FIBA 3X3 Asia Cup: Indian men lose to New Zealand in quarter-finals

The Indian men's basketball team faced a tough loss in the quarterfinal to New Zealand, ending the side's dream run at the 2025 FIBA 3*3 Asia Cup in Singapore on Sunday.

The young Indian squad found it difficult to challenge the tough and physically strong New Zealand side and will have to wait for their maiden semi-final appearance for at least a year more. They lost 11-21.

The Indian team has impressed throughout the tournament, but in the quarterfinal, they were not at their best and gave some free spaces to the offensive players. They also missed a couple of easy baskets.

New Zealand used their reach to score as many as eight two-pointers while India just managed three, which eventually became the main difference between the two sides.

None of the four Indian players were able to cross the five-point mark. Aravind Muthu emerged as the top scorer with four points.

Earlier in the competition, the Indian team took three big wins against the higher ranked opponents, making their place in the quarterfinal for the first time in 12 years.

This performance will give this young Indian squad a good boost of confidence and also enhance India's ranking, which will help them in getting the better seed in the coming tournaments.