Five On Five Recreational Basketball League In India

NBA And Mahindra Partner To Launch Community Five On Five Recreational Basketball League In India. MUMBAI, India, March 9 – The National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Mahindra Group, one of India’s largest and most respected companies, today announced a partnership to launch a new multi-city community-based recreational basketball league. The new league for boys and girls ages 14 and up will tip off in Bangalore, Ludhiana and Mumbai in collaboration with the Basketball Federation of India (BFI).

Mahindra will be the title partner of the new recreational league, Mahindra NBA Challenge, which will run for seven weeks annually in two divisions: youth ages 14-17 and adult 18+. The BFI will work with the NBA to implement and oversee league operations across all markets. The Mahindra NBA Challenge will provide basketball enthusiasts and newcomers to the game the opportunity to learn the fundamentals of the game and apply their skills in a fun, competitive environment.

“We are delighted to be partnering with the NBA to create a multi-city recreational league in India,” said Anand Mahindra, Vice Chairman and Managing Director, Mahindra Group. “In a cricket loving nation such as India, we feel it is important to encourage other sports as well and we believe basketball is perfectly suited to bring communities together and promote healthy, active lifestyles to Indian youth.”

The Mahindra NBA Challenge will begin play on April 17 when participating teams tip off at the St. Dominic Savio and Mustan YMCA courts in Mumbai. Individuals and teams interested in registering can visit www.nba.com/india/mahindra. The Challenge will be structured as round-robin play with teams playing one game a week over a seven-week season. League champions will be decided in a weekend-long postseason knock-out tournament at the conclusion of the regular season in each city.

“Mahindra is the perfect partner for the creation of a new recreational basketball league for Indian fans,” said NBA Commissioner David Stern. “The BFI, Mahindra and the NBA share a long-term commitment to growing the game in India and to using the values of our game to make a positive, lasting impact in Indian communities.”

“Basketball continues to grow in popularity across India and now youngsters in Bangalore, Ludhiana and Mumbai will have the opportunity to play in an organized league and further develop their skills,” said Harish Sharma, Secretary General of BFI. “The launch by Basketball Federation of India and the NBA of the Mahindra NBA Challenge is very exciting and will help accelerate the basketball development of Indian youngsters.”

About the NBA
The NBA, founded in 1946, is a professional sports league and global business that features 30 teams in the United States and Canada. During the 2009-10 season, NBA games will reach 215 countries and territories in 41 languages. The league’s worldwide reach is also displayed in the 80 international players from 35 countries and territories on NBA rosters. NBA merchandise is sold in more than 100,000 stores in 100 countries on six continents. NBA.com averages more than 26 million page views per day, with more than 50 percent of the site’s visitors coming from outside of North America. Through NBA Cares, the league, its teams and players have donated more than $115 million to charity, provided more than one million hours of hands-on service to communities around the world, and created more than 450 places where kids and families can live, learn or play.

About Mahindra
Mahindra embarked on its journey in 1945 by assembling the Willys Jeep in India and is now a US $6.3 billion Indian multinational. It employs over a 1,000,000 people across the globe and enjoys a leadership position in utility vehicles, tractors and information technology, with a significant and growing presence in financial services, tourism, infrastructure development, trade and logistics. The Mahindra Group today is an embodiment of global excellence and enjoys a strong corporate brand image.

Mahindra is the only Indian company among the top tractor brands in the world and has made an entry in the two-wheeler segment, which will see the company emerge as a full-range player with a presence in almost every segment of the automobile industry.

The Mahindra Group expanded its IT portfolio when Tech Mahindra acquired the leading global business and information technology services company, Satyam Computer Services. The company is now known as Mahindra Satyam.

Mahindra’s Farm Equipment Sector is the proud recipient of the Japan Quality Medal, the only tractor company worldwide to be bestowed this honor. It also holds the distinction of being the only tractor company worldwide to win the Deming Prize. The US based Reputation Institute ranked Mahindra among the top 10 Indian companies in its Global 200: The World’s Best Corporate Reputations list. Mahindra is also one of the few Indian companies to receive an A+ GRI checked rating for its first Sustainability Report for the year 2007-08 and has also received the A+ GRI rating for the year 2008-09.

Terms of Basketball

There are a lot of terms that are used in the game of Basketball. The people who are familiar with the game, may very easily recognise the terms. Here are the terms given for those who knows a very little about the game. The terms are:

Basket or Backboard:
1) In a Basketball game, the basket of a team is normally consists of the basket ring and net. The players of the team try to shoot the ball through this net. In the first half of a match, the visiting team has the choice of baskets. The basket they select remains its basket for the first half.

2) In the second half, the teams change their baskets. The referee considers all the overtime periods as extensions of the second half.

3) Normally, there are five sides of the backboard that are considered in play when the basketball contacts it. The sides are the front, two sides, bottom and the top. The backside of the backboard and the area just behind the basket are considered as out-of-bounds.

Blocking: The referee may call it as `Blocking` if any player makes an illegal personal contact that can impede the progress of an opponent player.

Fouls: A foul is usually an illegal physical contact with an opponent that occurs within the duration of time between the ball has become live and the horn sounds to end the period. If the personal foul occurs after time expires, the personal foul should be overlooked, provided it was not unsporting. However, there are some exceptions:
1) If a player commits the foul while shooting and the shooter releases the ball before the time on the game clock expires, then the referee will treat the foul in the same manner as it is treated in any similar play.

2) The player does a technical foul when he makes any unsporting conduct or his team members on the floor or seated on the bench violates any rule. It can also be referred to the illegal contact that occurred with an opponent before the ball became live.

3) If in a situation, any two opponents commit personal fouls at almost the same time, the referee may rule it as a double foul.

4) When a player makes an illegal contact when he is offending after the ball is live and his team is in control, he will be guilty for an offensive foul.

5) In case of a player making an illegal contact after the ball is alive, when his team is not in control, he is ruled as committed a loose ball foul.

6) If a player makes an unsporting contact with his elbow whether the ball is dead or alive, the referee call it as an elbow foul.

7) A flagrant foul occurs when a player makes an unnecessary and/or excessive contact against an opponent whether the ball is dead or alive.

8) When the ball is dead or alive and a player makes a punch to an opponent, the referee calls it as a punching foul.

9) A player will be called as guilty for an away-from-the-play foul if he makes an illegal contact as a defender in the last two minutes of the game. He will also be guilty if he does the same in overtimes. He may commit it (a) deliberately away from the immediate area of offensive action, and/or (2) before the ball is released on a throw-in.

Free Throw: This is a special privilege given a player to score one point by an attempt without any obstruction. He can do it from directly behind the free throw line. However, he must make the attempt within 10 seconds.

Frontcourt/Backcourt:
1) The frontcourt of a team consists of the part of the court between the end line and the nearer edge of the midcourt line. It also includes the basket and a part of the backboard.

2) The backcourt of a team consists of the entire midcourt line and the rest of the court. The opponent`s basket and inbounds part of the backboard are also including in it.

Held Ball: When two opponent players have one or both of their hands firmly on the ball or a defensive player touches the ball and causes the offensive player to return to the floor with the ball in his continuous possession, a held ball occurs. The referee should not call it unless both the players have their hands so firmly on the ball that none of them can gain sole possession without undue force. While lying or sitting on the floor, a player has an opportunity to throw the ball if he got it. However, if there is any danger of injury, a held ball must be called.

Traveling: The term `Traveling` means to progress in any direction while in possession of the ball.

Screen: This is a legal action from a player who delays or prevents an opponent from reaching a desired position without causing undue contact.

Field Goal Attempt: If a player attempts to shoot the ball into his basket for a field goal, it is called as a field goal attempt. According to the official`s judgment, when a player has started his shooting motion, the act of shooting starts. It continues he ceases the shooting motion and returns to a normal floor position. It is not necessary that the ball leave the shooter`s hand. The term can also be used to indicate the flight of the ball unless it becomes dead or a player touches it. A tap during a jump ball or rebound will not be considered a field goal attempt. However, the goal shall count whenever a live ball is in flight toward the rim from the playing court, even if the time expires or the official`s whistle sounds. The referee will not count a field goal if the time on the game clock expires before the ball leaves the player`s hand or the ball is in flight toward the rim.

Throw-In: The term `Throw-in` means a method of putting the ball in play from out-of-bounds. It begins when the team or player who have it clears the ball and it ends when the ball is released by the thrower-in.

Last Two Minutes: This term is used when the game clock shows 2:00. This indicates that the game is in the two-minute period.

Suspension of Play: If the official thinks that they should retrieve an errant ball, re-set the timing devices, give delay-of-game warning, give inadvertent whistle or any other unusual circumstance, they can suspend the play. None of the two teams is allowed to substitute during such a suspension. During this period, the defensive team may also not be granted a timeout. The play will be resumed at the point of interruption.

Point of Interruption: This is the position of the ball where it was located when the whistle sound.

Team Control: When a player is holding, dribbling or passing the ball, his team is considered to be in control. If the defensive team deflects the ball or there is a field goal attempt, the `Team Control` ends.

Team Possession: The `Team Possession` also means the situation when a player is holding, dribbling or passing the ball. `Team Possession` comes to an end when the defensive team gains the ball possession or there is a field goal attempt that hits the rim.

Fumble: This term has its literary meaning. If a player who is holding the ball fumbles it out of his control, it is called as `Fumble`. The player may recover the ball. If his pivot foot moves to recover the ball, he will have to then pass or shoot the ball. However, he retains his status before the fumble if he fumbles and recovers it without moving his pivot foot and before the ball touches the floor.

The above discussed terms are the general terms used in the game of Basketball. However, there may be some other terms as well.

Indian Basketball Players

India has produced a huge number of talented and brightest Basketball players and the Indian Basketball players have earned high recognition and reputation in the international basketball arena, as well. Basketball has been a popular game in India since its inception and it is mainly played in the high schools, colleges and universities in India. Basketball is regarded as one of the most widely played games in the country. The game started its journey in India several years back and has increased its popularity among the young generation with every passing day. India is recognised as a good Basketball team in the world and the India national Basketball team is currently ranked at 46 in the FIBA rankings.

The Indian Basketball players have shown great performances in several international basketball tournaments, including the Olympic Games. They took part in the 1980 Summer Olympics, held at the Olympiiski Indoor Stadium and finished at the 12th position. Apart from the Olympic Games, the Indian Basketball players also took part in the other prestigious international and regional tournaments like the FIBA Asian Champions Cup. They left mark of their extraordinary talents in all of these tournaments.

Some of the most notable Indian Basketball players are Sarabjit Singh, Khushi Ram, Gurdial Singh, Hari Dutt, Gulam Abbas Montasir, Vishesh Bhriguvanshi, Surender Kataria, Anil Punj, Hanuman Singh, T. Vijayaraghawan, Om Prakash, Ajmer Singh, Radhey Shyam, Suman Sharma, S.S. Cheema, Parminder Singh, Ram Kumar, and more.

Gulam Abbas Moontasir is considered as a remarkable basketball player of India. He was born on 7th January, 1942 in Mumbai, Maharashtra. He started playing the game of basketball at a very tender age of nine years. He began playing at the courts at Nagpada in Mumbai. Gulam Abbas Moontasir studied at Antonio D`Souza School, Mumbai and D.G. Ruparel College. He played for his school and college. In the year 1960, Gulam Abbas Moontasir made his international debut in Mumbai in an exhibition match that was played against Australia. He also represented the country in the Quadrangular held in Colombo in the year 1964. He was the captain of the Indian team in the Asian Basketball Championship that was held in Bangkok in the year 1969 and 1975. He was conferred with the Arjuna Award in the year 1970 for his remarkable performances in this sport.

Vishesh Bhriguvanshi is a professional Indian basketball player, who was born on 13th September, 1991. He plays for the Young Cagers that compete at the FIBA Asia Champions tournament. Bhriguvanshi has already competed in most of prestigious Asia`s basketball events, including the Super Steung Cup International Invitational Basketball Tournament, the Stankovic Cup, etc. Jennifer Paes is a former Indian basketball player. She captained the Indian national basketball team in the year 1982, and she also represented India in 1972 Munich Olympic Games. Jennifer Paes is the mother of Leander Paes, Indian tennis player. Another best known Indian basketball player is Riyaz Uddin. Born on June 22, 1981, he plays for the national basketball team of India.

These Indian basketball players have made the country proud with their remarkable performances in national as well as international basketball tournaments.

History of Basketball

Basketball started its journey almost more than a hundred and thirty years ago. The history of Basketball is not that much old, as it was invented by a Canadian physician named Dr. James Naismith, in the year 1891. He is popularly known as the inventor of basketball and hence called as "The Father of Basketball" all over the world. He had the concept of Basketball in his mind since his school days and he used to play a game named `duck-on-a-rock` outside his one-room schoolhouse. The game was about attempting to knock a `duck` off the top of a large rock by tossing another rock at it. This game is believed to be the ancestor of Basketball.

Dr. Naismith attended the McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, after completing his school education. At the completion of his college education, he served as McGill`s Athletic Director and then he moved on to the YMCA Training School in Springfield. This is the place in Massachusetts, USA where Dr. Naismith invented Basketball in 1891. While working as physician in Springfield, he was trying to find a sport that would be suitable to play inside, during the Massachusetts winter. Naismith actually wanted to create such a game for his students that will need skill instead of only strength. He also needed the game to be played indoors in a small space.

Once Dr. Naismith invented the game of Basketball and wrote down some basic rules for playing the game, his students played Basketball with a soccer ball and used two peach baskets as goals. The first ever Basketball match in the history of Basketball was played on 20th January, 1892. The name `Basket ball` was suggested by one of his students and the game became quite popular instantly. The game of Basketball was introduced to a number of nations by the YMCA movement during the year of 1893. The first ever inter-collegiate match took place in America in the year 1895 and in 1896; the first collegiate Basketball match was played, with 5 players in each team.

However, though it was interesting to play, the Basketball players soon faced some serious problems that they had to solve, without much delay. The main problem was that, as they were using two peach baskets as goals, whenever the ball was thrown into the basket, the players couldn`t get it down without climbing up a ladder. So, they decided to cut holes at the bottom of the baskets in order to play faster, as the ball will fall through the hole easily. The players followed this process till the year 1906, when metal hoops with backboards replaced the peach baskets.

With the increasing popularity of Basketball in different countries of the world, the need of founding a governing body started to be felt by many. National Basketball associations started to be formed in many nations, among which, England, America, India etc were the forerunners. Basketball was introduced as an official game in the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games, and this event is considered as one of the most memorable occasions in the history of Basketball. With this, the popularity of the sport started to increase at a very high speed. Basketball got its first television coverage in 1940 when the college games were being held. The year 1949 saw the establishment of the National Basketball Association (NBA) that is one of the most powerful governing bodies for Basketball in the world, at present. The NBA was formed in America with eight teams as its members and another organisation named the American Basketball Association (ABA) was also established in 1967. However, the ABA only lasted about nine years, due to serious financial problems. In the present scenario, Basketball is being played all over the world and it has also become one of the most popular games that the people watch and play.

Opening Day of Junior National Basketball meet at Indore, MP

Chattisgarh boys began its journey in the Junior National Basketball Championships that got underway here at Indore, Madhya Pradesh, on a winning note, defeating Uttar Pradesh 58-45.

In another match, Punjab outplayed Rajasthan 85-77.

In the girls group, Kerala beat Tamil Nadu 58-48.

Results

Boys: Group A: Chattisgarh 58 bt UP 45; Group E: Tripura 23 lost to Andhra Pradesh 79; Group C: Kerala 62 bt HP 12;Group B: Punjab 85 bt Rajasthan 77.

Girls:

Group F: Haryana 72 bt Chandigarh 4; Group C: Karnataka 76 bt Jharkhand 39; Group B: Kerala 58 bt Tamil Nadu 48; Group C: Chattisgarh 105 bt Punjab 40.

Groupings

Level I:

Group A: Chattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana.

Group B: Delhi, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan.

Level II

Group C: Maharashtra, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkand.

Group D: Kerala, Himachal Pradesh, Meghlaya.

Group E: Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Orissa.

Group F: Karnataka, Chandigarh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal.

Girls:

Level I

Group A: Delhi, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh.

Group B: Kerala, Chattisgarh, Tamil Nadu, Punjab.

Level II

Group C: Karnataka, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand.

Group D: Orissa, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand.

Group F: Haryana, Chandigarh, West Bengal.

More News.

Final Day Of The Jr National Basketball Meet At Indore, Madhya Pradesh.

It was mixed luck for Chattisgarh teams on the concluding day of the 60^th junior national basketball championships at Indore.

Chattisgarh girls outplayed Kerala 97-64, while Chattisgarh boys team went down fighting to Delhi.

In the girls final, determined Chattisgarh cagers came from behind to overpower tall Kerala girls to take the days honours.

After struggling to gain control of the contest in the first quarter, Chattisgarh cagers combined well to stamp its authority by the end of the second quarter (47-39). Thereafter, eventual winners never looked behind and progressively added points to its tally to put the issue beyond the control of the opponents.

Chattisgarh owe its victory today to Kavita who played a stellar role by scoring 29 points. Kavita was ably supported by team skipper Aruna Kindo (19) and Sangeeta Mondal (16).

On the other hand, Kerala though dominated the first ten-minute (22-19), but failed to sustain efforts in the remaining period of the game. A gradual decline in the performance helped Chattisgarh enhanced the winning margin.

In fact, second quarter proved to be a turning point in the game as Kerala failed to catch up Chattisgarh. Kerala netted 17 points as against 28 by Chattisgarh. The story was same in the next two quarters too, with Chattisgarh dominating all the way.

With 20 points Neenu Mol PS was the main scorer for Kerala.

In the boys final, Delhi raced to a ten-point lead in the first quarter that proved decisive for Chattisgarh as they weren’t able to close the gap in the remaining period of the contest.

The score line of 49-30 in favour Delhi at the break, proved all but over for Chattisgarh boys who failed to make any impression in the last two quarters.

Delhi’s skipper Sombeer netted 37 points, while Varinder and Sukjeet contributed 24 and 10 points, respectively to the total.

Shyam Sunder (22), Sameer Rai (19) and Ajay Pratap (12) were the main scorer for Chattisgarh.

In a play off match today, Hosts Madhya Pradesh boys made amends of their yesterday’s defeat against Delhi, to outplay Punjab 94-83, to win third position in the tournament.

While Tamil Nadu girls finished third by defeating Karnataka 92-69.

Results

Boys:

Final:Delhi 89 (Sombeer 37, Varinder 24, Sukhjeet 10) bt Chattisgarh 69 (Shyam Sunder 22, Sameer Rai 19, Ajay Pratap 12).

For third position: Madhya Pradesh 94 (Amit Kanarjee 26, Sunny Raut 21, Rajnesh Pandey 20) bt Punjab 83 (Parminder Singh 23, Amanjot Singh 19, Amritpal Singh 13).

For fifth position: Uttar Pradesh 105 (Sudhirpal 36, Geetam Singh 29, Bobby Singh 14) bt Karnataka 99 (Mohd Abdeel 25, Abhishek YP 23, Kaif Azam Zia 19).

For seventh position: Kerala 62 (Sidheek Razak 23, Basil Philip 14, Nitin Paul 13) bt Tamil Nadu 54 (C Berdinent 23, KS Prasanna 15, MA Raguraj 14).

Girls:

Final: Chattisgarh 97 (Kavita 29, Aruna Kindo 19, Sangeeta Mondal 16) bt Kerala 64 (Neenu Mol PS 20, Anusha Anto 11, Soniya Joy 10).

For third position: Tamil Nadu 92 (U Rahila Begum 21, RS Karpaagam 19, K Gomati ) bt Karnataka 69 (Navneetha PU 16, Sandhya M 14, Sagarika Shyam 13).

For fifth position: Delhi 63 (A Chinmai Meghna 20, Sonika Ohylan 15, Neha Joshi 14) bt Maharashtra 61 (Sneha Rajguru 16, Amrita Bhuskute 13, Shewta Mundre 120.

For seventh position: Madhya Pradesh 60 (Monika Gurjir 20, Jhilik Roy 17, Deepika David 12) bt Andhra Pradesh 49 (Eedu Palli Jyothi 12, Ande Surya 11, G Sala Satya 8).

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Indian Men’s Basketball Team Win Silver In Dhaka

India's men National basketball team silver winning performance in the ongoing South Asian games at Dhaka, Bangladesh, says Basketball Federation of India (BFI) was praiseworthy.

According to BFI secretary general, Harish Sharma, the overall result at Dhaka, was good beginning for Indian cagers .

"The silver wining efforts is a significant step towards a tough schedule ahead," he said.

This year, BFI is conducting first FIBA Commonwealth Basketball Championships for men, on the home soil in August. The meet is schedule to held at Bangalore. The Commonwealth tourney will be followed by Asian Games in November, in China. BFI is expecting good results in both the above competitions.

"Our main focus this year is both Bangalore and Guangzhou competitions . The National team should be able to give a good account of themselves in August and November," said Harish.

In the build up months for Bangalore meet, the National team is also expected to play in the 21st FIBA Asia Champions Cup at Doha beginning May 22.

"It will be good exposure trip," added Harish.

Regarding Dhaka trip, India's assistant coach Mohit Bhandari, is of the opinion that India-Afghanistan final match, that former lost by a mere one-point, was good learning experience for the national squad.
"Our players gave too much liberty to the opponents in early stage of the final match. It proved costly," he said.

India began its campaign for the title on a winning note by defeating Sri Lanka 106-54, and outplayed Pakistan 106-48, in its next encounter. But in the third match of the tournament, faced stiff resistance from Afghanistan cagers, who had training stint in USA for the tournament. India lost to Afghanistan by three points 74-77, in the extra time. Both the teams were locked 65 each in the regular period.

In the semifinal, India didn’t sweat to score 96-54 win over hosts Bangladesh.

In the final, against Afghanistan, Indian players paid the price of being too casual in the initial stages of the crucial match. Indian cagers were trailing by nine points lead at the break (35-44).

In the third quarter, Indian team though came back in the contest to narrow down the lead to four points (50-54), it failed to grab the ball in the dying seconds, and lost the match by mere one point (64-65), and had to settle for the silver.

The BFI has also announced cash incentives for the national team.