The Hindu : Sport / Basketball : Sathyabama Deemed varsity shocks Madras

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Saturday, Feb 11, 2006

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Sport - Basketball

Sathyabama Deemed varsity shocks Madras

Special Correspondent

Chennai: Sathyabama Deemed University staged a coup when it defeated the South Zone and all- India holder Madras University 59-51 in the last four-team summit league match of the South Zone

inter-university men's basketball tournament at the SRM College, Kattankulathur, near here on Friday.

Out of 49 teams that took part only Sathyabama and Madras did not lose a single tie and they finally clashed for the top honours.

Madras made up of Loyola and MCC Sports Hostel boys had an edge but the squad fell flat as Sathyabama boys played brilliantly, particularly in the later part of the game. Their shot blocking and quick interception of passes, coupled with some long shots, helped them to a six-point lead by the third quarter (46-40).

Too many missed shots and turnovers had Madras struggling for baskets though it rallied from 2-12 to 18-21 in the first quarter. At half time Madras reduced the lead to 31-32 as Sathyabama too missed a series of shots and got bogged down by turnovers. Thyagarajan's good outside shooting gave some hope for Madras. But the team did not go for full court press and hustle the rivals. It was a rather subdued game by the Madras boys and they failed to stop Siva Prakash who went on a rampage, passing and shooting pretty well.

With the Sathyabama boys attacking the rebounds strongly Madras conceded a six-point lead and could not catch up. Without much outside shooting and close attack Madras gave up in the final moments. It missed even free throws under pressure. Manoj, Atkinse, Purushoth and Dinesh, along with Siva Prakash, combined well and even exposed Madras' brittle defence with fast break.

Earlier, SRM finished third, beating Annamalai 41-36. All the four teams from Tamil Nadu, Sathyabama, Madras, SRM and Annamalai, qualified for the all-India tournament, commencing here on Sunday.

The results: Summit league: Sathyabama 87 (Saran 20, Dinesh 16) beat SRM 77 (Johny 23, Sharma 13); Madras 62 (Gandhi 22) beat Annamalai 43 (Petchi 19); Madras 56 (Thyagarajan 13, Vinoth 12) beat SRM 27 (Thiyagu 10); SRM 41 (Deepak 15) beat Annamalai 36 (Gnanamurugaraj

10); Sathyabama 53 (Purushoth 23) beat Annamalai 47 (Petchi 15); Sathyabama 59 (Siva Prakash 11, Purushothaman 15, Dinesh 20) beat Madras 51 (Thyagarajan 17, Kannan 10).

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