CHENNAI: One of the biggest concerns in India's 57-81 loss to Saudi Arabia in the 2027 FIBA World Cup qualifiers match at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium on Sunday was the lack of India's presence in the paint. The centres in the game of basketball are expected to be in the box inside the arc, which is called "the paint." They are expected to collect rebounds both in defense and offense.
After coming off a 51-75 defeat at Jeddah on Friday, India were expected to put on an improved show. However, they could not even improve the deficit (24 points) from Friday's loss. While it can be said that the team builds its platform to win by shooting from outside the D, the lack of centres in the paint to collect rebounds, as well as act as the last line of defense, poses a big concern.
Captain Palpreet Singh Brar, Amjyot Singh and Aravind Annadurai played in this position. None of them could match up the centres of Saudi Arabia's. As a result, the visitors did not break a sweat in scoring points and blocking shots. Saudi Arabia's lanky centre (6'9) centre Mohammed Alsuwailem had a comfortable night in making field goals and blocking opposition lay-ups. He ended the night with eight points, nine rebounds (4 defensive and 1 offensive) and four blocks.
On the other side, both Singh and Brar together only collected four rebounds, and Annadurai ended the night with two.
India head coach Scott Flemming did not give excuses about this issue, but also spoke about the injuries and availability of the said players, who are "the older guys" of the team. "Amjyot is coming back from a serious shoulder injury. He has fought his way back but he is not where he needs to be. Aravind did an okay job but he just joined us about a week ago. But the centres have not been as good as they can be," he said in the post-match press conference.
Kanwar Sandhu was the only positive for the hosts, ending his game with 19 points. His three successful three point shots got the crowd going. It can be said that his performance may have improved India's field goal percentage (29 per cent) by a notch from Friday's defeat (27 per cent)