TimesofIndia.com in SINGAPORE: By the time Velammal International School took the floor on Tuesday morning, first impressions of Fr NBA The Rising Stars Invitational was already formed.The South Korean teams were physically imposing. The Australians brought size and pace. Japanese teams moved with the confidence of a system that produced players like Rui Hachimura and Yuki Kawamura. Around the OCBC Arena, it was impossible not to notice the difference in basketball cultures.In the middle of all of them stood the only representatives of India. School from Chennai.For one week, some of the brightest young talents from all over Asia gathered under one roof. Some arrived with established systems behind them. Others brought decades of basketball tradition.Velammal arrived carrying something else: Expectation. Not necessarily from the tournament. But from a country that is still looking for its first breakthrough in basketball.The trip to Singapore began months earlier. Velammal emerged as regional cluster champions before defeating some of the strongest school teams in the country.The performances eventually caught the attention of the Basketball Association of India, who recommended the Chennai school for the tournament.“We came here to win,” Kushal Singh told Timesofindia.com ahead of the team’s first game.“Every team is here to win. But we want to give everyone a tough fight. We want them to know that we can play too. Indian basketball is not slow. We can compete and we can challenge strong teams.”“We hope to make history here.”
Kushal Singh
A dream that survived the famous tips
Long before Singapore and the NBA, Kushal he is used to hearing the questions that accompany most Indian sportsmen who dare to choose a sport outside of cricket. Why basketball? Why not study? What about the future?People advised him to become a doctor, engineer or lawyer. They thought that basketball was not something worth betting on in life. His parents thought otherwise.“People tell them, ‘Make him study. Don’t be serious about his future,'” Kushal said. “But my parents always tell me, ‘Just go and play. We’ll take care of everything. They keep pushing me forward.’The former NBA Academy India recruit has never hidden his ambitions. “My ultimate dream is to become the first Indian to represent the NBA.”Asked in which round he would like to be selected, Kushal smiled. “Any round. I just want to get drafted.”Alongside him is point guard Fyodor Prem Athithan, whose basketball roots are even deeper. His mother Malavizhi is a former basketball player and his father Prem is a university football player. The game was always about the quiet boy.
His dream, however, is different from Kushal’s.“My ambition is to play for India and help India win an Olympic medal.”
A coach who stayed with the game
For Shamsher Basha, the man who leads this group, basketball has been a journey spanning more than two decades.He learned the game watching the seniors in Cheyyar before moving to Chennai and developed under coach TNR Chandran. Inspired by some of the Tamil Naduthe most successful trainers, eventually he started training himself.Sixteen years later, he continues to work with young players.Over the years several of his students have represented India and Tamil Nadu. Others found opportunities abroad and in colleges.However, Basha believes that the real challenge facing Indian basketball starts much earlier.“The biggest difference is the fundamentals,” he told Timesofidia.com. “In countries like Japan, the basics taught in schools are very strong. In India, the fundamentals are not very strong yet.”Infrastructure remains a challenge. That’s what nutrition does. But perhaps the biggest battle is changing perceptions.“People in India don’t value sports enough,” Basha said, adding “In countries like Japan and China, parents are very interested in sports. In our country, many people think sports are a waste of time. Because of this mentality, coaches face many struggles.”
Shamsher Basha, Kushal Singh and Fyodor Prem Athithan
A look at the next level
Back in Hall 3 of the OCBC Arena, for almost two quarters against Indonesia’s Jubilee High School, Velammal looked comfortable.The traffic light moved back and forth. They led at stages of the first half and looked capable of matching the pace.Kushal attacked relentlessly and hit his threes at will. Fyodor, the point guard, more in Isiah Thomas gave 15 points and four assists. He glided through the field with ease, reading passes brilliantly and making timely interceptions while dictating the pace.
Kušal’s attack
Then the game changed.As the pace increased, the margins became visible.“In the first quarter we scored very well and led. We also had the lead in the second quarter,” said Basha afterwards.“In the third quarter, we lacked stamina. That’s why they took advantage of it with quick breaks and attacks. They scored easily, including three-pointers and free throws. Our guys were very tired,” he added.The absence of Justice Ilesanmi Kayoda, Gabriel Atem and Kuru due to visa issues only made matters more difficult.“If these players had come, we would have won this tournament for sure,” said Basha. Unfortunately, they couldn’t get visas.”The final score is 95-61.
Team picture after the match
Still, for Basha, just sharing the pitch with teams from Indonesia, Australia, South Korea and Japan represented an opportunity his players would have struggled to find at home.“We never expected to play in this tournament, so the selection made us very happy,” he said.“Students got a very good opportunity. We met people from Korea and Japan, made friends and even watched NBA players. Sitting at home, we would never have had experiences like this.”Basha believes that more tournaments of this nature can help bridge the gap that Indian basketball continues to face.“If more tournaments like this are organized, Indian basketball will definitely develop. Playing against foreign players and traveling outside India gives us valuable experience,” he said.And the players left the first game with something more important than disappointment: perspective.“We know other countries are better at basketball, so we have better competition to play against,” Kushal said.“We were number one in India, so we could compete with any team there. Now that we’ve seen this level of competition, as a team we understand what we need to work on, what we’re good at and what we’re not so good at.“We can improve and come back next time to give these teams better competition. These teams are great at basketball, so we’ll find out where we are as individuals. We just have to come back better.”Lessons came to Fyodor in different ways.“It was a very good experience,” he said. “They pressured the whole field. In India, there was no full-field pressure, just a zone defense. There is full-field pressure here, so next time we should handle it better and make the right plays.”
The dream remains
On the opening day of the tournament, Rui Hachimura spoke about wanting to inspire more players from Asia to reach the NBA.“I mean all of Asia,” said the Los Angeles Lakers forward.For Indian basketball, that road still seems long.But inside the OCBC Arena this week, that distance will become easier to understand.One teenager dreams of helping India win an Olympic medal; another dreams of hearing his name in the night sky. Others’ dreams will be more or less the same.And for the Chennai-based school that represents India on a bigger stage, still searching for its place in basketball, that dream remains reason enough to keep going.
