The Hindu : Sport / Basketball : Indian Army emerges men’s champion

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Wednesday, Oct 03, 2007
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Sport - Basketball

Indian Army emerges men’s champion

Principal Correspondent

BASKETBALL / Southern Railway lifts women’s title

— Photo: Rajeev Bhatt

CHAMPIONS: The Indian Army which won the men’s title in the Master Prithvi Nath Sharma basketball tournament on Tuesday.

NEW DELHI: Inspired by Sambhaji Kadam, Indian Army defeated Indian Overseas Bank (IOB), Chennai, and lifted the men’s title at the all-India Master Prithvi Nath Sharma memorial basketball tournament here on Tuesday.

Army took charge of the proceedings after defending champion IOB had initially taken the lead. Kadam was the controlling factor as Army showed resilience playing under pressure and scored a 107-93 win.

Playing in front of a capacity crowd with hundreds crowding outside, the men’s final reached the highpoint when Army established a 59-42 lead by half-time.

Kadam with Dalip Kumar organised the attacks from either flank as IOB succumbed to the relentless pressure. Dalip top-scored for Army with 31 points, while Ashish Dubey (25) and Jai Ram (18) made the most of Kadam’s assists. Navneet also chipped in with 10.

For IOB, A.D. Jagan was the top scorer with 28 points. D.E. John scored 20 and S. Arvindh and Vineet Ravi had 15 each.

Geetu on song

Southern Railway, Chennai, defended its title in style as Geetu Anna Jose and Aneetha led the onslaught on MTNL, Delhi, virtually making the final a no-contest.

Geetu led the charge with 37 points as Southern Railway beat MTNL 99-69 to lift the women’s trophy.

After initial resistance, MTNL bowed under the intense pressure and failed to match the athleticism of the Railway players.

MTNL was down by just five points at the end of the first quarter as Harjeet Kaur and Prashanti Singh matched the Railway women with successful counterattacks.

But the difference started showing soon after.

Geetu and Aneetha made relentless attacks to quell MTNL’s tackles as Southern Railway gained a good half-time lead (48-35).

The third quarter saw MTNL resigned to its fate as Kokila also joined in to swell Southern Railway’s tally. By the end of the third quarter, the Chennai outfit led 71-42. For the Delhi team, Harjit Kaur top-scored with 17 points. Prashanti Singh (16) and Sheeba Magon (11) were MTNL’s other scorers.

The results (finals): Men: Indian Army 107 (Dalip Kumar 31, Ashish Dubey 25, Jai Ram 18, Navneet 10) beat Indian Overseas Bank, Chennai 93 (A.D. Jagan 28, S. Arvindh 15, D.E. John 20, Vineet Ravi 15).

Women: Southern Railway, Chennai, 99 (Geetu Anna Jose 37, Aneetha 21, Kokila 16) beat MTNL, Delhi 69 (Harjeet Kaur 17, Prashanti Singh 16, Sheeba Magon 11).

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