The Hindu : Sport / Basketball : Delhi, Tamil Nadu women score wins

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Dec 28, 2004

Sport

Sport - Basketball

Delhi, Tamil Nadu women score wins

By Kamesh Srinivasan

LUDHIANA, DEC. 27. Two-time champion Delhi humbled Kerala 84-67 in a women's group `B' superleague match in the Dhanoa 55th National basketball championship at the Guru Nanak Sports Complex here on Monday.

Except for the third quarter when it scored three points less than its opponent, Delhi, mainly comprising players from the Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) was able to assert itself, especially after taking a 44-32 lead at halftime. The live-wire in the Delhi team, Sheeba Maggon was a class apart as she top-scored with 22 points, that included two three-pointers. Divya Singh, Asha Hegde, S. Savitha and Prabhjot Gill scored with ease to make it a straightforward affair for the Delhi team.

Steady game

In another match in the same group, Tamil Nadu girls played a steady game to overwhelm Madhya Pradesh, which may get relegated to the lower league next season. Tamil Nadu tended to depend more on Shyamala and Lakshmi Devi for enhancing the team's score and that may prove a handicap for the team's aspiration for progress.

The Tamil Nadu men's team, champion of the last five editions, wore black ribbons as a mark of condolence for the thousands who have succumbed to tidal waves in the coastal region. On court, the team was quite sharp as it emphasised its class with a 105-75 triumph over Karnataka, after having trailed 40-43 at one stage.

S. Robinson played a key role once again as he started the contest with a dunk, but he drew more applause for his spectacular defence. Quite appropriately, Tamil Nadu celebrated its 100 points with a dunk through John.

The results: Men (super league): Group-A: Tamil Nadu 105 (A. D. Sukavaneshwar 26, S. Robinson 18, Chandrasekar 18, R. Shivasankar 16, John 14, S. Gopinath 13) beat Karnataka 75 (Umashankar 30, G. Srinivas 19, Basavaraj 12, Sanjay 10).

Group-B: Andhra Pradesh 72 (Nihal Yadav 19, S. Prasad 14, Amrith 14, Lijju 13) beat Rajasthan 57 (Lokesh Yadav 19, Niraj Kala 13, Mod Singh 10).

Qualifying league: Group-C: Jharkhand beat Himachal Pradesh 70-24; Group-D: Uttar Pradesh beat Delhi 63-61; West Bengal beat Jammu and Kashmir 48-34; Group-E: Madhya Pradesh beat Orissa 85-66; Chhattisgarh beat Pondicherry 84-55; Group-F: Maharashtra beat Manipur 74-27; Chandigarh beat Assam 61-36.

Women (super league): Group-B: Delhi 84 (Sheeba Maggon 22, Asha Hegde 18, Divya Singh 16, L. S. Savitha 15, Prabhjot Gill 10) beat Kerala 67 (Lijitha 16, Simi 12, Ambili Thomas 12, Soniya Joseph 10); Tamil Nadu 50 (Shyamala 20, Lakshmi Devi 17) beat Madhya Pradesh 24. Qualifying league: Group-C: Karnataka beat Orissa 58-14; Group-D: Himachal Pradesh beat Pondicherry 50-29; Group-E: Assam beat Rajasthan 49-27; Group-F: Uttaranchal beat Gujarat 52-28; Uttar Pradesh beat Chandigarh 53-42.

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