Mumbai Challengers

The Mumbai Challengers was an Indian professional basketball team based in Mumbai, Maharashtra. The Challengers last competed in the United Basketball Alliance as a member of the North Division along with three other teams. They are one of two UBA teams located in Maharashtra, the other is Pune Peshwas. The team was established in 2015 with the inception of the UBA.

The Challengers won their first UBA Championship in Season 4 after defeating the Punjab Steelers in the semifinals and the Bengaluru Beast in the finals series.

The only player that has played all four UBA Seasons for the Challengers is Karanpal Singh, while Jagdeep Singh Bains, Nikhil Kumar, Prudhvi Reddy and Dildar have all been on the roster since season 2.

Season-by-season record
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Season 1
The reigning UBA Champions did not have a strong start in UBA as they were the only team to go without a win in UBA Season 1. Their season opener vs Punjab Steelers saw Karanpal Singh put on the highest scoring performance of Season 1 with 41 points. He would go on to win the scoring title for Season 1, averaging 30.5 points per game. He also turned in the only two 40-point games of Season 1 as he also scored 40 points vs Punjab Steelers in their second meeting of the season.

Season 2
The Challengers were bolstered in Season 2 with the addition of one of India's greatest stars, veteran Jagdeep Bains. Jagdeep attended the 1st UBA US Pro Training Camp in Phoenix, USA before he joined the team. He had an opportunity to rehab his back injury during the training camp and came ready to play in Season 2. They also saw a roster overhaul as only one player from Season 1, Karanpal Singh, was retained with the team. In addition to Jagdeep, the Challengers added talented players such as Gagandeep Singh, who had played for Railways and Nikhil, who had played for Air Force. They also added more talent with other players such as Ranbir, Prudhvi and Dildar who had international experience. They were helmed by Head Coach PC Antony and Assistant Coach Sudeep Bose. Their season came to an end in the semifinal series at the hands of eventual champions Delhi Capitals.

The Challengers opened the season with a 95-77 win over Haryana Gold, the first win for the franchise, with Nikhil leading the way with 25 points even as he sat out the entire first quarter. They saw balanced contributions from Gagandeep, (16 points), Jagdeep (15 points), Karan (15 points) and Ranbir (14 points). They extended their record to 2-0 in their next game by defeating Punjab Steelers 83-60, led by Gagandeep's 18 points, 15 points each from Karan and Ranbir and 13 from Jagdeep. They had their first loss against Bengaluru Beast in their cross-division game, even though Gagandeep scored a season-high 29 points, the Challengers lost 99-84. They were unable to bounce back in their next game as they lost 100-68 to Delhi Capitals, with no Challenger scoring higher than Nikhil's 14 points.

With a 2-2 record, Mumbai came firing out of the gate for their next game as they had the highest scoring game in the league at that point with their 114-78 win vs Haryana Gold, led by Ranbir's season high 29 points (including four three pointers). Gagandeep added 20 points while Jagdeep put up 11 of his own. Their next game was vs Punjab Steelers as the season shifted from Pune to Hyderabad. The game was close but Jagdeep would not allow the Challengers to go down as he scored an impressive 21 points in an 82-79 win which clinched a spot in the post-season for the Challengers. Their regular season ended with a 104-94 loss to Delhi Capitals in which Gagandeep scored 24 points while Karan added 20.

In the play-in game, which would decide which team went to the semifinal series and which team went home, the Challengers got valuable contribution from Jagdeep. He put together a strong 4th quarter, scoring 15 points, allowing the Challengers to pull ahead for a 78-76 win vs Punjab Steelers. Gagandeep led the Challengers with 23 points in that contest.

In the best-of-three semifinal series vs Delhi Capitals, the Challengers opened with a 75-69 win with Jagdeep leading the way with 24 points. The Challengers held the league MVP Vinay Kaushik to just 16 points in the first game. This would be their last win of Season 2 as Delhi Capitals and Vinay Kaushik would not let them take another game. With Mumbai leading in the fourth quarter of Game 2, Vinay came alive and pulled the Capitals back for a 72-61 win. Delhi Capitals kept up their momentum in the deciding Game 3 as they won 78-69 to end Mumbai's season.

Season 3
Coming off their first post-season appearance in Season 2, the Challengers saw a return of Jagdeep Bains, Gagandeep, Nikhil, Ranbir, Dildar, Prudhvi and Karan. They added a veteran Head Coach in Jora Singh Gulia as well, with Assistant Coach Sudeep Bose returning. While they bounced back after a slow start, their season ended in the North Division Play-In game vs Haryana Gold.

They opened their first game with a close 85-84 loss to Haryana Gold, as Nikhil's tip-in on a missed free throw with 14 seconds left had given them a one-point lead before Jaskaran hit two free throws with 8 seconds left to seal the deal. Jagdeep scored 24 points in that contest but his final shot which could have given them the lead fell off the rim. In their second game, which was a cross-division game, they faced Pune Peshwas in another game which came right down to the wire. Jagdeep and Gagandeep added 20 points each but the Peshwas held on for a 101-97 win, leaving Mumbai 0-2 for the season.

Their next game was against the eventual division winner Punjab. Jagdeep scored a career high 27 points, Gagandeep added 21 and Ranbir put up 16, helping Mumbai win 96-93 win and keep their post-season hopes alive. Their next game, regular season finale vs Delhi Capitals, had high stakes for both teams as the loser would go home while the winner would go on to play in the play-in game. In another close game, Jagdeep led five players from Mumbai in double figures with 19 points, while Nikhil scored 18 and Prudhvi added a season high 17 points in a 79-77 win, securing Mumbai's spot in the North Division play-in game.

In the entire regular season, Mumbai's two losses and their two wins came by a combined five points each. But their resurgent run came to an end in the play-in game vs Haryana Gold. Even though Jagdeep left everything he had on the floor that night scoring 29 points, a new career high, Mumbai still lost 97-91 and saw their season come to an end.

Season 4
Mumbai Challengers had a dream run in UBA Season 4, with a league best 5-1 record through the regular season culminating in a clean sweep in the post-season en-route to their first UBA Championship. They saw an influx of international talent on a team which already had solid and experienced players. With returning standouts like Nikhil, Dildar and Prudhvi having trained in the 2nd UBA US Pro Training Camp in Phoenix after Season 3, the Challengers were already poised to make noise. The additions of Prasanna Venkatesh from the Indian National Team and international players such as Inderbir Gill, a former Canadian College Player of the Year, Jimmy Scroggins, a former American college player who spent five years in the US Army and Alex Scales, who played briefly in the NBA in addition to several years in the NBA's D-League and internationally around the world and the Challengers were ready to challenge anyone and everyone in the UBA.

The Challengers opened their season vs the Delhi Capitals as they put up a UBA single game record with 140 points in a 140-121 win. They were led by 38 points from Scales, 29 from Scroggins, 20 from Nikhil and 19 from Jagdeep. They continued their fine form in their second game vs Haryana Gold. Scales had 45 points, Scroggins added 21 and Jagdeep put up 12 for a 123-110 win. Mumbai received what would be their only loss in Season 4 at the hands of a determined Punjab Steelers. While Scales and Scroggins scored 33 each and Inderbir added a season high 27, the Steelers fought back from being 15-down in the 4th quarter and hit a late shot to take the lead in the final seconds, hanging on for a thrilling 125-123 win with a steal as time ran out. They did not lose again in Season 4. Their next game was a rematch vs Delhi Capitals and Scales put on another 45-point effort, while Inderbir added 17 and Jagdeep scored 16 in a balanced scoring effort which saw five Challengers reaching double figures. Mumbai won handily, 129-106.

Their next game was an overtime battle vs Haryana Gold which came right down to the wire, even as the Gold had built a big lead which Mumbai fought back to erase. The Gold sent the game to overtime on a buzzer-beating three-pointer. As clock wound down in overtime, Jagdeep hit the go-ahead bucket as Mumbai won 106-103 in overtime, clinching first place in the division, allowing them to rest many of their stars for the regular season finale vs Punjab Steelers. In that game, Nikhil dropped 22 and Inderbir added 20 on his 29th birthday as they pulled away for a 102-94 win. Mumbai averaged a remarkable 120.5 points per game during the regular season as the season shifted to Goa for the second leg.

Mumbai had a rematch with Punjab Steelers in Goa in the best-of-three semifinal series. Mumbai won the first game 128-114 as Scales scored 36, Scroggins had a then season high 34 and Inderbir scored 29. They won their second game 120-104 with Scroggins scoring a season high 41 points, Scales adding 33 and Nikhil scoring 17.

In the UBA Season 4 Finals Series, Mumbai Challengers ran into the red-hot Bengaluru Beast who had put together a UBA record 6-game winning streak to overcome their 0-3 start, to a Play-In win and sweep of South Division semifinal series. The Challengers put an end to that as they led by as much as 29 points in the first game, winning 110-95. Scales led the Challengers with 34 points, including a half court buzzer beater to end the first quarter. He had 7 three-pointers in that game. With Scroggins adding 32, Inderbir 18 and Jagdeep 11, the Challengers made a statement with their dominant performance. In the second game, Alex again came through with 33 points, Inderbir added 33 himself along with 8 assists. With Scroggins adding 21, Nihil 15 and Jagdeep 11, Mumbai Challengers won their first UBA Championship. -->

Players
Mumbai Challengers Season 4 roster