'Indian cagers can surprise'

“I won’t be surprised if they create an upset. They have sweat, bled, cried and have worked very hard on the court,” he said.

Justice said the teams had improved considerably in its defence ever since the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) appointed two foreign coaches William Harris and Tamika Raymond.

“The BFI had asked us to help them search for foreign coaches, who could work with the Indian team. After talking to many coaches, we recommended the two (Harris and Raymond),” he said.

“The coaches have worked for just seven weeks with the Indian teams, but the result is already showing. The teams defence has improved immensely,” he said.