It is July 26, 2013 here in Manila, and there are
only 6 nights left before the 2013 FIBA Asia Men’s Championship Tournament, the
first ever held in these parts in four decades, kicks off at the ultramodern
Mall of Asia Arena and the historic Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
Now that the rosters of the participating teams have
finally been revealed and confirmed, I can finally make the customary
team-by-team previews of the tournament. This is, of course, something not done
in much detail by other media outfits, so I am pretty excited. I plan to go
through the groups starting with Group D and ending with Group A. Each post
will focus on two teams, with the exception of the Group C preview, which will
include all three squads since FIBA Asia wasn’t able to find a well-prepared
replacement for the suspended Lebanese (I am still sad I won’t see Fadi El
Khatib play).
For this first post, I will look at a team that is
returning to the FIBA Asia tournament after a TWELVE year absence and a team
that has the potential to be a rising power in Asian hoops.
Will Vishesh Bhriguvanshi lead India to a breakthrough performance? (image from FIBAAsia.net) |
I will name a few key players for each team, some
points of interest, and the general outlook for its performance. Where
possible, I will also specify the team’s international nickname/moniker. Please
note that a country’s basketball team usually uses the same moniker as its
football team, with a few notable exceptions of course.
Game? Alright. Lezz do dis.
Folks, I present to you Thailand and India.
THAILAND
(THA)
Moniker: War Elephants
Qualification: Beat Singapore and Malaysia in the 2013 SEABA
Tournament to qualify.
Last FIBA
Asia Appearance: 2001 – 1 win &
5 losses – Beat Singapore, but lost to China, Qatar, Hong Kong, Kuwait, and
UAE.
Roster:
Name
|
Age
|
Height
|
Position
|
Darongpan Apiromvilaichai
|
28
|
6’1
|
G
|
Danai Kongkum
|
28
|
6’3
|
F
|
Anasawee Klaewnarong
|
20
|
6’5
|
C
|
Kannawat Lertlaokul
|
26
|
5’8
|
G
|
Attaport Lertmalaiporn
|
30
|
6’4
|
F/C
|
Wutipong Dasom
|
22
|
6’5
|
F/C
|
Darunpong Apiromvilaichai
|
28
|
6’1
|
G
|
Kannut Samerjai
|
25
|
5’11
|
G
|
Sukhdave Ghogar
|
23
|
6’5
|
C
|
Wacharapong Tongsri
|
28
|
5’10
|
G
|
Chanachon Klahan
|
29
|
6’2
|
F
|
Key Players:
1) Wutipong Dasom – This young forward is
probably the most promising player to come out of Thailand in recent memory.
He’s certainly the most athletic, and he showed this when he competed in the
2013 ASEAN Basketball League’s Slam Dunk Contest. He didn’t win, of course, and
his team, the Sports Rev Thailand Slammers, were eliminated in the semifinals
of the ABL Playoffs, but he certainly made quite an impression by the year’s
end. He has a pretty balanced skill-set, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he
leads the War Elephants in scoring in the FIBA Asia Tournament.
Wutipong Dasom goes up strong. (image from AseanBasketballLeague.com) |
2) Sukhdave Ghogar – The last time Ghogar
played against a Philippine NT was way back in the 2011 SEA Games. At that
time, he faced 7-foot Greg Slaughter in the paint. This time around, things
aren’t going to be any easier as he is set to face the giants of India, CJ
Giles of Bahrain, and Anton Ponomarev of Kazakhstan. Though Ghogar will
probably be bullied down low, he should gain a lot of experience that he can
use for future battles.
Point of
Interest:
1) Low Expectations – Despite being in the
consensus lightest group, the Thais aren’t expected to make a lot of noise.
With Kazakhstan and Bahrain both being reinforced by naturalized players and
India steadily improving, the Thais are bound to get bounced early.
Tournament
Outlook:
It will be a big shock if Thailand beats any of the
other Group D teams, let alone advance to the next round. By all intents and
purposes, this team will get eliminated and might even fall all the way to last
place overall.
INDIA
(IND)
Moniker: Blue Tigers
Qualification: Beat Nepal and Afghanistan in the 2013 SABA
Tournament to qualify.
Last FIBA
Asia Appearance: 2011 – 1 win &
4 losses – Beat Qatar by default, but lost to Korea, Lebanon, Malaysia, and Indonesia.
Roster:
Name
|
Age
|
Height
|
Position
|
Sambhaji Kadam
|
33
|
5’10
|
G
|
Narender Kumar Grewal
|
25
|
6’1
|
G
|
Pratham Singh
|
22
|
6’0
|
G/F
|
Vinay Kaushik
|
22
|
6’3
|
F
|
Arjun Singh
|
21
|
6’0
|
G/F
|
Vishesh Bhriguvanshi
|
22
|
6’4
|
G/F
|
Amrit Pal Singh
|
22
|
6’11
|
C
|
Joginder Singh
|
25
|
5’11
|
G
|
Amjyot Singh
|
21
|
6’9
|
C/F
|
Yadwinder Singh
|
27
|
6’6
|
F
|
Rikin Pethani
|
23
|
6’9
|
F/C
|
Satnam Singh Bhamara
|
18
|
7’2
|
C
|
Key Players:
1) Vishesh Bhriguvanshi – Vishesh is the best
all-around player for coach Scott Fleming, and he will probably finish among
the scoring leaders by the tournament’s end. A gifted slasher and shooter,
Vishesh can hang with the best guards in Asia, and now that it seems the team
has stronger bigs compared to 2011, he should have even more room to operate at
the perimeter.
2) Satnam Singh Bhamara – Satnam has captured
the imagination of many Indians in much the same way Yao Ming did for the
Chinese in the early 2000s. I highly doubt if Satnam has the skills to break
into the NBA one day, but one cannot deny how imposing he is when he is under
the basket. He still needs to develop his quickness and footwork, but he has a
nice touch around the basket and his defensive timing has greatly improved
compared to 2 years ago.
Satnam Singh Bhamara should be one of the most interesting personalities in this year's tournament. (image from FIBAAsia.net) |
Points of
Interest:
1) Breakthrough year? - It has long baffled me how a
country that is second only to China in terms of population hasn’t been able to
find great players to fill the spots on its national basketball team. That
problem may have been a thing of the past, though, as coach Fleming has put
together a roster that, on paper, seems really balanced. This is the main
reason why 2013 might just be the Blue Tigers’ breakthrough year.
2) Potential rising power? – As has been mentioned
above, India already has a top-flight guard in Vishesh Bhriguvanshi, and now
that big guys like Amjyot Singh, Rikin Pethani, and Amrit Pal Singh have
improved significantly, the future looks really bright. If coach Fleming can
just find a way to make the Indians play their best on a consistent basis, then
this could be the start of something really good.
Tournament
Outlook:
I have the Indians beating Thailand and advancing to
the second round. They might even have enough to spring beat against Bahrain,
though upsetting the Kazakhs might be too tall an order. Once in round 2,
however, I doubt if India can make much noise given how strong the Group C
teams are. They won’t make the quarterfinals, but they have an outside chance
of finishing in the top ten.
#parasabayan
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