NEW DELHi, October 14: Tisco of Bihar and Central Railway claimed the men's and women's titles, respectively, in the Prize Money All-India Raja Porus Basketball Tournament at Gidderbaha near Bhatinda. Tisco had to work overtime to douse Punjab Police by 62-55 after being tied at 49 points in the regulation period, according to information reaching here.It was an all-Railway affair in the women's final. Central Railway registered a well-merited 57-51 victory over Eastern Railway. The winners in both sections got a cash award of Rs one lakh each while the runners-up were richer by Rs 75,000 each. Union State Minister for Industries Sukhbir Singh Badal distributed the prizes.The men's final kept the spectators spellbound throughout the match. Parminder Singh Happy opened the account for Punjab Police in the first minute. The cops increased the lead by basketing six points in a succession. Tisco then started asserting themselves and Shahid Qureshi opened the account for the Bihar team. They equalised the score at the end of third minute. The ding-dong battle for supremacy continued till the stipulated period and the teams shared honours as they were tied 49-all.The issue was then resolved in the extra time of five minutes and the ironmen from Bihar clinched the issue by 62-55. In the women's section, Geo Joseph (16) and GG Joseph (15) helped Central Railway win the title. Aparna Ghose (20) and Rekha Choudhary (12) reduced the margin for Eastern Railway.International players, including Kartar Singh (wrestler), Captain Sukhpal Singh (basketball), Manjit Singh (athletics), Bhupinder Singh (judo) and Suman (basketball) were also honoured on the occasion.
