Showing posts with label Delhi School League. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Delhi School League. Show all posts
August 31, 2012
BFI-IMG Reliance School League returns to Delhi for 3rd season
August 29, 2011
GD Goenka Boys, Montfort Girls win 2nd Delhi School Basketball League
A month of action, over 60 games between dozens of teams, at dozens of courts around Delhi, and it all boiled down to the last minute and the last shots. In an exciting finale to the 2nd edition of the Delhi School Basketball League, the Boys’ team from the GD Goenka School survived a late rally by hosts Delhi Public School (Mathura Road) to win 52-50 and clinch their first championship on Monday. The Girls’ final was relatively anti-climatic, with an excellent Montfort side doubling up their victory from last year and once again defeating Modern 49-20 in the final to finish first for the second consecutive year.
The tournament was organised by the Basketball Federation of India (BFI).
GD Goenka, who finished at third place at last year’s tournament, entered into a hostile environment as the home crowd brought loud support behind the DPS (MR) side at the final. DPS, who had finished at the top of their Super League group, seemed to be favourites, but sharp, focused play by the visitors gave them an 8 point lead at halftime. DPS began their comeback in the third quarter, and made it a three point game before the final period. It remained close, but DPS failed to take the lead as the time ticked down.
With 1 point between the two sides in the last minute, Goenka’s inspirational guard and scoring leader Dhruv Barman hit a crucial three-pointer to seal the game for good, 52-50. Dhruv led the way with 20 points for the winning side.
“I can’t describe the feeling of having won this, it’s the greatest!” said Dhruv, “The Seniors of the team, like me, were all very emotional to have been able to win this championship before we leave school. The team depended on me to hit the final shot, and I have won it for them and for my coach.”
The girls final, a repeat of last year’s final, turned out to be a dud, as Montfort sped to a fast lead and never looked back. Playing without their leader Manini Rai, Montfort had no problem sharing the load amongst the rest of the squad. Tough defense completely shunned Modern School from scoring, as they only managed nine points in the last three quarters of the game. Montfort cruised to a comfortable 49-20 win and their second straight victory at this championship.
“We had to come out and play without Manini, and the whole team stepped up to play well today,” said leading scorer for Montfort, Aastha Goel, “It feels great to get this win.”
Earlier in the day, Modern Boys played out a close contest against Montfort in the third/fourth place game, which was decided in overtime. Modern came back from a four-point deficit at the beginning of the fourth quarter to tie the game in regulation and clinch a four-point victory at the end of overtime, 77-73. Archit (26), Satyam (24), and Pranav (21) all scored a high rate for the winning side. For Montfort, Unnat had 25 points in a loss.
Third place for the girls had been won by Bal Bharti Public School, who defeated Carmel Convent School a few days ago.
Winning teams in both the sections were awarded Rs. 75,000 each by the BFI. Runners-up received Rs. 50,000 each, and second runners-up were given Rs. 25,000 each.
Final Scores
Boys
Girls
July 25, 2011
BFI to launch second season of the Delhi School League for 10 boys’ & 8 girls’ schools in New Delhi
Delhi’s biggest school basketball competition, the Delhi School Basketball League for Boys & Girls, organised by the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) and IMG-Reliance, will be back in the city for a second season, starting from Wednesday, July 27th, 2011. The league will be held between teams of 10 boys’ and 8 girls’ schools. Each game will be hosted by the home team on a home-and-away basis around the city.
To promote a competitive basketball environment amongst youngsters in the city, the first edition of the Delhi Basketball League was held successfully around the capital last year. The league returns with the same format this season: the boys’ teams have been separated into two groups of five each, while the girls’ teams into two groups of four. Each team will play all of its opponents in the group twice (home and away) before qualifying for the next round, the Super League, the winners of which will then meet in the Final. The league will tip off at the home of the reigning champions, Montfort School, who will play DPS (RK Puram) in both the boys’ and the girls’ divisions on Wednesday morning. Last year’s runners-up Modern School will host DPS (Mathura Road) in both the boys’ and girls’ divisions on the first day.
League matches will be held from July 27th – August 14th. The Super-League and the Finals will be held between August 16th – August 25th, 2011. The winners of the league will be given cash prizes and bonuses from BFI and IMG-Reliance.
“We will be looking to continue the positive momentum that we build with this league from last season into this year,” said Harish Sharma, the CEO of the BFI, “This is a unique sports league for the school-level, and it will continue to help us identify young talent in the city as well as help promote the exciting game of basketball amongst youngsters here.”Last season, both the boys’ and the girls’ teams from the Montfort School were crowned as champions, after both of them defeated opponents from Modern School (Barakhamba).
Participating Teams:
Girls
Group A: Montfort School, Delhi Public School (RK Puram), Bal Bharti School (Pitampura), Oxford School.
Group B: Modern School, Delhi Public School (Mathura Road), St. Michael’s School, Carmel Convent School.
Boys
Group A: Montfort School, Delhi Public School (RK Puram), GD Goenka School, Bal Bharti School (Pitampura), Oxford School.
Group B: Modern School, Delhi Public School (Mathura Road), New Green Field School, Air Force Bal Bharti School, St. Michael’s School.
July 8, 2011
Capital Gains: A short story of Basketball in Delhi
“Delhi is the center – it features everyone from all over the country, people from near and far who make this city their home.”
Chander Mohan, an executive member of the Delhi Basketball Association (DBA) and the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) paused as he said this, and then added, “This means that basketball in Delhi is a focal point of all these different people from different places too: players who come here to study, to work, and become part of the city’s basketball culture. This is the capital, and the central station for basketball in India.”The story of basketball in Delhi is a long and not-always-successful one: it may be the central station for the game in India – after all, the head office of the BFI lies in India’s capital city – but for most of its nearly 60 year history, basketball in Delhi rarely produced the kind of talent, results, and fan frenzy that has been present in a few other parts of India.
Luckily for all those connected with the game in the city, things are changing rapidly for the better.
The 62nd Junior National Basketball Championship is being held at the Thyagraj Stadium in New Delhi from July 5th-12th: a sprawling stadium with one of the best indoor multi-sport facilities available in India, Thyagraj is playing host to 26 boys’ and 25 girls’ teams for this under-18 championship.The Thyagraj Stadium is just one of many new stadia built to support the growth of sports in New Delhi, the root of which of course goes back to the 2010 CommonWealth Games in the city. Much-maligned by dubious scam-claims and corruption accusations, the 2010 CWG at least provided one sure-fire, long-term benefit to the city: the construction of world-class sporting infrastructure. Basketball wasn’t even included in the CWG sporting line-up, but with the stadia free, the BFI came calling to ensure it would make full use of the facilities.
The most-recent Senior Nationals, which concluded in the first week of January, were held at the glossy Talkatora Indoor Stadium. At this time, another sprawling facility, the Indira Gandhi Stadium, is being occupied by Indian Senior and Youth male and female basketball players, who are taking part in National camps at the KD Jadhav Indoor Hall in preparation for FIBA Asia events later in the year. With the Thyagraj Stadium offering three indoor, fully air-conditioned, and wooden basketball courts for the Junior Nationals, the current championships have made history by providing indoor facility for every single game played at the nationals.
Delhi has always had good infrastructure, but it has never been this good. It has always had basketball, too: Delhi’s hoops history traces back almost as far as the history of the BFI – with DBA was formed in the early 50s with the mission of creating a basketball culture, holding championships, and ultimately, promoting the game in the city. “The DBA is one of the oldest basketball associations in India,” said Ashok Rangeen, the treasurer of the DBA and joint-secretary of the BFI, “It has been regularly conducting coaching camps and championships in the city for players of all levels – U14, U16, U18 and Senior – and of both genders.”
Despite this history, Delhi used to lag behind when it came to producing National-level talent from the city, as compared to other states in India. But over the past decade, even this equation has flipped. “Delhi has done well in helping to mould players to become stars for India,” said Mohan, “These days, the Indian National team, especially the woman’s one, is full of Delhi-based players.”
And this is certainly true: even the current Indian Senior Woman’s squad, formed by new Woman’s coach Pete Gaudet, features five players currently based from Delhi – Prashanti Singh (the most recent Indian captain), Akanksha Singh, Raspreet Sidhu, Harjeet Kaur, and Asha Hedge. Rangeen added: “The number of star players from Delhi has multiplied – it reflects on the success of the game here.”What is more inspiring, perhaps, is that fans in the city are becoming more aware of the game – from casual games pick-up games at Siri Fort to competitive matches at Vasant Kunj there is a definite increase in the numbers of basketball players as well as basketball fans in the city, the proof of the latter which is evident by the increased attendance during the Nationals and other basketball-related events.
“There are over 20 school, college, and open basketball tournaments or leagues that are held regularly in New Delhi,” said Rangeen, “These have really help in popularising the game here.”
Both Mohan and Rangeen spoke about DBA’s scheme to ‘Catch them young’ – promoting the game amongst younger players to make them hoop-aficionados at an earlier stage. The first School Basketball League was held amongst 10 boys’ and 10 girls’ schools in Delhi last year, and became the most popular of such events. Sponsored by IMG-Reliance, who have been supporting the BFI for over a year now, the school league saw the emergence of some great young talent from the city. Several of the successful players from this league are now featuring in Delhi’s Youth and Junior teams. The School League is also just the first step – sometime this year, expect to see an IMG-Reliance backed College League in the city too, played in a similar, popular home-and-away league-cum-knockout system.This effort to ‘Catch them young’ wasn’t born overnight, though: the DBA has been improving its efforts to raise the standards of the younger players in the city for the past 10 years. “We have improved a lot at the Junior, Youth, and Sub-Junior level over the last decade,” said Rangeen, “Over the last year, our Sub-Junior boys squad showed a good performance at the Kangra Nationals, and our Youth Boys won the recently completed Youth Nationals at Nagpur.”
On the Senior level, it is the Delhi woman, powered by the National-level players mentioned above, who have been dominating the game over the last decade. Delhi have found themselves in the Finals of nearly every Senior National Championship in recent years, only to lose out to their biggest foes – Indian Railways – at most occasions.
Outside of the official events, there is a lot more basketball to be found in the city. The second season of the NBA’s Mahindra Challenge, an inner-city recreational basketball league, brought the game to Delhi with Junior and Senior competitions in late 2010/2011. This league saw frenzied participation from several schools and amateur clubs in and around Delhi.
No mention of ‘Delhi’ and ‘club league’ can be completed without mentioning the Prithvi Nath Club (PNC): For years, the PNC was host to Delhi’s only All-India club basketball championship – the Master Prithvi Nath Memorial Basketball Tournament – before construction-work halted the annual tournament three years ago. This year, there was a quick, smaller replacement, as the Reebok IGMA Basketball Association (RIBA) League helped in bringing back all-India club basketball to the city.
With the youth in the city all set to become the future faces of the game, and the present seniors doing a good job at representing the city, there is no doubt that the capital will continue to become a major force for basketball events and attraction in the future.As for now, we come back to the Thyagraj Stadium, India’s best Junior players are enjoying basketball facilities and infrastructure of the highest quality. In less than a week’s time, the Stadium will host a different kind of basketball talent: the Indian Sr. Men’s team, in practice at the IG Stadium currently with Coach Kenny Natt, will take part in a SAARC countries qualifying tournament at the Thyagraj Stadium for a spot in the 26th FIBA Asia Basketball Championship that will be held in Wuhan (China) later in this year. From July 13-15th, India’s finest players will be in Delhi, along with players from Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka.
The capital has already brought together talent from all over the country – with its recent steps forward to become a home for hoops, it could be bringing more and more talent from the world to its shores.
December 2, 2010
Chennai witnessing the growth of basketball at the IMG-Reliance School league
After a successful first competition in New Delhi, the IMG-Reliance School Basketball League has shifted to Chennai, one of the most basketball crazy cities in the country. Featuring a total of 20 school teams in the Girls’ and Boys’ divisions, the league tipped off on the 22nd of November.
For the first time this year, IMG-Reliance, along with the Basketball Federation of India (BFI), have organised a home-and-away Inter-School basketball league system for Indian youngsters. It was first conducted in New Delhi between August 16-October 20th.
The teams for both the sections have been divided into two groups of five teams each. Each school will play the other schools in their group in twice - once home and once away. The top two teams from each group will then qualify for a ‘Super League’, and the top two teams from the Super League will play each other in the Finals. Each team will learn two points for a victory, one for a loss, and zero for a loss by forfeit.The group round will conclude on December 3rd, and will be followed by the Super League.
The participating teams are:
Boys Group A
MCTM Hr. Sec. School
Don Bosco Hr Sec School, Perambur
PSBB Sr. Sec. School, K.K.Nagar
Santhome Hr. Sec. School
Vidya Mandir Hr. Sec. School, Mylapore
MCTM are on top of the group with 12 points, followed by PSBB on second place with 10.
Group BSt. Peter's Hr. Sec. Scjool, Perambur
Chettinad Vidhyashram Hr. Sec. School
Vellamal Hr. Sec. School
Sherwood Hall Hr. Sec. School
Hindu Sr. Sec. School
St. Peter's are currently leading the group with 12 points, followed by Chettinad Vidhyashram on 10.
Girls
Group A
Vidyodaya Hr Sec. School
St. Ursula's Hr. Sec. School
St. Joseph's Hr. Sec. School
PSBB Sr. Sec. School, K.K.Nagar
Vidya Mandir Hr. Sec. School, Mylapore
Vidyodaya Hr. Sec. School and St. Joseph's Hr. Sec. School are currently leading the group with 12 points and 11 points respectively.
Group B
Lady Sivaswami Hr. Sec. School
St. Raphael's Hr. Sec. School
Chettinad Vidhyashram Hr. Sec. School
MCTM Hr. Sec. School
Hindu Sr. Sec. Schoo
Lady Sivaswami Hr. Sec. School are leading the group with 12 points. St. Raphael's and Chettinad Vidhyashram are tied on second place with 10 points each.
October 20, 2010
Montfort School celebrate double victory at 1st IMG-Reliance School Basketball League
Basketball in India continues to take crucial steps in the right direction. To help the help of the game at the grassroots level and to create the right kind of competitive atmosphere for young talents to grow, the first ever IMG-Reliance School Basketball League was held in New Delhi from August 16-October 20th. 20 boys’ and girls’ teams from 12 different schools across the city took part in a mammoth 96 matches in the preliminary and super league stages.
At the end, the best two teams faced off in the Finals, which were held at Modern School (Barakhamba Road) - both the boys’ and girls’ finals were between the hosts Modern School and Montfort School (Ashok Vihar). The visiting teams pulled off a historic double by winning both the matches and going home as champions.In the Girls’ final, the Montfort team came undefeated throughout the tournament and continued their phenomenon surge ahead. Montfort took an early lead and never took their foot off the gas pedal. Led by Manini Rai (19 points) and A. Chinmayee Meghana (17), Montfort strolled to a comfortable 56-25 victory.
The Boys’ game was a lot more competitive, as the hosts Modern started off strong in an attempt to upset the favoured Montfort side. Modern held a six-point advantage going into half-time, but Montfort returned to their confident and aggressive style of play in the second half. The comeback was completed successfully and Montfort held on in the final minutes of the game to win the game 50-43, led by 16 points from Nakul Agarwal who has been their best player throughout the tournament.
Earlier on Tuesday, DPS (Mathura Road) Girls and GD Goenka Boys won third place against their rivals DPS (RK Puram) Girls and DPS (Mathura Road) Boys respectively.
Each of the players from the two winning teams was presented with a Rs. 2,000 cash award from the Basketball Federation of India (BFI). Second place players received Rs. 1,500 and third place players received Rs. 1,000 each.Additionally, the tournament’s sponsors IMG-Reliance provided an extra cash bonus to the top three performing schools of both divisions in the tournament to encourage the improvement of basketball infrastructure in the institutions. Bikram Singh, the vice-president of IMG-Reliance handed out Rs. 1 lakh to the first prize winners, Rs. 75,000 to the runners-up, and third place teams were rewarded with Rs. 50,000.
"This is a great moment in the history of basketball in India and specifically in Delhi," said Harish Sharma, the Secretary-General of the BFI, "The success of this league has been made possible due to our partnership and the support of IMG-Reliance. Now, we want to take this league to other cities across the country."
Sharma added that this was the first time that cash prizes were being rewarded to the schools. "We want to encourage the schools to promote basketball with this money by improving their basketball courts and facilities."
The league has been a colourful get-together of basketball enthusiasts as well as those who are new to the game. Along with encouraging established players and fans, many other school children across Delhi have grown a new-found interest in the game. Sharma has promised an even bigger and better school league in Delhi next year.Montfort Girls star Chinmayee was satisfied with her team’s performance. "We’re very happy to win this league. It was a great experience playing in front of large crowds, which encouraged us. The league went on for a long time, and it helped us improve our game as we played each time two or more times. I feel very lucky to have won this year because I’m in 12th standard and won’t be participating in next year’s tournament."
From Montfort Boys, the final’s leading scorer Nakul Agarwal credited his team-mates for their support and inspiration in helping to pull off a great performance through the course of the tournament. Montfort made a great comeback after trailing in the first half. "Modern played a very tough game, but we had to prove that we are the best team and we are unbeatable. That is why we came motivated in the second half to win."
"It feels great to have won the trophy," added Nakul, "This the first time that basketball has been promoted so well in the schools and it’s great for the growth of the game in India."
Final Scores
Girls: Montfort School 56 (Manini Rai 19, A. Chinmayee Meghana 17) bt. Modern School 25 (Gauri 11)
Boys: Montfort School 50 (Nakul 16) bt. Modern School 43 (Archit Sinha 15, Satyam Nayyar 12)
Final Standings
Girls
1. Montfort School
2. Modern School
3. DPS (Mathura Road)
Boys
1. Montfort School
2. Modern School
3. GD Goenka School
August 16, 2010
1st Delhi School League tips off in city schools
Imagine being in school. It’s the morning session, and the recess bell has just rung. Well of course, the first thing you do is run out to the playing field to chase your friends around, kick a football, or head down to the basketball court. Now imagine that you have the opportunity to not just bounce around a ball amongst your friends, but represent your school in an organised inter-school basketball league. Imagine your school’s name on the front of your jersey and yours on the back.Now you don’t have to imagine anymore. The season for the 1st Delhi School League, for boys and girls, tipped off on Monday the 16th of August at the Montfort School and the Sachdeva Public School. The league, organised by the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) and IMG-Reliance, is set to involve 20 boys and girls teams from schools around New Delhi who will play each other nearly every day for a month. The 10 boys and 10 girls teams have been divided into two groups each, and each team will play the other teams in their groups twice on a home and away basis.
"This league is an exciting new beginning for us," said Harish Sharma, the secretary-general of the BFI, "It is an important early step in the promotion of basketball at the grassroots level. I want to thank IMG-Reliance for stepping forward and helping us with this league."
There was an electricity in the air at the Montfort School, which hosted two games for their girls and their boys against girls and boys of Delhi Public School (RK Puram). Stepping out to the school’s outdoor court in their custom-fitted league jerseys, the players looked ready to relish and make the most of this opportunity. Montfort’s basketball players didn’t disappoint their cheering supporters, as both the girls and the boys picked up convincing victories.Although it was only the first day of the competition, the passion was already burning amongst the players and the fans. At one point, when the Montfort boys held a convincing 30 point lead, their coach VP Niroola continued to drive their players to perfection from the sideline. There was to be no room for mistakes – this was all business, serious basketball. Every possession and every game had to be won.
Naroola hopes that this league will be successful. “I hope we continue to organise it in a good manner. I think it has the potential to be a great event.”
“It’s great that this league is happening – basketball will get a lot more recognition because of this,” said Anika Sharma, a basketball player for the Montfort girls’ team, “This is the first time that a league like this is happening in India and it’s really nice for us basketball lovers.”The top two teams from each group will then qualify for a ‘Super League’, and the top two teams from the Super League will play each other in the Finals. Each team will earn two points for a victory, one for a loss, and zero for a loss by forfeit.The first round games will finish on September 7th, before the competition proceeds to the Super League stage. Games are set to be played between 9 - 11 AM every morning starting from Monday, August 16th. The first round games will finish on September 7th, before the competition proceeds to the Super League stage. Further schedule shall be released later.
The participating teams are:
Girls:
Group A: Montfort School, Army Public School, Delhi Public School – RK Puram, GD Goenka School, and Carmel Convent School.
Group B: Delhi Public School – Mathura Road, Modern School, Oxford School, Sachdeva Public School, and Convent of Jesus and Mary.
Boys:
Group A: Montfort School, Army Public School, Delhi Public School – RK Puram, GD Goenka School, and New Green Field School.
Group B: Delhi Public School – Mathura Road, Modern School, Oxford School, Sachdeva Public School, and St. Columba’s School.
August 12, 2010
Inter School Basketball League to be launched in New Delhi
There is exciting news for hoop addicts in the capital - starting from the August 16th, several of the top schools in New Delhi will showcase their best basketball talents against each other in the 1st Delhi School League. The league will be held for both the girls and boys section, and is being organised by the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) as well as IMG-Reliance.Basketball is a game regularly played in most schools in India, but rarely gets the mainstream attention that it deserves. This league will help to encourage the young students to master the game and will also promote basketball amongst other students, families, and schools.
The teams for both the sections have been divided into two groups of five teams each. Each school will play the other schools in their group in twice - once home and once away. The top two teams from each group will then qualify for a ‘Super League’, and the top two teams from the Super League will play each other in the Finals. Each team will learn two points for a victory, one for a loss, and zero for a loss by forfeit.
Games are set to be played between 9 - 11 AM every morning starting from Monday, August 16th. The first round games will finish on September 7th, before the competition proceeds to the Super League stage. Further schedule shall be released later.Participating teams are:
Girls
Group A
Group B
Boys
Group A
Group B
The competition shall be conducted in accordance with current FIBA rules.
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