TN look for two foreigners for WASL basketball

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu sealed the spot for the West Asia Super League (WASL) Final 8 by emerging champions at the SABA Club Basketball Championship here, but it is just the start for a long arduous journey.

TN were hardly troubled throughout the SABA Championship as they recorded over 100 plus points in each of the four matches they competed in. On Monday, they finished their engagement with a 106-49 win against T-Rex of The Maldives.

TN head coach CV Sunny said that the SABA competition did not pose any threat to his team, and is looking forward to the tough road ahead. “This tournament (SABA) was a one-sided affair as we did not face tough opponents. It did not give us much experience, but this will not be the case for the WASL. Our opponents there will be very strong, and we will have to prepare well,” Sunny told TOI.

TN will have the opportunity to sign two foreign cagers and the team is in the hunt to finalise the names as early as possible. “We have not finalised the foreign players, but we have shortlisted a few candidates in the centre forward and power forward positions who can fit in our squad. We are planning to have at least a week’s training with them before we travel for the competition in Lebanon,” Sunny added.

One area where TN need to focus on more is shooting. “We have to improve a lot in shooting and rebound collection. Defensively we are a good side but for the standards of WASL, it is not going to be enough. We need to be physically strong and have to stay fit to compete against the stronger sides.”

Last year, TN could not register a single win in the WASL Final 8. They ended the competition by giving a tough fight to a Bahrain club and lost by just three points. Sunny admitted that the foreign teams have experienced players and are more professional.

“The players from other countries compete in professional leagues and have more experience than us. The Indian players have grown after their stint at the Indian National Basketball League Pro (InBL Pro). Although InBL Pro was a small league, sharing space with foreign cagers was beneficial to our players. The emergence of the National Star Basketball League will benefit Indian hoopsters a lot.”

The TN squad will start their training in a week, with the WASL Final 8 scheduled from May 2 to 8.