The Chennai leg of the Jr. NBA 3v3 Nationwide Below-14 event, a nationwide faculty competitors involving U-14 girls and boys, concluded final Saturday (January 31) on the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium complicated.
The Velammal Worldwide Faculty (Ponneri), Crescent Matriculation Greater Secondary Faculty, Velammal Vidyalaya (Paruthipattu), and St. Thomas Matriculation Greater Secondary Faculty superior to the Nationwide Finals as the highest two groups within the boys’ and ladies’ classes.
Two extra sides, referred to as the All-Star Crew (one from boys and one from ladies), made up of gamers from numerous faculties, additionally superior.
Watching the motion unfold from the sidelines was Bharath Anantharaman, Senior Director of Basketball Operations, NBA India. He goals to make the Jr. NBA the pipeline of basketball expertise within the nation.
U-14 boys in motion within the Chennai leg of the Jr. NBA 3v3 Nationwide Below-14 event.
| Photograph Credit score:
Particular Association
U-14 boys in motion within the Chennai leg of the Jr. NBA 3v3 Nationwide Below-14 event.
| Photograph Credit score:
Particular Association
“At the moment, we’re specializing in the U-14 group as a result of we really feel that’s the best age to determine expertise and groom them. Giving them that early publicity motivates them to proceed taking part in that sport,” he advised Sportstar.
Whereas the NBA Academy in Noida and others internationally had been sundown two years again, Anantharaman revealed that NBA India is seeking to modify its efforts at nurturing expertise. “We’re exploring fashions which allow us to coach elite prospects at scale. We stay dedicated to creating aspiring Indian gamers in any respect ranges and are working with the related stakeholders within the nation on our elite improvement efforts transferring ahead.”
Furthermore, the Jr. NBA programme tries to ensure that the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) is stored abreast of the quantity of expertise within the nation.
“We’re conducting this in such a manner that the Expertise Analysis Wing of the BFI has a transparent view of the expertise. In the event that they discover some actually good expertise, then they take them to their academies. What we goal to do is showcase this expertise on the state and nationwide degree and share these prospects with the BFI,” he defined.
U-14 ladies in motion within the Chennai leg of the Jr. NBA 3v3 Nationwide Below-14 event.
| Photograph Credit score:
Particular Association
U-14 ladies in motion within the Chennai leg of the Jr. NBA 3v3 Nationwide Below-14 event.
| Photograph Credit score:
Particular Association
When Anantharaman joined NBA India in 2022, simply after the Covid-19 pandemic, he took a name to restructure the format of the age-level event, which started in 2013, to permit extra kids to take part.
“We used to run the 5×5 format, a full-court sport, and have choose groups in each metropolis. However I needed to open up the participation. We felt as a substitute, 3×3 can be a way more accessible format.
“Since that change, we’ve been seeing an excellent enhance in participation 12 months on 12 months. The concept behind this transfer was that as a substitute of only one group taking part per faculty, we’d enable the college to deliver a number of groups. That manner, each member of the college group will get to play basketball, will get to expertise the model and the game,” he elucidated.
Outcomes
Below-14 boys
Winner: The Velammal Worldwide Faculty, Ponneri (Rohan Nithish, Srikanth, Arwaz Khan, Manikandan).
Runner-up: Crescent Matric. Greater Sec. Faculty (Yogesh N, Mohammed Adhil A, Saravanan M, Jones Cameron P).
All-Star Crew Chennai: A Santhosh – American Faculty, A Joel Antony – American Faculty, M Srinivasan – American Faculty, Vithun Kaushik Y – Velammal Vidyalaya, Alapakkam.
Below-14 ladies
Winner: Velammal Vidyalaya, Paruthipattu (Navya, Kiriyaa, Darshini, Ashika).
Runner-up: St. Thomas Matric Hr. Sec Faculty (M N Afreen Ruhi, G Joshna, A Gayathri, V Anshika).
All-Star Crew Chennai: R Reona – St. Thomas Matric Hr. Sec Faculty, S Lakshanabi – St. Thomas Matric Hr. Sec Faculty, Aadya Vijay – Sri Sankara Senior Secondary Faculty, Archana Priya – DAV Senior Secondary Faculty, Mogappir.
Printed on Feb 05, 2026