FIBA Asia '11 South Asia Qualifier [Jul 13-15 India]

[Mr. Basketball]

Pakistan entering a NT for the first time in years ..

ISLAMABAD - The Pakistan Basketball Federation (PBBF) has selected 20 players for camp training to appear in the qualifying round of the 26th FIBA Asia Championship for Middle East Zone.
The qualifying round of the 26th FIBA championship will be staged in New Delhi from July 13 to 15. The camp trainees along with five reserves were selected on the basis of their performances in the recently-concluded 50th Men's National Basketball Championship in the federal capital. The Pakistan Basketball Federation has confirmed the national team's participation and the camps will start as soon as the Indian govt gives clearance to team's visit, said PBBF Secretary Col (Retd) Naseem Butt.
He further said that PBBF is also planning to hold other international tours and we are in close contact with other federations to finalise international tours soon, he said.
Imran Bashir, Associate Secretary of both PBBF and Islamabad Basketball Association, was named coach while Safdar Hussain will be his deputy.
The selected players are: Ahmed Jan, Prem Shahzad, Tanvir Alvi, Asfandyar, M Akhtar, Yawar Khan, Shahbaz, Haris Kamal, Aamir Rashid, Muzammil Mehmood, M Shan, Aashir Gill, M Naveed, Altaf Habib, Waqas Ahmad, Dilawar Khan, Ali, Mohsin, Khalid and Anwer Khan. Reserves are: Awal Khan, Ahsan, Zahid, M Zohair and Elijah.

[sinobball]

Did Pakistan withdraw already or are they in the Central Asia Qualifier with the "Stans"?

http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/fullNews.php?headline=Mid+Asia+qualifying+just+a+reality+check&NewsID=294387

Mid Asia qualifying just a reality check
2011-07-05 10:42 PM

ADARSHA DHAKAL

KATHMANDU: Nepali team looks just a step away from making it to the 26th FIBA Asia Championships to be held in Wuhan, China later this year but the qualification process in itself is a mere reality check for them.

Nepal take on Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and India in the Middle Asia sub zone qualifying tournament slated for July 13-15 in New Delhi. The Nepali hoopsters can fancy their chances if they beat favourites India but their sole objective is to overcome the Sri Lankan and Bangladeshi challenge in the four-team qualifier.

Only the winner will earn a ticket to the September 15-25 meet but coach Dinesh Nakarmi realistically defined the scenario. “There is no doubt that we cannot match the standard of India. They are better in every aspects — be it in physique or technique. The tournament could merely serve our players as an international exposure,” said the coach.

Nepal had defeated Bangladesh during the league match of the 11th SA Games before losing against the same side in a bronze medal tie in the January 29 to February 9 regional meet, while a win against Sri Lankans is possible despite a loss in their only meeting against the island nation in 2002 Asian qualifying event.

“We will be there (New Delhi) subdue the Bangladeshi and Sri Lankan challenge but the presence of India will always give us a reality check,” Nakarmi added. National team skipper Bipendra Maharjan said: “For a nation like us, getting an international exposure is in a big acheivement. We can go there and find out where we stand,” said Bipendra, who will be guiding Nepal for the sixth time in international tournament.

Bipendra however was optimistic of giving the best against Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. “We have comparatively a better team than that of the 11th SA Games. We have four new faces and a squad which has improved in physical, tactical and technical aspects,” added the skipper.

The 12-member national team has new faces in Sujan Pun, Sanjay Byanjankar, Rajeev Joshi and Paresh Shrestha replacing Amir Ghale, Bijay Khatri, Karma Gurung and Manoj Sherchan. Bijay and Karma have pulled out due to personal reasons, while Amir Ghale is abroad and Manoj Sherchan recovering from an ankle injury.

The other members in the team include Sanjay Byanjankar, Vinod Shrestha, Rabindra Man Maharjan, Vinod Maharjan, Sadish Pradhan, Yukta Ram Bhakta Mathema and Vikram Joshi. Sadish, Vinod Maharjan and Vikram Joshi are currently playing Dhaka’s First Division League from Gregarious Club and will join the team from July 7.

Coach Nakarmi said he will miss the services especially from Manoj. “It is sad that we have to lose such an influential player like Manoj but we have to do without him.” Bipendra added: “He is the future of the game and missing him in a tournament like this will always hurt us.”

The coach, however, was excited to bring Paresh in the squad who has a haul of experiences in the domestic tournaments and after a long wait broke into the final 12. “Paresh is a role player and he can play his part on a given day. An experienced campaigner like him is always a great asset for the team,” added the coach.

[Mr. Basketball]

Looks like Pakistan pulled out, reasons unknown. India, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Bangladesh, and Nepal will compete in New Delhi, July 13-15. Should be a cakewalk for India. Weakest zone qualifier in Asia.

possibility they were denied permission by the govt of the host nation ....

[kaiziken_pinas]

It's going to be India(surely) and SRI LANKA!!!!

WE WANT TO SEE DUKE "The NUKE" Sanjeewa Rajapakshet!

Don't know much about Bhutan, Bangladesh and Nepal (kind of surprised that they'll send a team...)

btw 2 teams will go on right? What happened to the Kazakhs?

[sinobball]

btw 2 teams will go on right? What happened to the Kazakhs?

Kazakhstan, which may not even field a team this year, would be in the other Qualifier, the Central Asia Qualifier at a later date. Yes the Middle Asia has split, a move that apparently favors the qualification of India, considering the Stans will need to fight hard for 1 spot.

Looks like Pakistan pulled out, reasons unknown..... possibility they were denied permission by the govt of the host nation ....

Or maybe India asked them to join their "Stan" brothers (Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan). Geographically they are closer to Central Asia than South Asia.

It's quite unfair though. I believe the runner-up of the Stans might be better than India and certainly better than the 3rd place of Southeast Asia. (Not sure about the 3rd placer in Gulf). Oh well, at least Malaysia is much better than Sri Lanka in 2009.

[tmlouk]

any news about the roosters and strengt of the teams from Bhutan, Nepal, Bangladesh?

[Mr. Basketball]

any news about the roosters and strengt of the teams from Bhutan, Nepal, Bangladesh?

dont know the rosters ... but the teams are very weak. none of them can stay within 30 points of India, and India struggles to stay within 30 points of the top ten major Asian NT's ...

[Mr. Basketball]

From Hoopistani

The Indian Senior Men’s Basketball team has been pooled with Sri Lanka as they prepare to take part in the Middle Asia Zone Qualifying Round against SAARC teams at the Thyagraj Stadium in New Delhi, from July 13-15. The winner of this five-team qualifier event will qualify for the 26th FIBA Asia Basketball Championship which will be held in Wuhan (China) between Asia’s 16 best basketball teams from September 15-25.

Pool A: India, Sri Lanka
Pool B: Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan

India will play a maximum of three games in this round – these qualifiers will also be the first chance for India’s new American basketball coach, Kenny Natt, to see his team perform in competitive matches against international opposition. Natt, a former NBA coach, has been holding camp with the Senior Probables team for about a month at the Indira Gandhi Stadium in New Delhi.

The final 12-man roster for India that will take part in this competition will be released tomorrow.

The qualifiers will be held in a league-cum-knockout basis. Two teams from each pool will qualify for the Semi-Finals. Here is the schedule of the games:

# Match 1 - July 13 - 9:00 AM - Nepal vs. Bhutan
# Match 2 - July 13 - 5:00 PM - India vs. Sri Lanka
# Match 3 - July 13 - 7:00 PM - Bhutan vs. Bangladesh
# Match 4 - July 14 - 9:00 AM - Bangladesh vs. Nepal
# Semi-Final - Match 5 - July 14 - 5:00 PM - Pool A Winner vs. Pool B Runner-Up
# Semi-Final - Match 6 - July 14 - 7:00 PM - Pool B Winner vs. Pool A Runner-Up
# Hard Line - Match 7 - July 15 - 3:00 PM - L/O Match 5 vs. L/O Match 6
# Final - Match 8 - July 15 - 5:00 PM - W/O Match 5 vs. W/O Match 6

The winner from these qualifiers will be slotted in ‘Group A’ of the 26th FIBA Asia Championship, along with Lebanon, Malaysia, and Korea.

[usausa]

To put some prespective on the teams, here are the results from the 2010 South Asian Games:

POOL A

Jan-31
(1)Sri Lanka 54-106 India (20-59)
(3)Afghanistan 86-68 Pakistan

Feb-1
(4)Pakistan 48-106 India
(5)Afghanistan 95-64 Sri Lanka

Feb-2
(7)Pakistan 83-56 Sri Lanka
(9)Afghanistan 77-74 OT (65-65) India

AFGHANISTAN 3-0 258-206 +52
INDIA 2-1 286-179 +107
PAKISTAN 1-2 199-248 -49
SRI LANKA 0-3 174-284 -110

POOL B

Jan-31
(2)Nepal 62-69 Maldives (23-13; 42-31; 58-47; 62-69)

Feb-1
(6)Bangladesh 72-74 Nepal (18-13; 34-29; 51-48; 72-74)

Feb-2
(8)Maldives 59-72 Bangladesh

BANGLADESH 1-1 144-133 +11
NEPAL 1-1 136-141 -5
MALDIVES 1-1 128-134 -6

SEMI-FINALS

Feb-3
(10)Afghanistan 107-34 Nepal
(11)India 96-54 Bangladesh

BRONZE MEDAL MATCH

Feb-5
(12)Nepal 62-75 Bangladesh

GOLD MEDAL MATCH

Feb-5
(13)Afghanistan 65-64 India (44-35)

[usausa]

http://www.yanatravel.com/2011/news/fiba-asian-qualifying-game.html

Little article on Bhutan.

FIBA Asian Qualifying Game

Only 12 of the 24 chosen to train will be selected for the team


Push Ups: Potential players train in Thimphu

FIBA Asian Qualifying Game 11 June, 2011 – Bhutan’s first ever national Basketball team will play at the 26th FIBA Asian qualifying game this July in New Delhi, India.

But without a national team the Bhutan Basketball Federation (BBF) is urgently carrying out a selection for the team. The selection process started soon after Bhutan received an invitation to the game in April.

With the three-day game starting from July 13 the Bhutanese players would had about two months to practice.

Currently, 24 players, mostly from the private sector and civil service, are trained for four hours a day, except Sunday. Two are school students. Only 12 will be selected for the team, which will be officially announced on June 13.

Without an official committee to select players, the team will be picked out by a group consisting of BBF president, general secretary, national coach, and basketball enthusiasts.

According to BFF officials the players were selected based on their skills, techniques, physical traits for basketball and their participation in various tournaments organised by the federation.

The most experienced player, who is 31, is also the oldest player. The youngest player, 14 years his junior, is a 17-year old student of Pelkhil High School. The difference in heights between the tallest player who is 6’4 and the shortest player who is 5’5 is almost a foot.

One of the players said there was little time to bond with other players. “Although in same arena we were playing against each other and we are more familiar with different team dynamics,” he said.

Another potential player said he was positive the Bhutanese team would do well in the FIBA game. “Although team coordination is not fully developed since selection process began only two weeks back, we will do well.”

According to BBF secretary general, Tokey Dorji, the formation of Bhutan’s first national team would be critical in the game’s development in the country.

“Our representation in the game would also reveal where we stand internationally and it would also represent our interest in the game,” he said. “It would also secure voting rights and membership in the executive committees of the association.”

The former secretary general of BBF, Karma Lam, who has been affiliated with basketball for the last 20 years said Bhutan was ready to have a national team.

“The game strongly emphasises the physical attributes of the player, and from what I have noticed lately, we are ready,” he said. “In terms of techniques, tactics and strategies the players still have room for improvement.”

Karma Lam said Bhutan was unable to form a national team in the past because of several factors. “There was budget limit, lack of trained coaches and players were not given importance.

Source: kuenselonline

Posted in: Bhutan News

[usausa]

# Match 1 - July 13 - 9:00 AM - Nepal vs. Bhutan
# Match 2 - July 13 - 5:00 PM - India vs. Sri Lanka
# Match 3 - July 13 - 7:00 PM - Bhutan vs. Bangladesh

Bhutan playing twice in one day? Even if this is there first team and are at the bottom, it is unfair to ask any international basketball team to play twice in one day, especially a team as inexperienced on this level as they are.

[sinobball]

Bhutan playing twice in one day? Even if this is there first team and are at the bottom, it is unfair to ask any international basketball team to play twice in one day, especially a team as inexperienced on this level as they are.

Considering

# Match 4 - July 14 - 9:00 AM - Bangladesh vs. Nepal
# Semi-Final - Match 5 - July 14 - 5:00 PM - Pool A Winner vs. Pool B Runner-Up
# Semi-Final - Match 6 - July 14 - 7:00 PM - Pool B Winner vs. Pool A Runner-Up

AT LEAST another team in Pool B will also experience 2 games/day. Possibly 2. At least it doesn't affect the host, that's probably all it matters

I find this tragically funny. But to be realistic, it's almost impossible for these teams to qualify anyway, barring poisoning of the entire Indian team.

Thanks for the info, Mr. Basketball.

[usausa]

And tickets to event are free, you just show up...

This schedule is an atrocity...somebody has got to protest this...India is the best team yes, but no reason to give out a schedule like this. All they are doing is weakining their Group B opposition to give themselves an even easier road. Shame on them, I really hope that the schedule was mis typed or mis translated (although I have seen the original blog and it lists the same thing). India is +52 on Sri Lanka (based off 2010 SAF Games), +42 on Bangladesh (2010 SAF Games). Bangladesh lost to Nepal by 2 becasue they couldn't close the game then beat them by 13 for bronze, so India has got to be at least +45-50 on them...Bhutan is going ot experience the higher intesity of international play quickly.

I mean if it is for financial reasons, FIBA-Asia/FIBA couldn't offer a little help?

[Mr. Basketball]

NT Coach Kenny Natt releases India Men's team roster for Middle Asia Zone Qualifying Round:

Sambhaji Kadam
Amjyot Singh
Hareesh Koroth
Prakash Mishra
Satnam Singh Bhamara
Vishesh Bhriguvanshi
Amrit Pal Singh
Eudrick Pereira
Trideep Rai
Riyazuddin
Yadwinder Singh
Jagdeep Singh Bains

[Mr. Basketball]

Only reason for the lopsided scheduling is there's uneven number of teams with Pakistan not participating... but like Sinobball says, in the end it doesnt matter, because none of the teams can stay on the court with India, and Bhutan is in no spot to complain, considering they play the game at the level of a Junior Varsity USA high school team and are probably just happy to be there.

and USAUSA I've never seen money charged for a Basketball Game in India, even at the highest level, the Senior Nationals, even with open gates, I bet the crowd will number less than 500 ...