Pranav Prince was good but wasn’t quite good enough. He had the ability and talent but returns were meagre, averaging below 10 points, in Indian colours. Pranav was struggling to make his mark with the senior team.
However, at the FIBA Olympic pre-qualifying tournament in Syria earlier this month, Pranav came of age. It was a breakthrough performance for the versatile 20-year-old who showcased his true skills. He unleashed the beast mode in him; dunking, stealing, snatching rebounds and showing aggression which wasn’t there earlier.
Pranav struck a purple patch in the first match against Syria, notching 21 points which enabled India to upset the host. He carried his good form, making double-digit scores in the next three matches to show consistency which was missing earlier.
Pranav’s stellar show also saw India beating Indonesia and coming close to winning against Kazakhstan. However, the shoehorned schedule took its toll on Pranav and his team as the performances tapered towards the end. Nevertheless, it was a performance which augurs well for the future.
“We certainly served notice by beating two higher-ranked teams in Syria and Indonesia. It was a close and tough tournament. Bahrain and Indonesia had players of foreign origin but overall we put up a good show. We played three matches in the first three days and it was taxing and we ran out of steam by the time we took on Saudi Arabia and Bahrain,” Pranav said.
“I am personally happy with my performance. I put in a lot of hard work on my fitness and I am now more confident of trying out things which I practice,’’ he added.
“We have had the same set of players for the last two years and I think we have matured as a team. We have improved a lot in defence and attack and if we keep this trend we can challenge the best in Asia in three or four years’ time,” he added.
Pranav acknowledged the role of the NBA Academy and other basketball academies in improving the standard of the game in the country.
“The coaching has become more scientific and players are exposed to modern trends at a very young age in these academies. Earlier, we never worked on our fitness and skills, we just played. But at the academy it was different as they looked at holistic development and now we have players who are finished products,’‘ he said.
