India to take part in Middle Asia Zone Qualifying Round against SAARC teams in Delhi

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.