The Hindu : Sport / Basketball : Punjab men put it past Tamil Nadu

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Dec 29, 2004

Sport

Sport - Basketball

Punjab men put it past Tamil Nadu

By Kamesh Srinivasan

LUDHIANA, DEC. 28. Punjab shocked the champion of the last five editions, Tamil Nadu, 79-70, after leading 43-27 at halftime, in a Group `A' super league match of the Dhanoa 55th National basketball championship at the Guru Nanak Sports Complex here on Tuesday.

Tamil Nadu, which was off to a lethargic start, recovered from 13-34 to bridge the gap, but the absence of S. Robinson, out with five fouls in the climax, proved costly.

The towering Parminder Singh was also out with five fouls, but the host played a solid game, capitalising on the chances, and converted a couple of three-points in the last three minutes to ensure victory.

It was a sweet revenge for Punjab, as it had lost to Tamil Nadu in the quarterfinals of the last edition.

There was an exchange of blows with five seconds left on the clock, and the umpire Ashok Rangeen ordered M. Puvanesaran of Tamil Nadu and Harminder Singh of Punjab out.

While it was a tonic for Punjab, it was a welcome reminder for Tamil Nadu that it had to be sharp on court, and not afford to rest on its laurels.

Sridhar stars for UA

In another match in Group `A', S. Sridhar masterminded Uttaranchal's 93-70 triumph over Karnataka, after the team led 49-29 at halftime.

The good thing about the star-studded Uttaranchal with Shabbir Ahmed as its main attraction was that the team was finding its rhythm in a steady fashion, a good augury for the future matches.

In the women's section, Tamil Nadu celebrated a memorable 70-55 victory over Kerala, a team that it had not beaten in many earlier meetings in recent times.

Delhi overwhelmed Madhya Pradesh 107-48, attacking with vigour, especially in the second half when it scored 61 of its points as compared to 17 by its opponent in the same period.

The results:

Men (super league):

Group `A': Uttaranchal 93 (S. Sridhar 22, Shabbir Ahmed 17, Nishant Kumar 13, Murali Krishna 12, Desh Raj 12) bt Karnataka 70 (M. Manoj 20, B. C. Umashankar 12); Punjab 79 (Parminder Singh 19, Talwinder Singh 17, Amir Parashar 12, Yadwinder Singh 10, Harminder Singh 10) bt Tamil Nadu 70 (S. Robinson 24, A. D. Sukavaneswaran 16).

Group `B': Kerala 89 (Subash 22, Sunny 15, Harish 13, Robith 12, Abhilash 11) bt Rajasthan 72 (Lokesh Yadav 18, Jhabar Mal 17, Ashok Kumar 14).

Qualifying league: Group `C': Gujarat bt Himachal Pradesh 53-43; Group `D': Uttar Pradesh bt West Bengal 64-57; Group `F': Chandigarh bt Manipur 62-24.

Women (super league):

Group `A': Chhattisgarh 78 (Aakansha Singh 28, Bincy Philip 12, Bharti Netam 10, Kawaljeet Kaur 10) bt Maharashtra 38 (Menaka Antony 19).

Group `B': Delhi 107 (Divya Singh 32, Sheeba Maggon 32, Prabhjot Gill 12) bt Madhya Pradesh 48 (Kirandeep 17, Nanda 10); Tamil Nadu 70 (M. Sunitha 19, N. Shyamala 18, Adhirai 15, Lakshmi Devi 10) bt Kerala 55 (Anjana 15, Lissa Rani 14, Lajitha 13).

Qualifying league: Group `C': Punjab bt Karnataka 91-42; Group `D': Pondicherry bt West Bengal 47-34; Group `E': Haryana bt Rajasthan 61-30.

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