INBL eyes 3×3 route to send India basketball team to the Olympics | More sports News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: Basketball in India has already established a massive footprint within educational institutions, including schools, colleges, and universities.
The popularity of the NBA amongst youngsters, coupled with different viewing platform options have also resulted in a wider audience for the sport overall.
But despite a cult-like following in these settings, the sport has unfortunately struggled to transform into a viable professional option for budding talent.
In a bid to provide a platform for budding basketball talent across the country and realize their potential, the Indian National Basketball League (INBL) is aiming to attract the best talents to play in the league as it tries to establish itself as the top flight of Indian Basketball.

Distinguished from other leagues, the INBL operates with a closed setup, allowing only Indian players to participate. By doing so, the league aims to strengthen, promote, and organize grassroots-level talent from within the nation, nurturing them into future basketball superstars. This approach not only creates opportunities for local players but also contributes to the overall development and growth of basketball in India.
One of the INBL’s most ambitious goals is to send a formidable Indian basketball team to the Olympics. With this objective in mind, the league aspires to lay the groundwork for nurturing talent, fostering a competitive spirit, and creating an ecosystem that supports athletes in their pursuit of international recognition.
3×3 basketball is an exciting and fast-paced variation of traditional basketball and made its Olympic debut in the Tokyo Games of 2021. Played on a half-court with three players per team, it brings a unique intensity and strategic element to the game. The smaller team size promotes constant action, quick transitions, and dynamic plays. With a 12-second shot clock, games are fast-paced and highly competitive.

3×3 basketball is recognized by FIBA, the international basketball governing body, and has gained popularity worldwide. Its inclusion in the Olympic Games since the Tokyo edition has further elevated its status. The sport showcases agility, skill, and teamwork, making it an exhilarating experience for both players and spectators alike.
In conversation with TimesofInda.com, Parveen Batish, CEO of INBL, gave first-hand insights on the challenges faced by Indian basketball, the strategies employed by INBL to overcome them, and the exciting future that lies ahead for the sport in the country and of course, 3×3 basketball.

Excerpts…
Q: What do you think sets the INBL 3×3 league apart from other basketball leagues in India?
I think the best way for me to describe that is to, I guess, tell you about what we’re trying to do because then it will hopefully make a little bit more sense. So what we’re trying to do, we have two things we want to do one is to grow the participation base of basketball in India, so get more people playing because the more people play means that it’s easier and better to do the second part which is to improve the talent level of all those people playing so that we can compete better at (the) international level and give people more of an opportunity to play at (a) high level.
So what sets it apart from anything else? Is that first of all, it’s open to anybody, people can put a team into the competition without having to pay any fees and just play. And you don’t have to be part of a club or association or anything else. It’s open to everybody. So it forms the base of our pyramid, if you like, which is growing the community base growing, the number of people playing basketball. And I think that’s what sets us apart. Because what we do is we give everybody a platform to showcase their skills and then give them rewards.
So while it’s not a professional league or anything, what we do have is prize money so that in this competition we have 20 lakhs worth of prize money that we’re going to give away in the regional finals and in the national finals. But last year we ran it in 20 cities around the country. We had over 9,000 players, 2,900 teams, that participated at men’s and women’s level and under 18 men and women. And interestingly, from the winner of the under 18 men’s competition, four players went on to represent India in the Asia Cup and they came second, they lost in the final.
And the same four people have been selected to play for India in the World Cup. So, anyone from any city could have won that and gone on to represent India. The winners of the men’s competition, we entered them into a FIBA competition which was played in Cebu (Philippines) and we covered all of their costs, their flying, their hotel bills and so on. So it’s a competition that’s open to everybody with rewards. So this year the men’s competition winners will be able to play in a FIBA competition in Shanghai and will get prize money. So it’s an interesting competition, which is open to everybody but has higher awards and high opportunities.
And when we ran the five on five competition, for example, in December-January, where we selected players from the local catchment areas of Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai and Kochi and the winners of that competition were going to represent India in the Club Asia Cup finals, and also more importantly, some of the players that played in that competition were identified by the national coach, and we’re invited to the National Camp, which, is unheard of. So we are literally giving a platform for players to showcase their talent and I think that’s what sets us apart. It’s very long- long-winded.

Q: That is very good, the players going on to play for India, that’s really great. But how has this league impacted the basketball ecosystem in India overall? And what changes have you witnessed since its inception?
I think what’s been happening is that everyone has been trying to give people a platform to play, but it’s been very much organized on a statewide basis. And then, of course the nationals, but only the best teams play and so on. And I think what we’ve managed to do is to create a local competition, which doesn’t have any. It’s not encumbered by any of those kinds of things and allowing people that national platform. So, when we have the finals here in Delhi and the finals in Puna, regardless of where the teams have come from, they will be shown live on YouTube, on our channel.
So anyone across the country who is interested in basketball can see players playing that. They wouldn’t normally see them play because they’re at opposite ends of the country. So, I think that’s the impact that this competition has had. And yeah, we want to continue with that. It’s literally about giving people a platform, so the teams that are playing, there’s some teams who have not really played in organized competitions. And then, there are other teams which are showcasing their talent because they do have the opportunity to play, but haven’t had the opportunity that we’re giving them.

Q: So that means that the 3×3 league has helped in the development and promotion of basketball in India, right?
Yeah, absolutely.
Q: What are your hopes and aspirations for the future of the INBL, 3×3 league, both in terms of its impact on Indian basketball and its growth as a competitive platform?
The competitions we run are on the FIBA platform, which is the international federation. So everyone who registers to play gets registered onto the FIBA system, so they earn points on the FIBA system. So each player is earning points. But more importantly, what we’re doing is that every competition we run, the country earns points on the FIBA system. So our ranking is going up the more competitions we play. And one of the things with FIBA is that the serious competition is now an Olympic competition. And one of the entry ways that you can enter is that the top three countries with the most number of points go directly into the Olympics.
Now we won’t achieve that for Paris, but we can certainly try to do that on this local platform, actually helping the country’s standing in basketball. Also, our aspiration for this is to continue with this competition, maybe even do it twice a year, give more people the opportunity and then start to add other things around it, like coaching clinics, where we can bring coaches and players and have a hoops foundation, which is to encourage five to 10-year-olds to come and play. And take up the sport of basketball and to learn about nutrition and keeping fit at an early age. So all of this is designed to increase the player base of basketball and we hope to continue that into the future.

Q: And is there any specific kind of training and preparation that goes into being a successful player in 3×3 basketball?
The key to 3×3 basketball is to have good fundamental skills. So, being able to handle the ball past all, to shoot the ball you need great footwork, and as a coach, I’ve always used this 3×3 format to help with the 5×5 format. So when you’re coaching, you play lots of one-on-one, two on two, three on three to teach concepts and if coaches are using the three on three in the right way, that’s what it will be able to do. It teaches players spacing, it teaches good inside out passing, it teaches how to play a two-man game with a humble screen and rolling. So all the fundamentals of a full five on five league are displayed in a three on three competition. So my message to players and coaches is use this format to develop your skills at all levels.
And I think that’s what 3×3 allows you to do, because you’re sometimes out of the action in a 5×5 game, you’re running up and down the court, sometimes you just run up and down, never see the ball. But in 3×3 you have to switch from offense to defense really quickly and you’re never out of action. All three players have the opportunity in that short space of time to shoot, to pass, to dribble, to do all of those fundamental things. And that’s why this format is so important to developing players’ skills.

Q: What are the biggest challenges that you face as a coach and how do you overcome them and keep your team focused on their goals?
The biggest challenge I guess is not necessarily internal but it’s actually about showing people outside how entertaining the sport can be. So if we have two types of ecosystems one is the people who play and who support in terms of parents and friends and so on and we have another ecosystem which is people who like to watch sport, currently they may be watching NBA, cricket, or something else. How do we bring those two together? And I think that’s our biggest challenge because only by doing that, can we really showcase the sport to everybody and be a big player. We’re not going to compete with cricket. I understand that and we’re not even trying to do that, but we can challenge other sports and that’s what we want to do in terms of participation and viewership. So that’s our biggest challenge.

Q: Okay, so that covers all the challenges that the sport faces in the face of the popularity of cricket or other sports….
Yes. I mean it’s great. That every school has a hoop so people get introduced to this form of basketball. And so there’s an underlying awareness of the sport already and we just have to play on that knowledge and showcase what we’re doing and that we’re serious about, bringing (the sport) along. People who are aware of the sport and turning them into super fans, people who enjoy watching or playing the sport.
Q: And how do you evaluate and select players for your team? What specific qualities of skills are you looking for in potential team members?
As I mentioned before the competition is open to anyone of any skill level to play. And so if you’re talking about players, the 3×3 competition is literally open to anyone. So we don’t pick the teams. We don’t choose the teams. You literally enter the competition and we put you into a small group, you play and then you keep going through until the final. So we don’t select any of the teams. If you’re referring to the team that we have around us to put this on, we want passionate people who are interested in the sport, understand the sport and can help to nurture what we’re doing and put on a good show. And I think we’ve managed to get that.

Q: How did you prepare the team for the unique challenges of 3×3 basketball when it was introduced?
Okay, I think in terms of preparation, if I was coaching a 3×3 team, it would be no different to what I coach on a 5×5 team, so it will be spending time on the fundamental skills. As I mentioned before, shooting and passing and ball handling, but then teaching concepts and by concepts, I mean, how to break your defender down one-on-one, what are the signs that you look for? How do you use your body to handle various things?
Then looking at 2×2, how do you play 2×2 basketball, how do you set fake screens? How do you defend screens? How do you double team the ball handler? How do you play the role? How do you switch defensively and so on. And then you move that onto the three on three side and the same thing. Again how do you teach things like dribble, drive, penetrate and kick out and how do you teach people to be ready on the perimeters to having their body down, catching the ball and shooting quickly. Steph Curry does all of those concepts which are useful for 5×5, they’re kind of like a microcosm and it’s really also because of the speed, you can focus on decision teaching kids how to make decisions very quickly. So as a coach using 3×3 basketball is absolutely fundamental. And also, you think about it often, you might have a team of 10 or 12 players but some of them won’t turn up for training because they have exams or they are injured or whatever. So if you end up with 7-8 players, 3×3 is a great way to deal with it with a training session also. So as a coach, I love 3×3. It’s a great way to teach all of those skills that I talked about.
Q: Do you think that INBL has a good future in India and it can grow and grow at all levels?
Yes, I think people are beginning to see that we don’t have any kind of ill will in terms of what we’re doing. We’re here to promote the game of basketball. We’re here to give players and coaches a platform to play. We’re here to give referees the opportunity to practice their skills and administrators around that too. So we are focused on the players but actually there’s this whole ecosystem of the game that we’re giving an opportunity to. So, yes, I think we’re here to stay. I think we want to continue with what we’re doing because we’re passionate about it, my investors and directors are here because they are passionate about the sport as much as I am. And they’re also very happy to give back to the country that they left, whether it was five years ago or 40 years ago. Like me, it’s that opportunity to close that circle and come back. So, I have a very English accent but in my heart, I’m Indian, I have family here in Delhi and so this is a great opportunity for all of us to give back. And we’re certainly going to continue.

Watch INBL eyes 3×3 route to send India basketball team to the Olympics