NBA Jam Diary Day 2: NBA's 1st women's 3x3 in India

The NBA Jam just wrapped up in Hyderabad. This event marked the first inter-college basketball competition by the NBA in India. It was also the first time the NBA introduced a women’s category in its 3 on 3 basketball competitions in India. The winning teams from Hyderabad will be flown down to Mumbai to compete in the national finals against the winning teams from Bangalore, Delhi and Mumbai. Three on three basketball is quite popular among women in India. Here are some comments from Amrita Jaiswal, a player who participated in the NBA Jam at Hyderabad:

How did the competition meet your expectations?

The teams were competitive. There were six women’s teams participating in the tournament. Our team is very enthusiastic about basketball and we try to play as many competitions as we can. It’s good to have competitions like these which promote women’s basketball too.

How did it feel playing on the artificial surface?

It took some getting used to. The bounce of the ball was something we had to adjust to. All in all,it was fun.

Talk about the event being a complete basketball experience.

There were a lot of fun events. We had free throw shooting competitions, three point shootouts, dribbling contests, etc. We had a good time here.

Although there were only six women’s teams in this competition, one can expect the number of women’s teams to go up in the other cities. This marks a significant milestone in NBA’s activities in India. This format is well suited for girls in India and here are 4 reasons why:

Fewer players required

In many parts of India, it’s hard enough to find ten players to play a full court match. It’s tougher still for a girl to find nine other girls to play basketball with. Finding nine other girls is a challenge, to find nine who are skilled and with whom you can play a competitive match is even tougher. Three on three basketball allows you to take to the court with just six players.

Mixed basketball

When boys and girls want to play basketball together, a full court match is usually unbalanced. If the guys are playing too hard they are not chivalrous, and if they are taking it easy on the girls then they are sexist. If you are a guy in this situation, you usually can’t win. That’s where three on three basketball comes to the rescue. The biggest imbalance between boys and girls while playing basketball, physicality, is neutralized to some extent in three on three basketball. The transition baskets are taken away, full court press is out of the question, and spacing is reduced. This allows a girl to compete better against guys.

Core skill development

Unlike boys, it is a lot more difficult for girls to develop muscle. Young girls don’t take to a sport like basketball as easily as guys do because the learning curve is a bit steeper. As it is, basketball is one of the toughest sports to be fluent in. If the young players are playing half court three on three basketball, they enjoy the game better. At a young age, the most important quality a player needs to ingrain in him or her is the love for the game. That comes easier when you are playing three on three.

Indian team’s success

The Indian women’s team has had a lot of success in the three on three format. Our women’s team won the gold at the South East Asian Games at Sri Lanka in 2011, at the 3rd Asian Beach Games in Haiyang, China in 2012 and at the inaugural FIBA Asia 3×3 basketball tournament 2013 in Doha on 17 May 2013. Our success in 3 on 3 basketball dwarfs our success in the other formats.

NBA Jam will be held in three more cities:

Bangalore (Sept 12-14) at the Kanteerva StadiumDelhi (Sept 19-21) at Hans Raj CollegeMumbai. (Sept 26-28) at St. Stanislaus High SchoolColleges interested in participation may call 09594991125 or visit their official websites: NBA India or NBA Jam.

Watch this space for regular updates through the NBA Jam Diary.