Basketball: Kerala's Pranav emerges 'Prince' of India in historic FIBA win

Kerala's Pranav Prince etched his name in the history books with a stellar all-round performance to help the Indian men's basketball team end a 16-game losing streak in FIBA (International Basketball Federation) competitions Monday night.

The 88-69 win over Kazakhstan in the Asia Cup 2025 qualifiers was India's first FIBA win in three years. Prince was the top performer on the night at the Nehru Indoor Stadium in Chennai.

The Thiruvananthapuram native excelled in every department. He was the joint top scorer with Kanwar Sandhu on 17 points; he led the assist charts with 8, made the most blocks (2) and steals (5) for India and effected six rebounds, which was only one short of Muin Bek Hafeez's.

The 21-year-old was hailed the 'Prince of India' by the commentator on the night. He hit a three to make it 68-55 in the fourth quarter to bring loud cheers from 6,000 strong home fans. The home win was also India's first against Kazakhstan in 27 years. Pranav, who stands at 6' 7'', is a graduate of NBA Academy India.

"It's been a long time coming," head coach Scott Flemming told FIBA. "Great to get a win. If we hadn't, we'd still be playing along and trying to improve. And that doesn't change.

"We still got to get better. It's a young team. A lot of these guys were in high school a few years ago. I know we want a quick turnaround, but this helps. This helps to get some confidence and encouragement to the players," Flemming said.