Did he have possession?!

[evictor24]

Last night in our varsity boys contest, Team A is at the free throw line with 1 shot left. Player A1 is lined up correctly between B1 and B2. The FT hits the back of the rim and is coming almost straight down between the three players. A1, who is a good leaper, jumps and intentionally bats the ball with one hand towards mid court. And I don't know if "bats" does this justice. It was a laser! A2 who is near the division line jumps and tries to stop it from going in the backcourt, but only tips it. THEN, A3 Jumps from the backcourt, catches the ball in the air and lands both feet in the frontcourt.

My question is, did team A gain possession when A1 intentionally struck the ball towards his teammates near the division line?

What's your call?