MUMBAI: 3X3 Pro Basketball League (3BL), claimed to be India’s first ever FIBA recognised league, announced on Thursday the player draft for its maiden season.
15 additional standout Indian players have also been signed up, having participated in the trials in New Delhi, which featured 100 potential basketball players.
RohitBakshi, the 3BL league commissioner expressed his satisfaction with the trials conducted. “The level of talent and potential we saw in the trials is very promising. This was the second tick off the checklist, first being the successful launch of 3x3BLin India. We are content with the response we received for the try outs and are very excited to see the final drafts of the teams. We see Indian 3X3 basketball players going a long way, with the FIBA 3X3 World Tour and 2020 Tokyo Olympics in the near future.”
“The attendance for the trials was excellent and we are very happy to see people in India so excited for 3X3 Pro Basketball League. The needle is slowly shifting towards non-cricket sports and basketball has the potential to sweep the entire nation,” Sudhir Vashist, chief of marketing for 3BL added.
“3X3BL is one of the freshest sporting properties in India. It is great that players are already keen to be a part of it. Sports and entertainment go hand in hand and we are certain this mix will help garner maximum eyeballs on the players and the league,” said Vivek Krishna, entertainment director, 3BL.
The inaugural season of 3BL will feature 13 overseas players and Indian stars such as Palpreet Singh Brar, Bikramjit Gill, Inderbir Singh Gill, Leandro Lima and many more.
The winners of the tournament will get to represent India at FIBA World Tours.
Team rosters:
Mumbai Hustlers – Bharath Basavaraju, Amit Sehrawat, Palpreet Singh Brar, Sambhaji Kadam, Paras Patil, Siddarth Reddy.
Chennai Icons – Mahesh Padmabanam (overseas), Gurvinder Singh Gill, Abhyudaya Yadav, Jai Singh, Sahil Kalyan, Pankaj Pandey.
Delhi Hoopers – Dhruv Burman, Mayank Rawat, Inderbir Singh Gill (overseas), Kiran Shastri (overseas), Divesh Jolly, Harkirat Jattana Singh.
Hyderabad Ballers – Eban Hyams (overseas), Abhishek John, Arvind CV, Rohit Lokareddy, Safhalya Patra, Aaditya Vikram Singh.
Bangalore Machas – Timajh Parker-Rivera (overseas), Nikhil Kodali, Chethan Suresh, Karan Joshua, Pranay Naidu, Sowkin Shetty.
Ahmedabad Wingers – Leandro Souza de Lima (overseas), Ritik Dalal, Akshay Sharma, Rajat Sharma, Sushant Malhan, Lovedeep Singh.
Chandigarh Beasts – Mithil Reddy, Kunal Raghav, David Boon, Jagdeep Bains, Jasjeet Singh, Dulon Kharsati.
Kochi Knights – Slobodan Bajic (overseas), Longji Gobum (overseas), Jaspreet Singh, Amit Sebastian, Jerald Pathadan, Tushar Vijay.
Goa Snipers – Nalel Smith (overseas), Chris Viresh, Harish Varma, Dinesh Kumar, P Rahul Kumar, Raghvendra Singh.
Aizawl Legends – Kyle Benton (overseas), Matthew Sailo, Vanlalthazuala, F Zodinthara, H Laldinsanga, PB Vanlalmuana.
Kolkata Warriors – Stefan Bujagic (overseas), Chukwunanu Agu (overseas), Joel Thomas, Rajath KR, Ashish Briggs, Bushan Sunderraj
Jaipur Regals – Patrick McGlynn (overseas), Kaif Zia, Raj Kalbhor, Gagandeep Singh, Abhishua Abraham, P Rajesh
