India face Philippines in FIBA Asia u-16 girls tournament

Pune: India will take on Philippines in the first FIBA Asia u-16 girls tournament that gets underway at the Balewadi Sports Complex here tomorrow. India will play host to the week-long tournament for the first time as the FIBA introduced the under-16 competition for both boys and girls from this year. The inaugural continental competition in the boys` group concluded recently in Malaysia. Basketball Federation of India (BFI) secretary general Harish Sharma said the preparation of the Indian team has gone well and he hoped the players will put up their best. "The players should give a good account of themselves in the matches," he said. "Introduction of youth group in the calendar will certainly build a good base. It should also catch the attention of the youth in our country," added Sharma, who is also the organising secretary of the tournament. Sharma said, the teams were selected on the basis of first come first basis. "The response was huge but we had to restrict the entries to 12 only," he added. All the 12 participating nations have arrived at the venue and had a practice session too. Asian giants China looks a strong contender for the title, while Japan and Korea are the other two teams to be watched out. The inaugural match of the tournament will be played between Korea and Thailand. The tournament assume significance as top two teams will get a ticket for the inaugural FIBA u-17 world championship to be held in France next year. The participating teams have been divided into two groups. Pool A: China, Chinese Taipei, Singapore, Phillipines, Hong Kong, India. Pool B: Korea, Japan, Sri lanka, Malaysia, Thailand, Kazakhstan. India: Amruta Bhuskute, Jeena Skaria, Aishwarya Natarajan, Sagarika Shyam, Sneha Rajguru, Pushpa Nishad, Navaneetha PU, Kavita Akula, Shireen Vijay Limaye, Suganya Loganathan, Ranjeeta Kaur and Manini Rai. PTI