athletes with educational and life-skills sessions, allows them to compete against their peers from around the world, and lets them experience aspects of the Final Four from a player’s perspective, including attending Final Four semifinal games.

Launched at last year’s Men’s Final Four, Next Generation is part of the expanded USA Basketball Junior National Team Program in partnership with the NCAA, NBA and National Basketball Players Association.

“We are excited to continue our Next Generation programming and introduce young athletes to not just one but two of the greatest sporting events in the world,” said NCAA Senior Vice President of Basketball Dan Gavitt. “We want to provide a meaningful experience for these student-athletes while strengthening the game of basketball at all levels.”

“Next Generation is a valuable initiative to work with our stakeholder groups to unify the game,” said NCAA Vice President of Women’s Basketball Lynn Holzman. “Including women’s programming for the first time in the upcoming Women’s Final Four is an exciting opportunity, and we look forward to meeting and working with these women’s players from all over the world.”

Men’s teams representing the NBA Academies in Africa, Australia, China and Latin America will scrimmage one another during Next Generation Sunday at the Final Four Fan Fest presented by Capital One on April 7 in Minneapolis.

NBA Academies Women’s Program participants from Africa, Australia, China, India, and Mexico, in addition to select players from Canada and Europe, will compete in a three-day minicamp led by NBA Academies Women’s Program Technical Directors Jennifer Azzi and Blair Hardiek, culminating with exhibition games at Next Generation Saturday on April 6 at the Women’s Final Four.

Both Next Generation Sunday and Women’s Next Generation Saturday will be open to all fans who attend the Men’s Final Four Fan Fest and Women’s Final Four Tourney Town presented by Capital One.

Approximately 60 members of the 2019 USA Basketball Men’s Junior National Team from the high school classes of 2020, 2021 and 2022 and select members from USA Basketball Women’s Junior National Teams will participate in the Next Generation programs. Members from USA Basketball’s Men’s and Women’s Junior National Teams will also take part in closed competitions with the NBA Academies during their time in Minneapolis and Tampa.

“USA Basketball is delighted to be a part of the Next Generation events at the Women’s and Men’s NCAA Final Fours,” said USA Basketball Chief Executive Officer Jim Tooley. &rldquo;The Next Generation program not only provides another valuable training opportunity for the USA Basketball Junior National Team and 3×3 players, but it also helps educate our young athletes about eligibility, recruiting and health and safety, and they get a real chance to experience the excitement of being part of the NCAA Final Four.”

“Next Generation will once again provide prospects from our seven NBA Academies with the opportunity to compete against their peers from around the world, while also participating in life-skills and educational programming that will benefit them as people and players,” said NBA Vice President, Head of Elite Development Brooks Meek. “The expansion to the Women’s Final Four is an exciting milestone for The NBA Academies Women’s Program as we continue to create a predictable development pathway for top male and female players from outside the U.S. to maximize their potential.”

The President, Shri Ram Nath Kovind presenting the Padma Shri Award to Ms. Prashanti Singh, at the Civil Investiture Ceremony-II, at Rashtrapati Bhavan, in New Delhi on March 16, 2019.

Prashanti Singh, one-fifth of India’s famed ‘Singh sisters’, has been named as a recipient of the Padma Shri award, the Indian government announced on the eve of the nation’s 70th Republic Day (26th January).

The Padma Shri is the fourth-highest honor presented to a civilian after the Bharat Ratna, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan. The ‘Padma’ awards were first instituted in 1954 and were awarded to Indian citizens to recognize their contribution in various spheres of activity such as arts, education, industry, science, sports, literature, medicine, social service, and public affairs.

In this year’s announcement, Prashanti Singh was one of seven sports personalities who were among 94 people listed as Padma Shri recipients.

Prashanti Singh is the most decorated women’s basketball player in India with 23 medals to her name in National Championships, Federation Cups, and National Games in India.

She even has a film based on her life – Boskey Basketball Banaras.

MUMBAI, March 4, 2019 – Yannick Colaco will step down as Vice President and Managing Director of NBA India, it was announced today by NBA Deputy Commissioner and Chief Operating Officer Mark Tatum.

Diane Gotua, the NBA vice-president for global business operations, will relocate from New York to Mumbai to lead the business in India on an interim basis and oversee the search for a new India managing director.

Colaco has been in his current role since February 2013. NBA Vice President of Global Business Operations Diane Gotua will relocate from New York to the NBA’s Mumbai office to lead the business in India on an interim basis and oversee the search for a new Managing Director of the NBA in India.

“The NBA’s popularity and business in India have seen significant growth under Yannick’s leadership over the past six years,” said Tatum. “We thank Yannick for his contributions during his tenure as Managing Director and are grateful to have Diane assist with the transition.”

“I am extremely thankful to have played a part in the growth of the NBA in India,” Colaco said. “From broadening the distribution of our games to our plan to bring the live game experience to fans, the NBA’s business in India has never been better. It has been incredible living and breathing the NBA everyday over the past six years, and I look forward to applying my NBA experience as I move onto my next professional challenge.”

Colaco helped spearhead the growth for the NBA in India, expanding the distribution of NBA games to more than 350 live NBA games each season on SONY TEN 1, SONY TEN 3 and SONY ESPN, including 78 games with Hindi commentary and the introduction of live games that air primetime in India. Colaco led the NBA’s retail presence in India, with NBA merchandise now available at more than 750 retail stores nationwide and through NBAStore.in. Colaco was also responsible for partnering with Dream11 to launch the official NBA daily fantasy game, which is projected to have more than 1.5 million registered active users by the end of the season.

During Colaco’s tenure, he was influential in the formation of the NBA’s partnership with the Reliance Foundation in 2013, which has reached more than 10 million youth from 10,000 schools and trained more than 10,000 physical education instructors nationwide through the Reliance Foundation Jr. NBA program.

Additionally, Colaco oversaw the launch of The NBA Academy India, an elite basketball training center in Delhi National Capital Region (NCR) for top male and female prospects from throughout India and first of its kind in the country, and the NBA Basketball Schools, a network of tuition-based basketball development programs open to male and female players ages 6-18.

Most recently, Colaco was instrumental for the plan to bring the live NBA experience to fans in India with the NBA India Games 2019, two preseason games scheduled to take place in Mumbai this October featuring the Indiana Pacers and the Sacramento Kings. The NBA India Games 2019 will mark the first games the NBA has played in India and the first games staged in the country by a North American sports league.

18th Champions Trophy Basketball Inter Club Basketball Championship

Customs Men and KSEB women took the Title

Aluva –KSEB defeated Kerala Police 41-39 in Women and Customs and Central excise Kochi defeated Sree kerala Varma College Thrissur 80-64 in Men here at the finals of the 18th Edition of the Champions Trophy Inter club Basketball Championship for Men and Women, here at the Flood Lit Carmel Club Indoor Stadium in Aluva.

In an evenly poised final the new bunch KSEB handicapped by their Internationals Jeena PS , Stephy Nixon and Grima came on to beat Kerala Police 41-39 after trailing 24-28 in the Interval with Anjanna PG anchoring the scoring with 16 points, for Kerala Police Poojamol was the leading scorer with 12 points.

While in Men Finals seasoned players of customs making use of their experience defeated Sree Kerala Varma College( 80-64 ). The college team that amazed the professional side of KSEB in the semi final

Customs who played a collective game in the final lead 36-29 at the interval . Shinumon Augustine lead the scoring chart with 32 points and was well assisted by some graceful long rangers from Manoj R who contributed with 23 points , the speedy International Basil Philip with 17 points with lanky Eudric Perera controlling the rebounds and captain Abhilsh who assisted his team with good passes and interceptions then the monish Wilson making his presence felt whenever he came on the ground.

The Presence of Arjuna Awardee Geethu Anna Rahul was an added attraction during the finals at the packed Aluva Carmel stadium. The prizes and mementoes were distributed by Geethu Anna Rahul for women and for men by GCDA chairman V Salim

Detailed Scores Finals
Women

1. KSEB Thiruvanthapuram- 41(Anjana PG 16, Rojamol G 10, Nimmy Mathew 8) bt  Kerala Police=39(Poojamol KS 12, Neenumol 9, Surya PR 8)

Men

1. Customs and Central Excise Kochi – 80(Shinumon Augustine32, Manoj R23, Basil Philip17) bt  Sree Kerala Varma College Thrissur-64(Muhammed Shiras21, Groo Mathew16, Shanazil Muhammed8)

18th Champions Trophy Basketball Inter Club Basketball Championship
KSEB to Meet Kerala police in Women final
Sree Kerala Varma College to clash with Customs in Men

Aluva –KSEB women will meet Kerala Police in women while Sree Kerala varma College Thrissur will clash horn with the defending champion Customs and Central Excise in the finals of the 18th Edition of the Champions Trophy Inter club Basketball Championship for Men and Women, here at the Flood Lit Carmel Club Indoor Stadium in Aluva

The final matches will play on Sunday from 6pm onwards

In the women 1st semi final Kerala Police after leading 32-16 at the half time came on to beat the Calicut university champion St Josephs college irinjalakuda 56-33 with surya PR leading the coring for Kerala Police with 28 points.

In the second semi final in women star studded Kerala State electricity Board after an evenly fought 1st half after leading 24-22 came on to beat Assumption college 43-27 with Aneesha Cleetus top scoring for Electricity Board with 11 points

The most exciting match of the championship was definitely the last match of the day the second Semi final between Sree Kerala varma College Thrissur and KSEB.

KSEB came into the field determining to avenge its defeat against Kerala Varma four days back and started off the first quarter leading 16-9 but the college lads didn’t loose their mind and came back reducing the lead ending up the first half trailing only by 2 points (24-26) and ended up the third quarter trailing 33-36. The mid way through the final quarter saw KSEB increasing its lead to a 10 points but Young energetic boys played like professionals put KSEB in foul trouble with the outcome they lost three key players Jishnu ,Ashin and Sharath with five fouls

The dying minutes saw Shiras and Grigo accelerating the tempo and making Kerala Varma the champions. Grigo was the leading scorer with 16 points for Kerala varma Shanzil 12 and Shiras made 10 for EB Sharath and Akhil scored 15 points each

0n Friday on a late men quarter final match KSEB had no difficulty in beating Beatrice club Kannur with the score 46-32

Detailed Scores
Semi finals
Women

1. Kerala Police=56(Surya PR26,Riya jinendran10) bt St Josephs College  Irinjalakuda-33(Aswathy P jayasankar15)
2. KSEB Thiruvanthapuram-43(Aneesha Cleetus11,  Nimmy 8, Anjana P G8)

Men

1. Sree Kerala varmma College Thrissur-56(Grigo Mathew16,Shanzl Muhammed12,Shiras Muhammed10) bt KSEB Thiruvanthapauaram-53(Akhil AR15,Sharth 15)

Quarter finals
Men

1. KSEB Thiruvanthapuram-46(Anjith A R14,Sharath8) bt Beatrice kannur-32(Aravind13)

Tomorrow Schedule Finals

1. 6.00 Pm  Kerala Police Vs W/o KSEB and Assumption College Changanacherry
2. 7.30pm Customs and Central Excise Kochi Vs W/o KSEb and Sree Kerala Varma College Thrissur

Customs and Central Excise Men into the finals

Aluva – Customs and Central excise moved on to the finals of the 18th Edition of the Champions Trophy Inter club Basketball Championship for Men and Women, here at the Flood Lit Carmel Club Indoor Stadium in Aluva. The final matches will play on Sunday

In an exciting 1st semi final in men after an evenly poised first half the seasoned players from customs accelerated the scoring in the 3rd and final quarters to beat Kerala Police 72-59 with international Basil Philip top scoring with 18 points and Jomon was the top scorer with 21 points for Police

In another quarter final match in women Assumption College Changancherry got better of SES College Sreekantapuram 70-56 and entered the Semi finals

In last men quarter final match KSEB had no difficulty in beating Beatrice club Kannur with the score 46-32

On Friday late night Kerala Police Men defeated Carmel Club Aluva 58-44 and Sree kerala varma college defeated in Men division while Alapuzha Basketballers 38-25

In the second Semi final in men to be played tomorrow Sree Kerala Varma College Thrissur will take on KSEB Thiruvanthapuram

In women semi finals Kerala Police will meet St Josephs College Irinjalakuda and KSEB will meet Assumption College Changanacherry

Detailed Scores
Men 1st Semi finals

1. Customs and Central excise Kochi –72(Basil Philip 18, Manoj R17, Robin S 15) bt Kerala Police-59(Jomon Jose21, Savio tom17)

Quarter finals
Men

1. Kerala Police – 58(Sreejith Nair16, Jijo Thankachan13, Jomon jose 10) bt Carmel club Aluva-44(Ebin wilson10, Mathew8)
2. SKVC Thrissur-38(Amal Raghu7) bt Allapuzha Basketballers -25
3. KSEB thiruvanthapuram-46(Anjith A R 14, Sharath 8) bt Beatrice kannur-32(Aravind 13)

Women

1. Assumption College Chanagancherry-70(Athira M S 18,Dona Elsa Zacharia 14,Jayalakshmi V J 12) bt SES College Srekantapuram-56(Sanika Saju 21,Amritha AS 12)

Tomorrow Schedule

1. 5.30 Pm  Kerala Police Vs St josephs College Irinjalakuda
2. 6.45 Pm  KSEB   Vs Assumption College  Changancherry
3. 8.00 Pm  W/o KS EB Trivandrum Vs Beatrice Club Kannur  Vs Sree Kerala Varma College Thrissur

Customs and St Jospehs Irinjalakuda into the Semi Finals

Aluva – Customs and Central excise defeated KE college Mannanam(97-73) to meet Kerala Police who defeated Carmel Club Aluva(58-44) in Men division while in Women Quarter final match Calicut university champions St Josephs College Irinjalakuda defeated Roshans Club Aluva(61-48) to meet Kerala Police in the Semi finals of the 18th Edition of the Champions Trophy Inter club Basketball Championship for Men and Women, here at the Flood Lit Carmel Club Indoor Stadium in Aluva.

Sree Kerala Varma College Thrissur also made the last Four as they defeated Allapuzha Basketballers 38-25 and will meet the winners of KSEB and Beatrice Club Kannur in the Semi finals.

On a late pre quarter final match on Tuesday K E College Mannanam defeated College Kuttikannam(49-44).

Detailed Scores
Quarter finals
Men

1. Customs and Central Excise Kochi –97(Manoj R 26, Robin S 16, Amith Sebatian15, Eudric Oerera13) bt KE College Mannanam-73(Moncy24,Josy20,Jissmon12)
2. Kerala Police – 58(Sreejith Nair16, Jijo Thankachan13, Jomon jose10) bt Carmel club Aluva-44(Ebin wilson10,Mathew8)
3. SKVC Thrissur-38(Amal Raghu7) bt Allapuzha Basketballers -25

Women

1.  St Josephs College Irinjalakuda- 61(Justeena20, Aleena Seby13, Lithara10) bt Roshans 7 star Aluva-48(Anju A J21, Athulya N12, Arya K R10)

Pre Quarter Final

1. KE College Mannanam-49(Jossy joseph16, Jissmon Jiji10) bt Marian College Kuttikkanam-44(Thomas Sebastian26, Akhil P murali12)

Tomorrow Schedule

1. 5.30 Pm  S E S College Srekantapuram Vs Assumption College Changancherry(Quarter Final)
2. 6.15 Pm Customs and Central Excise Kochi Vs Kerala Police (Semifinal)
3. 7.30 Pm KSEB Trivandrum Vs Beatrice Club Kannur (quarter Final )

Carmel Stadium Aluva All Set for the 18th Champions Trophy Basketball Inter Club Basketball Championship

Tiruvalla- Aluva carmel Stadium is All again Set for the 18th Edition of the Champions Trophy Inter club Basketball Championship for Men and Women, from February 20th to 24th 2019

The five day tournament championship, where the teams from Kerala for the 33rd Federation Cup Basketball Championship, will be selected, is organised jointly by the Ernakulam District Basketball Association (EDBA), Team Rebound ,Carmel club Aluva and Regional Sports Centre (RSC) under the auspices of Kerala Basketball Association

The tourney will have the participation of nine men’s teams and seven women’s teams.

While the champion club of the men’s competitions would represent Kerala at the forthcoming Federation cup Basketball Championship , the State’s women’s team for the championship would be selected on the basis of the individual performances of the players from the tournament.

In the men’s section, besides the title holders Customs & Central Excise, KSEB, Kerala Police ,Sree Kerala Varma College Thrissur with host Carmel Club Aluva and some of the leading clubs ad college teams of the state would vie for honors. The title challenge on the distaff side would be led by last year’s winners Kerala Police then the favourites KSEB Thiruvanthapuram , Assumption College, Changanassery, St Josephs College Irinjalakuda as well as Alapuzha ,SES college Sreekantapuram and Local out fit Roshans 7 star Aluva

From last year onwards championship, new trophies are instituted in memory of four basketball stalwarts of yesteryears, namely Prince Chandy, John Casimir, Chandrasekharan Nair and Betty Chacko. An array of other awards also awaits players. Apart from former trophies in memory of Dr Mathew Roy , ML Edwin, K Zacharia and B Sathyanath

An organising committee has been constituted for streamlining the activities of the tournament under the chairmanship of S A S Navaz (IRS, Retd), the Secretary of the RSC. Adv. Saleem.K A (Secretary, EDBA) and Ajikumar Nair ( Secretary, Team Rebound ) are the conveners of the committee.

The championship will be inaugurated by Anwar Sadath MLA at 6 pm, on Wednesday February 20th 2019.

The final of the championship is scheduled for 6 pm start on Sunday February 24th 2019 .

The Chief Guest will be Arjuna Awardee Geethu Anna Rahul

Reliance Foundation Jr. NBA City Championship Regional Matches Concluded

Colourful end to the Kerala’s Fifth Reliance Foundation Jr. NBA City Championship at Kochi

U14 Title for St Ephrems HSS mannam and Mount Carmel HSS Kottayam
U12 Title forRajagiri and St Michles HSS Kozhikode

Kochi, February4 : “The Reliance Foundation Jr. NBA program which has received an immense response in Kochi with spirited participation of more than 500 schools and 3lakh children and active support of schools and parents. Its a great inspiration for young fervent players in India came to an end at the Rajgiri Stadium in Kalammasserry with St Ephrems HSS Mannam taking the Title in U14 division defeating Silver Hill HSS Kozhikode 38-25 while Mount Carmel HSS defeating St Gorettis HSS Trivandrum 41-19 in the 5 on 5 City Championship

In 5 on 5under 12 division St Michaels HSS Kozhikode defeated Little Flower HSS Koratty 22-16 to take the honors in Girls while Rajagir HSS Kalamsserry took the Boys title defeating Silver Hill HSS Kozhikode (38-18)

These teams came in the finals from more than 180 schools participated four zones in Kozhikode, kochi, Trivandrumand Kottayam

The Trophies and Certificates were Distributed by P J Sunny President Kerala Basketball Association , Jaison Peter President Ernakulum district Basketball Association Adv Salim KA Vice President Kerala Basketball Association

Detailed Scores
5 on 5 Competition U14
Boys Final

1. St ephrmes HSS Mannanam-38(Rinil Ck22) bt Silver Hill HSS Kozhikode-25(Atham Jathari8,Mazin 8)

Girls Final

1. Mount Carmel HSS Kottayam-38(irin elza18,Edrina Ann joseph12) bt St Gorettis  Trivandrum-19(Safna7)

Semi finals
Girls

1. Mount Carmel HSS Kottayam-22(irin elza10) btSilver Hill HSS Kozhikode-8
2.  St Gorettis  Trivandrum-32(Dona Ivan11,Ajna8) bt Little Flower Convent GHS-30(Aleena Jaison10)

Boys

1. St ephrmes HSS Mannanam-28(Rinil Ck11,Devadas 9) bt Assissi Vidhyanikethan  Narkal-21(Alexander8)
2. Silver Hill HSS Kozhikode-23Mazin 6) bt Mar Baselios Amboori-6

Detailed Scores

5 on 5 Competition U12
Boys Final

1. Rajagiri HSS Kalmasserry-38(Solomon Thomas13,Vasudev S8) bt Silver Hill HSS Kozhikode-18(Aishbal8)

Girls Final

1. St Michaels HSS kozhkode-22(Vismaya Ch8) bt Little Flower Convent HS  Koratty-16(anamika Sadsivan8)

Semi finals
Girls

1. St Michaels HSS kozhkode-20 bt Oxford Kollam-6
2. Little Flower Convent HS  Koratty-18Aneenna11) bt Good Shepherd School Kurianoor-16

Boys

1. Rajagiri HSS Kalmasserry-50Solomon Thomas20 ,vinaySankar10) bt Jyothinikethan School Alalpzuaha-30(Aswin Krishna14romal K  roy8)
2. Silver Hill HSS Kozhikode-27(Abhishek C Prabhu18) bt Mar Baselios Amboori-2

Coaching Clinic hosted by Reliance Foundation Jr NBA at YMCA Alapuzha

Alapuzha – As part of the reliance foundation Jr NBA Programme in Kerala after finishing the regional competitions in Sports Hub Indoor complex in thiuvanthapuram held a 2 hr each Coaching Clinic for U14 & U17 boys from Alapuzha.

Kids and Coaches brought by Allapuzha district Basketball Assocation at YMCA Alapuzha were welcomed to the clinic that was conducted by conducted by Sara Gayler the coach from USA who is training a mens team in USA and Carla Paloma from spain was also assisted by Prem a FIBA level 2 coach from Kerala.

Sarah said, “The heart behind holding these coaches clinics is just to share the game. From coach Sarah perspective and the success that she has had with the men’s team in USA really just trying to share with our coaches and Kids here on Alapuzha the system that she runs and the culture behind it. The minds set behind it and really just trying to share the game of basketball with the coaches.”

Topics at the clinic included Player Development, Practice Planning, Transition Offense, Man-to-Man Defense and Building a Winning Culture.

Both of them worked with U14 80 of them which turned out at YMCA in the morning and will work with U17boys in the evening.

They also had an visit at Jyothinikethan School in Alapuzha.

Ann Maria Zacharia Adjudged as the Most Improved Player of the Camp
Grishma Niranjan from Bengaluru wins MVP Award at the NBA Academy India Women’s Camp

Friday, January 25th, 2019: The second NBA Academy India Women’s camp concluded today at the NBA Academy India with Ann Mary Zachariah from Kerala who is with Mount Carmel School Kottayam was adjudged the Most Improved Player of the camp.

Grishma Niranjan from Bengaluru was announced as the MVP for her exceptional skills exhibited during the four days of camp, as well in the championship game. In the first camp held last year, Niranjan had won the Sharp Shooter’s Award.

Siya Deodhar from Nagpur, who was awarded the Most Improved Player in the last edition, won the Best Teammate Award. Punjab’s Harsimran Kaur was named as the best Defensive Player. Khushi Dongre from Maharashtra, who had won the Best Teammate Award last edition, took home the Coaches Award in this edition.

Sanjana Ramesh can be a role Model Says Jennifer Azzi

Recap of first Two days at 2nd NBA academy Women’s Camp

The players understand the opportunity for them. With Sanjana Ramesh paving the way after coming through the last camp, she can be a role model for all the campers here”, said Azzi.

The 17-year-old became only the second Indian woman to receive an NCAA Division I basketball scholarship with the Northern Arizona University.
She was the MVP at the first camp

Day One of the second NBA Academy India Women’s Camp saw the 24 campers go through drills that included Stationary finger-tip ball handling, change of speed ball handling. The campers were then divided into three groups to focus on volume shooting using different techniques like using a jab and shot fake to create a shot, shooting footwork using curls and flares, moves and counter moves to finishing with contact at various shooting stations.
Post lunch, the campers were divided into three teams to enter a team shooting competition that included shooting from five spots, transition shooting and Olympic shooting. With the day concluded with team practice leading into 5v5 games. Shooting, ball handling and ball possession was the focus point of Day 1 of the camp.

Day 2 of the second NBA Academy India Women’s camp commenced this morning at The NBA Academy India in Greater Noida. The 24 top female prospects took the court to learn from 1996 Olympic Gold Medalist and Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame member Jennifer Azzi and former college coach Blair Hardiek.

The focus of the day 2 of the program was on Position work and Screening. The day started with campers going through drills on full court transition ball handling, guard footwork series, partner Mikan 2 ball among other things. Post lunch, the 24 campers sat through a Life Skills session followed by full court shooting practice, live action situations in Screening and Guard/ Post competitions.

The camp led by Azzi concluded with 5v5 Games as the campers were divided in three teams, i.e. Storm, Mystics and Mercury.

“With the second edition of the camp being held here, players understand the opportunity that is there for them. With Sanjana paving the way after coming through the last camp, she can be a role model for all the campers here.,” said Azzi.

The campers returned for the third day of the camp on Jan 24 at 10:00 AM IST.

India’s Finest Headed To Hawks

In 2006, the Ringwood Lady Hawks made history when they recruited India’s top female basketballer of that era and the first female to play professionally outside of India, the great Geethu Anna Jose. This week, twelve years later, the Lady Hawks have announced the signing of another Indian star, the National team captain Jeena Palanilkumkalayil Skaria AKA Jeena PS.

Jeena is one of India’s most recognizable Sports people and was recently awarded the Times of India’s Most Popular Basketball Player award. However, it wasn’t until the Lady Hawks took a tour of India in 2017 that Jeena was spotted as a potential by Lady Hawks Head Coach Tim Mottin.

“Our tour to India was fantastic and we played a 5 game series test in 5 different cities of India against the Indian national Champions, Kerala.” Mottin said.

“Jeena, along with a few other girls, were very impressive and we think that given a chance they can not only develop their game, but also do well in Australia and other countries.”

“Jeena will now get that chance,”

The Hawks were able to work closely with an Indian group called Team Rebound, who made the tour a reality back in 2017, and along with the Basketball Federation of Indian have assisted the Hawks to secure Jeena. There have been many supportive people working behind the scenes in India to ensure that the Hawks will have their second Indian player.

Standing at 180cm, Jeena will be faced with some new challenges against some of the talent that the new Elite League will provide, but the Indian Captain has shown she has the ability to use her strength and aggressiveness to create scoring opportunities. Earlier this year, Jeena showed her class and led her team to the Federation Cup and also was awarded the Most Valuable Player honours.

Mottin has enjoyed a great relationship with Indian Basketball and says he hopes to not only maintain it, but hopefully grow it in the future.

“We are very appreciative of the assistance we have received from the Basketball Federation of India and the great people of Team Rebound, the Kerala Basketball Association and Jeena’s employer the Kerala State Electricity Board.”

“We can’t wait to have Jeena here on court and see what impact she can have for us on and off the court.”

Courtesy Ring Wood Basketball Association Australia

More than 2000 Participated for the Reliance Foundation Jr NBA Skill challenge in Kerala concluded at Sports Hub Thiruvananthapuram

Thiruvananthapuram – It’s a fortnight after the NBA India conducted a day-long training session at the Rajeev Gandhi Indoor Stadium for the sports teachers of the region.

The competition is a mini basketball skills challenge for kids of U-12 ,U14 and U16 years of age. with the participation of more than 2000 kids from over 120 schools conducted in three centres of Thiruvananthapuram, Kottayam and Kozhikode.

The first was on 16th January 201 at Kozhikode and second one at S F S School Ground in Ettumanoor. The last which was in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday at the beautiful sports hub Indoor complex with the largest participation of 762 kids

The skills challenges were lead by Sara Gayler the coach from USA and Carla Paloma from Spain who is now assigned with NBA in India joining her at Thiruvananthapuram. Sarah explained what the kids have to do in the five specially designed stations for the workouts.

All the participants were made to go through the five challenges to test their skills on the footwork, lay-up, passing, dribbling and hotshot stations. They enjoyed to dribble, weaving through cones, and shoot for points. The event is a fun and competitive way for children to see how well their basketball skills are developing.

After a player clears all the five skill sections they were given the participation certificate and depending on their performance 24 best players in each centre were respectively awarded merit certificate and an NBA T-shirts. The programme was totally free for all participants.

While explaining the details about the event, Sarah told the gathering of kids and coaches about the NBA India initiative. She said, “The Jr NBA is the league’s youth basketball participation programme that provides a fun environment for kids to learn the fundamentals and values of the game and the skills challenge is an initial initiative in that process.

Carlo Paloma the coach from Spain which was her first visit over Kerala was excited over the enthusiasms and skill of the participants. Sara again added: “The Jr NBA is focused on helping grow and improve the youth basketball experience for players, coaches and parents.” As the league continues to expand in India, with the first preseason games coming over to India in October the NBA India’s maiden initiative was conducted in three age categories for boys and girls below 16 years.

In Thiruvananthapuram Fr Justin who came all the way from Amboori to participate with the school Kids said that Basketball is his passion and he is grateful for the opportunity his school for the representation in the event.

More than 500 turned for the NBA Skill challenge in Kozhikode

Calicut : It’s a week after the NBA India conducted a day-long training session at the SilverHill HSS Kozhikode for the sports teachers of the region. The initiative that applies the values of basketball to positively impact the lives of boys and girls from the districts of Calicut, Malapuram, Kannur and Palakkad is a part of the Jr National Basketball Association, NBA Reliance Foundation

The American association that organizes world’s best basketball league made the school students in both the boys and girls’ category work out in a Skills Challenge at the twin Basketball courts of Govt Physical Education College West Hill in Kozhikode.

The competition is a mini basketball skills challenge for kids of U-12 ,U14 and U16 years of age. This was the first one in the state out of the 3 events that will run across the 3 centers during the course of this Month in Kerala. The second one will be in at SFS school Ettumanoor on 18th January 2019 and last one at Green field stadium opp Karyavattom University campus in Thiruvanthapuram on 21st January2019

In this programme at calicut more than 500 students, mostly the first timers, from over 50 schools tested their skills on the basics of basketball.

The skills challenge conducted by Sara Gayler the coach from USA , who is with NBA in India explained what the kids have to do in the five specially designed stations for the workouts. All the participants were made to go through the five challenges to test their skills on the footwork, lay-up, passing, dribbling and hotshot stations. After a player clears all the five skill sections they were given the participation certificate and depending on their performance 24 best players were respectively awarded. While explaining the details about the event,Sarah told the gathering of kids and coaches about the NBA India initiative. She said, “The Jr NBA is the league’s youth basketball participation programme that provides a fun environment for kids to learn the fundamentals and values of the game and the skills challenge is an initial initiative in that process.” Sara added: “The Jr NBA is focused on helping grow and improve the youth basketball experience for players, coaches and parents.” As the league continues to expand in India,with the first pre season games coming over to India in October the NBA India’s maiden initiative was conducted in three age categories for boys and girls below 16 years.

The programme, which was free for all participants, includes individual skills competitions; a timed circuit-based challenge incorporating dribbling, passing and shooting. Like many first timers, one of the local sports teachers from Malapuram AMUPS Pallikkal Kondotty , who picked the basketball in his school first time, liked the sport so much that he prepared special basketball kit for his school kids and was seen learning in some of the passing drills on the court. National Basketball Association NBA Reliance Foundation Jr NBA

Senior National Basketball Title for Punjab men, Railways women

Bronze for Kerala women and Tamil Nadu Men

Bhavnagar: Punjab and Indian Railways emerged triumphant in the men’s and on women’s sections in the 69th Senior National Basketball Championship for men and women here at Bhavnagar Gujarat.

The Punjab men beat Services 74-65 in a well-contested final with Arshpreet Sing leading the way with 24 points.
Punjab had beaten Tamil Nadu team 70-66 in the semifinal.

In the women’s final, Railways outplayed Tamil Nadu, winning 88-71 to regain the title.
After a close 1st half leading only 42-40, the Railways looked in control as they kept scoring regularly.

For Railways, Rajapriya Dharshi with 23 points was the top scorer followed by Navaneetha with 16 points while S Sathtya (21 points) lead the scoring for Tamil Nadu.

Honourable Governor of Karnataka Shri Vajubhai Vala presided over the valedictory l and gave away the prizes to the players.

Bronze for Kerala Women and Tamil Nadu Men

Kerala women retained their bronze medal as they beat Chhattisgarh 79-73 while Tamil Nadu men defeated Karnataka (84-69) to claim the Bronze medal

For the 5th and 6th Position match in women, Telangana beat Karnataka (54-42) and in Men (Utharkhand scrape past Rajasthan(54-53)

Indian railways men finished with 6th Spot defeating Haryana(74-65) while Punjab women grabbed the 6th Spot with their victory over Delhi (37-22)

Detailed Scores

Final
Women

1. Indian Railways -88(Raja Priya Dharsini23,Navneetha PV16,Ramya r13,Bhandhavya HM11,Sitamani tudu11) bt Tamil Nadu-71( S Sathya 21,S Pushpa12,J Iswarya12,N Nushanthi10) (18-23,24-17,27-15,19-16)

 Men

1. Punjab -74(Arshpreet Singh 24,Jagdeep Singh19,Amritpal Singh15) bt Services -65(Joginder Singh26,Issac Thomas 11) (22-19,15-14,17-18,20-14)

3rd position
Women

1.  Kerala -79(Jeena PS21mPoojamol KS18,Anjana P g13, Kavitha Jose 11) bt Chhattisgarh-73(Poonam Chathurvedi41,Seema Singh12,L deepa12) (20-8,22-25,22-26,15-14)

Men

1.  Tamil Nadu-84(H muin Bek20,Hariram19,Justin gnanaraj19,Jeevanatham10,rrikin Pethani10) bt Karnataka-64(Jeethendra Singh18,rahul Sharath16,

5th and 6th Position
Women

1.  Telengana-54(Aswathy jaysankar18,LSuganya10,Hemalatha10) bt Karnataka-42(Anusha IP11) (13,29-9,4-8,28-23)

 Men

1.  Utharkhand-54(Keshar Singh21,Mayuk Rawat13) bt Rajasthan-53(Sharath Dadhichi22,KamaranKhan12)

 7th and 8th Position

Women

1.  Punjab-37(Harminder Kaur14,gagandeep kaur10)  bt Delhi-22(Tavleen12)(23-9,6-7,4-2,4-4)

 Men

1.  Indian railways-74(Rajan18,gaurav11) bt Haryana-65(Pankaj22) (33-16,18-22,10-13,13-14)

Kerala Women Retained the Bronze Medal
Tamil Nadu captured Men Bronze

Bhavnagar 12th Jan 2019- Kerala women retained their bronze medal as they beat Chhattisgarh 79-73 while Tamil Nadu men defeated Karnataka (84-69) to claim the Bronze medal here for the 69th National Basketball Championship for Men and Women -in Bhavnagar, Gujarat.

In women 3rd position match after lea Kerala after leading 42-33 at the half time came on to beat Chhattisgarh 79-73 Jeena P S was again the leading scorer with 21 points followed by Poojamol with 18 and for Chhattisgarh 6 ft 9 inches Poonam Churvedi came up with 41 points.

In Men 3rd position match Tamil Nadu after a lead of 44-39 came on to beat Karnataka (84-64) Muiin Bek top scored with 20 points hariram with 19 points and for Karnataka, Jeethendra Sing with 17 and Rahul Sarath scored 16.

For the 5th and 6th Position match in women, Telangana beat Karnataka (54-42) and in Men (Utharkhand scrape past Rajasthan(54-53).

Indian railways men finished with 6th Spot defeating Haryana(74-65) while Punjab women grabbed the 6th Spot with their victory over Delhi (37-22).

3rd position

Women

1. Kerala -79(Jeena PS21mPoojamol KS18,Anjana P g13, Kavitha Jose 11) bt Chhattisgarh-73(Poonam Chathurvedi41,Seema Singh12,L deepa12) (20-8,22-25,22-26,15-14)

Men

1.  Tamil Nadu-84(H muin Bek20,Hariram19,Justin gnanaraj19,Jeevanatham10,rrikin Pethani10) bt Karnataka-64(Jeethendra Singh18,rahul Sharath16,

5th and 6th Position

Women

1. Telengana-54(Aswathy jaysankar18,LSuganya10,Hemalatha10) bt Karnataka-42(Anusha IP11) (13,29-9,4-8,28-23)

 Men

1. Utharkhand-54(Keshar Singh21,Mayuk Rawat13) bt Rajasthan-53(Sharath Dadhichi22,KamaranKhan12)

7th and 8th Position

Women

1. Punjab-37(Harminder Kaur14,gagandeep kaur10)  bt Delhi-22(Tavleen12)(23-9,6-7,4-2,4-4)

 Men

1. Indian railways-74(rajan18,gaurav11) bt harayana-65(Pankaj22)(33-16,18-22,10-13,13-14)

Services Men to meet Punjab in Final
Tamil Nadu Women to meet Indian Railways

Tamil Nadu women beat Kerala (65-49) and will meet reigning champion Indian railways who defeated Chhattisgarh (96-55) while in Men in an extra time thriller Punjab overcome Tamil Nadu 70-66 to meet last Year runner up services who defeated Karnataka (81-75) here for the 69th National Basketball Championship for Men and Women -in Bhavnagar, Gujarat.

The game of the day was the second semi-final in men between Tamil Nadu and Punjab though Tamil Nadu which kept the lead almost 24 minutes in the game it could not help them to beat Punjab in the overtime as jagdeep singh played the captains role as he scores 5 points out of the 9 points that scored in the overtime to put Punjab the champions with the score 70-66.

The game started with Tamil Nadu leading 16-14 in the first quarter and 1st half ended with the lead changing over to Punajb 32-28 it was a match where lead changes over 12 times and was tied up10 times. Then the third quarter ending up with 48-48 and the final whistle with 61-61 which causes an extra 5 minutes overtime.

The Punjab scoring dominated with Amrithpal singh with 33 points and 19 points were scored by Hariram for Tamil Nadu.

The Men first Semi final where last year runner up Services dominated the first two quarters and was leading 42-26 at the half time but Karnataka bounces back in the 3rd and fourth quarter through Aravind and Hareesh and reducing its lead but that was not enough to beat Services.

Nikhil kumar was the leading scorer for Services with 22 points followed by experienced Mahipal Singh and Joginder sing contributing 21 and 16 points respectively. For Karnataka Aravind scored 21 and haressh 17.

In women Semifinal the youthful Tamil Nadu used more than 22 fast breaks in a game to stun the much experienced Kerala

Tamil Nadu lead 33-30 at the half time but a couple of 3pointers from Dharshini and some fine under baskets from Pushpa made them to increase their lead over Kerala in the third quarter with 59-43

The last quarter was a low scoring evenly poised one for both, Pushpa was the leading scorer for Tamil Nadu with 21 points followed by sathya with 14 for Kerala Jeena came as the top scorer with 23 points

The second women semi-final reigning champion Indian railways using their speed had no difficulty in beating Chhattisgarh as they lead comfortably at the half time with the score of 61-35 with Madhu Kumari, Sruti Aravind and Bhandhavya contributing 22,19,17 points respectively for Chhattisgarh 6 ft 9 inches Poonam did the bulk of scoring with 34 points

Tomorrow 12th Jan 2019 finals will start at 1.30 pm women followed by Men

Detailed Scores

Semi final
Women

1. Tamil Nadu-65(S pushpa21,S Sathya 14,T Dharshini13) bt Kerala-49(Jeena PS23,Poojamol KS11,Anjana PG11) (14-12,19-18,26-13,6-6)
2. Indian railways -96(Madhukumari22,sruthimenon19,Bhandhavya H M17) bt Chhattisgarh-55(Poonam Chathurvedi34) (35-14,26-19,19-16,16-6)

Men

1. Services 81(Nikhil Kuma22,Mahipal Singh21,joginder Sing16,hemanthSheron12) bt Karnataka-75(Aravind A21,Haressh 17,Sasank J rai11,anil Kumar Bk10)(22-11,20-15,21-23,18-26)
2. Punjab – 70(Amritpal Singh33,Amritpal Sing12) bt Tamil Nadu-66(Hariram19,Jeevanatham11,Justin10) (16-14,13-17,1917,13-13,5-9)

Results 5th to 8th Place

Women

1. Karnataka-82(Varsha Nandini 31,Anusha IP17,Harshitha13) bt Pinajab-78(Samrirti15,Anml Preet Kaur15,Kirandeepkaur14)(15-21,19-18,26-24,22-15)
2. Telengana -60(Trittymol Joseph 19,Suganya 11) bt ,Delhi-42(Raspreet Sidhu10) (17-8,8-9,20-14,15-11)

Men

1. Utharkhand-89( Yadwinder Singh27,Riyasudeen21,Vishesh Bhriguvanshi18) bt  Haryana-62(Rinku20,Sahil10) (18-20,20-10,21-13,30-19)
2. Indian Railways Rajasthan

Classification 9th & 10th

Men

1. Delhi-67(sunil Kumar22,Rachit15,Arshdeep 14) bt  Kerala-47(Jishnu G Nair15,Sejin Mathew11) (6-23,17-8,18-17,6-19)

Women

1. Maharashtra- 65(Shireeen Limayae27) bt Madhya Pradesh-61(Palak Malik27,Nima Doma23,) (13-10,13-18,13-16,26-17)

69th Senior Nationals Final Four Spotted

Bhav Nagar 10th Jan 2019-Indian Railways, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Chhattisgarh in women, Punjab, Services, Karnataka and winners of Tamil Nadu and Haryana will form the Final four rather the Semi-Finals of the 69th National Basketball Championship for Men and Women -in Bhavnagar, Gujarat to play on today Thursday 11th Jan 2019

In women, Kerala will meet Tamil Nadu while Indian railways will take on Chhattisgarh

In Men, Services will take on Karnataka while Punjab will meet the winners of Tamil Nadu and Haryana

In women quarterfinal matches Chhattisgarh defeated Karnataka (100-80) Indian railways beat Punjab(94-51)Kerala beat Delhi 84-55 and Tamil Nadu got better of Telangana (75-57)

In Men division quarter-finals Punjab beat Utharkhand (74-53) Services beat Rajasthan(104-69) Karnataka got better of Indian railways (83-67) and lastly, Tamilnadu scrape past Haryana

In the morning pre-quarterfinals in men Kerala men went down to Haryana 58-76 while Rajasthan defeated Delhi (93-76)

In women, Punjab got better of Maharashtra (81-40) and Delhi defeated Madhya Pradesh (67-50)

The match of the day was definitely between Tamil Nadu and Haryana where Tamil Nadu has to go on veins in the last quarter till the last seconds to overcome Haryana 77-75score The team which came from the lower pool.

The game started with an Upper hand to Tamil Nadu and had the safe lead of 52-35 at the end of the first half. But the third quarter saw Haryana coming back in to the game reducing the score to 63-68 with Rinku, Sahiland Vikas Kumar dominating the Boards and the last quarter also saw Tamil Nadu missing their shots and saw Haryana with 20 turnovers overpowering the panic Tamil Nadu Rinku was the top scorer for Haryana with 21 points and was ably supported by Vikas Kumar making 18 for Tamil Nadu Hariram scored 21 and Justin and Jeeva natham with 15 points each.

Detailed Scores

Quarterfinals
Men

1.  Punjab-74(Gurninder Singh 24,Arshpreet Singh 9) bt Utharkhand -53(Yadwinder Singh15,Vishesh bruguvanshi 14,Riyazudeen11) (15-14),23-12,16-17,20-10)
2. Karnataka – 83(Aravind A23,Anil Kumar BK17) bt Indian railways -67(Rakesh Singh 18,Prakash Mishra17)(16-25,26-19,24-14,17-9)
3. Services-104(Mahipal Singh22,Issac thomas21) bt Rajasthan-69(Kamaran Kahan31,Sharad Dadhich19)(26-14,26-22,23-20,23-13)
4. Tamil Nadu-77(R Hariram21,P Jeevanatham15.Justin Jnanaraj15,Rikin Pethani11)bt Haryana-75(Rinku21,Vikas Kumar18,Abhishek12,Sahil11) (30-19,22-16,16-28,9-12)

Women

1. Tamil Nadu-75( S Pushpa s19,Sathya s 14,Dharshini12,Srividhya v8) bt Telengana-57(Monika Pasi28,L Suganya12)(22-20,22-19,22-8,9-10)
2. Chhattisgarh-100((Poonam Chuturvedi56,Seema Singh17,Akansha Singh11,L Deepa11) bt Karnataka-80(Varsha Nandini35,Lopamudra  20) (22-28,23-22,23-14,32-16)
3.  Kerala-84(Anjana P J18,Poojamol KS18,jeena PS15) bt Delhi-55(Raspreet Sidhu33) (20-15,18-8,23-17,13-15)
4. Indian Railways -94(MadhuKumari  21,Bhandhavya m17, Raja Priyadarshin 15) bt Punjab-51(Gagandeep kaur14,Amol Preet kaur 12,Samriti10) (36-16,24-19,14-9,20-7)

Pre Quarter finals
Men

1. Haryana-76(Rinku16,Vikas kumar15,Abhishek14 ) bt Kerala-58(Sejin Mathew23,Eudrick Perera18)(19-13,1410,22-12,21-23)
2. Rajasthan-93(Kamaran Khan27,Annas ali23,Sharad Dadhich20) bt Delhi-76(Sunil26,Rachit23Arshdeep Singh14) (22-13,20-29,14-25,20-26)

Women

1. Punjab-81(Amol Preeth Kaur24,Gagandeep Kaur21) bt Maharastra-40(Shireen Limaye9) ( 26-1519-12,27-8,9-8)
2. Delhi-67(Raspreet Sidhu22,Tavleen12) bt Madhya Pradesh-50(Namrta16,Nima13)(11-13,28-17,17-7,11-13)