Net gain and some pain: Indian Basketball player Aaron Monteiro’s India debut cut short

India basketball player Aaron Monteiro

The last two weeks have been a rollercoaster for India basketball player Aaron Monteiro, who resides in Vashi's sector 9A.

The 28-year-old point guard, who received his maiden call-up for the India team participating in the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers, and subsequently made his debut in the 73-99 loss to Qatar on February 28, is going through mixed feelings at the moment.

Had it not been for the US-Israeli airstrikes on Iran and the latter's counter-attacks across US bases in West Asia, Monteiro might have added another international cap to his name, against Lebanon.

However, despite the loss to Qatar and being holed up in Doha until March 10, Monteiro has only fond memories of his relatively short debut (he was on court for 4 minutes and 44 seconds), as it gave him the conviction that he belongs on the biggest stage.

Scored a two-point goal

"My debut was a really good experience. My biggest takeaway was that I can play at that level. I felt I also learnt where I'm lacking, and now it's all about polishing my weaknesses," Monteiro, who also scored a two-point field goal against Qatar, told mid-day.

India's Aaron Monteiro (extreme left) attempts a three-pointer during a practice match in Dubai recently. Pics/By Special Arrangement

Monteiro took to the sport at the age of five, thanks to his dad Stanney - a basketball player himself - who took him to YMCA, Chembur to get a feel for the game. Stanney himself got a call-up to the national team camp, but never won a cap for India.

Monteiro Jr fell in love with the sport right from the get go, and began playing at his school, Fr Agnel Multipurpose school in Vashi, from the second grade onwards. He still trains there. By the age of 13, he believed he could make a career out of it.

"My love for the sport began as soon as I started playing it. My journey has been quite fun, I've represented teams at multiple levels: school, district, state, national, and now finally at the international level," explained Monteiro.

Reflecting on his Team India call-up, Monteiro, who plays for Karnataka at the domestic level, thanks to his performances for Bengaluru's Jain University where he did his Master's degree, said it did not come as a surprise.

‘I was expecting the call-up'

"I was expecting the India call-up based on my performance at the 75th Senior National Basketball Championship in Chennai in January," said Monteiro, who led the tournament charts for having the highest three-point percentage in the tournament (50 per cent) and second highest field goal percentage (54 per cent).

Although India are currently at the bottom of Group D in the qualifiers, having lost all three games so far (twice to Saudi Arabia), Monteiro is confident that brighter days lie ahead.

"We have a young team, but we're on the path to do better in the coming years as we get more experience," concluded Monteiro.

50
Aaron Monteiro's three-pointer conversion percentage at the Senior National Basketball C'ship recently - the highest

54
Aaron Monteiro's field goal conversion percentage at the Senior National Basketball C'ship recently - the second highest

73-99
Scoreline of India's defeat to Qatar

4 mins 44 secs
Time spent by India's Aaron Monteiro on court during the match against Qatar at the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers recently

Five
The age when Aaron Monteiro started playing basketball