The Hindu : Sport / Basketball : Chhattisgarh, Delhi triumph

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jun 20, 2007
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Sport

Sport - Basketball

Chhattisgarh, Delhi triumph

Special Correspondent

VICTORIOUS: The Delhi boys’ team which triumphed in the junior National basketball championship in Anantapur on Tuesday.

ANANTAPUR: Chhattisgarh girls made it four in a row and Delhi unseated the boys team from Uttar Pradesh in the finals of the junior National basketball championships that concluded at the District Sports Authority Stadium here on Tuesday.

In a high-voltage, high-velocity showdown, Delhi boys subdued U.P. 86-72,

after leading 37-35 at half-time. While U.P. showed better flair, its lay-up shots verging on the spectacular, Delhi pegged away with fast breaks initiated often by international Shiva.

Led by skipper M. Pushpa’s sterling show, Chhattisgarh broke the back of the

Delhi campaign with speed and skill. To counter the capital side’s height advantage, Chhattisgarh resorted to screen play and outside shooting.

A shooting streak set off by Pushpa in the second quarter saw her team go up, after trailing 7-8 at the end of the first quarter. Pushpa scored almost at will from the zero angle or the wing position.

Her play-making ensured her forwards were constantly fed passes, many of them assists. Once Chhattisgarh took charge 28-22 at half-time, there was no looking back.

Delhi with internationals and siblings Akansha and Pratima Singh, along with Raspreet, couldn’t quite catch up with their rivals. Into the last quarter, Chhattisgarh was ahead 42-37 but never eased up the attack, a basket scored with just seconds to go for the hooter.

Officiating at this tournament was of a high order with youngsters such as Syed Shahabuddin and Peter Santosh Divakar displaying poise and confidence well beyond their years.

Shahabuddin not only acquitted himself admirably with the whistle but in compiling scores from three venues at breakneck speed. Such was Divakar’s calibre that coaches, known to whine, had not a murmur when he took the court as he lived upto his tag as a FIBA referee.

The results: Boys: Final: Delhi 86 (Sunil 20, Vinay 19, Shiv 16, Amit 16, Nitin 15) bt U.P. 72 (Visesh 29, Arjun 18, Geetam 12). (HT: 37-35). Semifinals: U.P. 50 (Geetam 15, Visesh 13, Arjun 13) bt Chhattisgarh 45 (Pratham 24, Ki ran Pal 9), Delhi 68 (Shiv 18, Amit 14, Nitin 14, Sunil 11, Vinay 11) bt Tamil Nadu 55 (Ramakrishna 15, Guruprasad 11, Akilan 10).