Tags:
Journalism of Courage
Jaipur, March 22: Punjab dethroned holders Bihar to regain the men’s title while Railways women made it 10-in-a-row by thrashing Kerala 89-50 in the 49th National basketball championship, which concluded here today.
Punjab exacted sweet revenge for their twin losses to Bihar, the recent one in Imphal National Games last month, and the one in the final last year, rallying superbly from a first half deficit to win 53-51 in a low-scoring final at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium here, to clinch their sixth title. In contrast, the formidable Railways women had an easy time against Kerala and ran away to a 43-25 lead by half-time. Punjab, who won the inaugural tournament when they hosted it in Ludhiana in 1951, trailed 21-24 at the interval. The tall and lanky Punjab men came back strongly in the second session with Vipin Kumar (12), Parminder Singh Sr (12), Gagnesh Kumar (11), Tejinderjeet Singh (7), Gursharanjeet Singh (5) and Satyanarayan (5) combining well.
Punjab were in trouble as Gagnesh was forced to play defensively after committing four fouls. Bihar increased their lead to 40-34 midway through the second half.
Punjab brought in Tejinderjeet Singh for Vipin Kumar and he shot valuable points before Vipin came back and sunk a couple of good baskets to give Punjab the lead. With pressure mounting, Bihar started making mistakes. Jaldeep Dhaliwal missed some free shots while Cyril Miranda failed to convert a move. Though punjab lost Parminer Singh Jrto a fifth foul, Gursharanjeet Singh shot a hook in the dying minutes to make 53-51.With most of the current top women players in the country in Railways ranks, their supremacy was never in doubt. Kerala, playing in the final after a gap of 10 years after losing to Railways in the 1989 final, missed some of their regular players, who could not make it to Jaipur becuase of exams. They also received a setback in the morning when their star player Jetty Jose was ruled out after getting injured in an accident last evening.
Scores: Punjab 53 (Vipin Kumar 12, Parminder Singh 12, Gagnesh Kumar 11) bt Bihar 51 (Jaldeep Dhaliwal 15, Cyril Miranda 15, Islauddin 10, Nishant Kumar 11).
