GUWAHATI: The basketball finals in both the men's and women's sections, at the Karmabir Nabin Chandra Bordoloi indoor stadium, were quite a disappointment as they turned out to be one-sided affairs on Sunday.

One of the last events to be decided at the 33rd National Games, it did not matter much to Services men and Tamil Nadu women who were left happy and thrilled in the end.

Services beat Uttaranchal 91-68 to add the Games gold to its National title, while the Tamil Nadu women struck their maiden gold of the Games by blazing past Chhattisgarh 96-70.

Punjab and Maharashtra took the bronze medals at the expense of Kerala and Delhi respectively.

No impact

Though much was expected from Uttaranchal, which had come up with a solid performance against Kerala in the semifinals, the side on the whole could hardly make an impact on Sunday after failing to get past the Services' defence effectively. The script was evident right from the start as Services got off quite strongly with a sound all-round show in both the defence and offence.

As usual, veteran Phool Singh held the Services team together, moving up and down quickly to be in position at both ends. The captain of the champion side secured admirable support from Jai Ram in the offence and Sambaji Khadam shone once again as a playmaker.

Uttaranchal could never control Services' onslaught during this stage and the latter was quick to run up a 11-point lead, which, at the end, set up a big win.

Desraj's good display

With Murali Krishna bottled up by Phool Singh and Suresh Ranot failing to find form, Uttaranchal found it difficult to keep the scoreboard ticking. However, it was able to run Services close in the second and third quarters with Desraj coming up with a terrific display from away and hitting three-pointers repeatedly. That as it turned out was the best phase of encounter as Services, with Subin Seetu and Dalip Kumar too getting into the act, hardly gave its rival little elbow-room in the final quarter.

The women's final too failed to match up to the expectations as Chhattisgarh, which had given Tamil Nadu a scare with a late rally at the league stage, found itself being forced back when its rival tightened its defence in the third quarter.

Re-discovering form

The turning point, as it were, was the form rediscovered by the Tamil Nadu skipper, Geethu Anna Jose, after being off-colour during the course of the first two quarters.

With Geethu struggling to find the basket, it was N. Shyamala, M. Adirai and Sunitha Suren who helped Tamil Nadu in the first-half of the game. Though always in control, the team looked uncertain during this period as Chhattisgarh, with the help of Pushpa and Anju Lakra, did not let the eventual winner run away with a big lead. Tamil Nadu's three-point lead (43-40) at the breather reflected the improved display in the rival defence.

Geethu's scoring spree towards the end helped Tamil Nadu leave its rival far behind at the whistle.

The results:

Men: Final: Services 91 (Subin M. Seetu 25, Jai Ram 16, Sambaji Khadam 11, Dalip Kumar 11) bt Uttaranchal 68 (Desraj 23, Suresh Ranot 12, Murali Krishna 11).

Losers' final: Punjab 80 (Jasjot Singh 22, Yadwinder Singh 22, Gagandeep Singh 15) bt Kerala 63 (K. Hareesh 17, M. Anoop 12, Monish Wilson 12).

Women: Final: Tamil Nadu 96 (Geethu Anna Jose 41, Sunitha Suren 20, M. Adirai 16, N. Shyamala 13) bt Chhattisgarh 70 (M. Pushpa 22, Anju Lakra 13, Bharati Netam 13, Mridhula 10).

Losers' final: Maharashtra 84 (Lincy Joseph 23, Shanti Saldana 21, Manisha Dange 14, Rashmi Gowda 12) bt Delhi 51 (Sheeba Magoon 17, Asha Hedge 15).

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