Income Tax (Chennai) win 5th edition of Mulki Sunder Ram Shetty tournament in Bengaluru

They'll whoop your squad and demand the receipts.

Chennai's Income Tax came, saw, and conquered at the 5th Mulki Sunder Ram Shetty All India Basketball Tournament, defeating the host team Vijaya Bank in front of a hostile crowd in Bengaluru on Sunday. The five-day tournament featured seven invited Men's club teams from around the country at the Beagles Indoor Basketball Stadium in Malleswaram, Bengaluru.

Undefeated in the tournament and having already notched a group stage victory over Vijaya Bank, Income Tax were determined to cap off their campaign on a high. After Vijaya Bank took an early lead, the 'Taxmen' bounced back with a 26-14 run in the second quarter to create some separation between the squads. Vijaya Bank turned up their defensive intensity in the fourth for a late comeback, but a clutch late lay-up by Income Tax's G. Sivabalan helped secure the 76-72 victory. Ravi Kumar scored 26 to lead IT in the final and Jeevanantham Pandi added 16. Vijaya Bank were led by Anil Kumar (27) and Arvind Arumugam (20).

Sivabalan was named the tournament's MVP.

Also on the final day, Lonavala's Indian Navy defeated 2017 champions Chennai's Integral Coach Factory (ICF) to secure the bronze medal. Mahipal Singh led with 23 for Navy's 69-59 victory.

Participating teams in the tournament included Vijaya Bank (Bengaluru), Indian Customs (Pune), Indian Navy (Lonavala), ICF (Chennai), Income Tax (Chennai), Telangana, and Karnataka. Reigning champions IOB (Chennai) did not take part this year.

Along with trophies, cash prizes of Rs. 1,00,000/- for the winners, Rs. 50,000/- for the runners-up, and Rs. 25,000/- and Rs. 10,000 for the 3rd and 4th place teams respectively, were awarded.

Final Results

• Winners: Income Tax
• Runners-up: Vijaya Bank
• Third Place: Indian Navy
• Fourth Place: ICF
• MVP: G. Sivabalan (Income Tax)
• Most Promising Player: Hareesh M. (Vijaya Bank)
• Best Defensive Player: Clinton Andrews (Vijaya Bank)
• Crowd Favourite: Ravi Kumar (Income Tax)

Rimini 2011: New Zealand Boys, Spain Girls win; India finish in bottom half

The biggest stage of the FIBA 3x3 Basketball format, the 1st Youth World Championship (YWC) for U18 Boys & Girls in Rimini, Italy, concluded on Sunday, September 11th, with New Zealand Boys & Spain Girls being crowned champions. Indian teams, who also took part in the competition, finished in the bottom half of the standings, with the Girls ranking 16th and Boys 29th

In a close final, New Zealand Boys' sneaked past Bulgaria to claim the gold medal at the tournament with a 19-18 win. Bulgaria finished at second place, and hosts Italy received the Bronze medal.

In the Girls' final, Spain were against the host team, Italy, whom they beat in a close game 16-15. Third-place for girls went to Japan.

India's sides didn't have a tournament to remember, but were able to play against teams from all over the world, an experience that the young players are sure to remember forever. In just three days, India's boys played 12 games, against Korea, Puerto Rico, Estonia, Slovenia, Sri Lanka, Ukraine, Greece, Tunisia, South Africa, Netherlands, and Singapore. The girls played nine games, against varied nations such as USA (twice), Italy, Sweden, Guam, Sri Lanka, China, Angola, and Ukraine.

Pitted in Group A with eight other teams, India’s boys side started their tournament in side, defeating heavily favoured South Korea 17-16. Unfortunately, their luck turned from there onwards, as India lost their next three match-ups, to Puerto Rico, Estonia, and Slovenia. Before the day ended, India found something to cheer when they defeated Sri Lanka for their second win of the group stage.

After starting the second day with a 2-3 record, India's boys needed a few wins on Saturday to climb up into the top four of Group A to be able to qualify for the knockout round. Unfortunately, India lost all three of their group games on Saturay against Ukraine, Greece, and Tunisia, to find themselves finish at seventh place (out of nine) in their group. India had a 2-6 record in the group stage and found themselves out of contention for the qualifying round. On Saturday evening, India played in a classification game against Egypt, but lost it 19-18.

On the final day, India played three classification games: the Boys lost their first game of the day to South Africa, but their resolve improved from then onwards. India defeated the Netherlands, and in their last game, defeated Singapore in classification games to finish at 29th place (out of 36) in the tournament.

India’s girls, who were in Group C with five other teams, played four matches on Friday. India lost their first three games to difficult opponents – USA, hosts Italy, and Sweden – but managed to safe face before the day finished for a big, 22-8 win over Guam.

On Saturday, the Girls won a crucial game against Sri Lanka, 15-13, to finish in the top four (out of six teams) of their group and qualify for the Knockout round of 16. In the knockout-round, India (ranked 16th) played against USA (ranked 1st) for the second time in two days. USA beat India in this game 15-7. India then played in a 9-16 classification game against China, which they also lost, 16-5.

In the last day of the competition, the team lost both of their matches to Angola and to Ukraine, to finish at 16th place (out of 24) in the championship.

Find all the results for India at Rimini 2011 and more recaps on the BFI's official website.

The 3x3 festival was also marked by a number of individual competitions, such as shooting, free throw, skills, and a dunk contest. India's Loveneet Singh finished tied at third place in the shooting competition.

Final Standings

Boys

1. New Zealand

2. Bulgaria

3. Italy

Girls

1. Spain

2. Italy

3. Japan

Individual Competitions Results:

Dunk Contest

1. Dyshwan Pierre (Canada)

2. Dalibor Fait (Czech Republic)

3= Alex Simeonov (Bulgaria)

3= Alexander Birketoft (Denmark)

Boys Shootout

1. Tencho Tenchev (Bulgaria)

2. Jarred Meno (Guam)

3= Rait Laane (Estonia)

3= Loveneet Singh (India)

Girls Shootout

1. Vasiliki Tarla (Greece)

2. Zhanna Byazrova (Russia)

3= Olivia Thompson (Australia)

3= Sanduni Lokuk Perera (Sri Lanka)

Skills Challenge

1. Pelinberya Bilgic (Turkey)

2. Sarka Jozova (Czech Republic)

3= Hong Yang Cui (China)

3= Tangour Nourhaine (Tunisia)

Junior Nationals: Tamil Nadu boys beat MP to become Junior Champions; Kerala girls win gold again

In front of Delhi’s large hoop-loving audience that collected together to watch India’s best under-18-year-old basketball players at the Thyagraj Stadium on Tuesday, the eight-day long 62nd Junior National Basketball Championship for Boys & Girls came to an enthralling end as Tamil Nadu boys and Kerala girls clinched the gold medals.

For Kerala, this win stretched their dominance over the younger-level basketball in India: Kerala have now won the last two Junior Championships as well as the last two Youth Championships. For Tamil Nadu, who ended up as runners-up to Punjab in the tournament last year, the gold medal in Delhi on Tuesday was a fitting way to bury the demons of last year’s final loss.

In the boys Final, Tamil Nadu faced another team who matched them in high-flying athleticism – Madhya Pradesh. TN still took the early initiative, starting the game hot and taking a 13-point lead at the end of the first quarter. TN seemed to be on cruise control for most of the game, and before the start of the final quarter, were still leading by 11, 55-44. But it was here that MP put up one last inspired run and chased TN, making it a 4-point game with just seven minutes to go.

But TN regained their composure, made all the clinical plays in the final stretch of the game, and survived to be crowned champions, 77-64. It was TN’s unselfish ball-movement that saw them hoist the winner’s trophy this year. The final belonged to TN’s Sivabalan S, who was able to forget about the disappointment of 2010 to score 34 points and 11 points. Arvind A hadded 18 points for TN. For MP, it was a disappointing finish to a great tournament – their high-scoring dup of Amit Kanarjee and Siddharth Chouhan played well in a losing effort in the final, scoring 21 and 17 points respectively.

In the earlier Final, Kerala continued their dominance over girls’ basketball in the country by rolling to a comfortable victory over Tamil Nadu. Just two months ago, Poojamol KS scored 40 points in the Final of the Youth Championships in Nagpur to help seal the title for her side. On Tuesday, she again started the game with the fire to give her team the win. After a close first quarter, Kerala began to dominate the second period, turning on their defense, and on the other end, scoring at regular intervals, to secure a massive 18-point lead at the end of the first half.

Tamil Nadu could never recover from this second-quarter debacle: the match was an interesting battle between two talented bigs on each side: Rajapriya Darshini for TN and Jeena PS for Kerala. While Darshini more than held her own (19 points, 9 rebounds), Jeena put up a strong performance too, with 17 points and 17 rebounds, continuing to stake her claim as the best rebounder in the Nationals.

TN failed to make up the deficit in the second half, as Kerala’s Surya PR continued her consistent play all championship to put up 28 points. Poojamol ended with a dominant 25 points to go with 15 rebounds. When the final buzzer sounded, Kerala celebrated, having cruised to a 83-67 victory.

Earlier in the day, Punjab Boys beat Chhattisgarh 78-62 to win the third-place playoff, behind Loveneet Singh (23) and Baljeet Singh (16). For Chhattisgarh, B. Dinesh scored 26 points. In the girls’ third-place playoff, Chhattigarh beat Karnataka to claim the bronze medal in a close game, winning by 78-76. Anjana Ekka (24), A. Kavita (17), and Sagarika (16) were the leading scorers for Chhattisgarh. For Karnataka, Navaneetha scored 27 and Simonelle added 20.

RS Gill, the president of the Basketball Federation of India (BFI), Harish Sharma, the CEO of the BFI, Ajay Sud, the BFI’s Secretary General, and Bobby Sharma, the Senior Vice President, Global Business Development, Basketball for IMG Worldwide, were amongst the various dignitaries present at the Finals.

The winning teams in both the boys’ and girls’ divisions were rewarded with a cash prize of Rs. 1,00,000. The runners-up were handed Rs. 50,000, and third-place received Rs. 25,000.

Final Scores

Girls: Kerala (Surya PR 28, Poojamol KS 26, Jeena PS 17, PG Anjana 10) bt. Tamil Nadu (Rajapriya Dharshini 19, Suganya L 11, Ramya R 10) 83-67 (22-20, 27-11, 24-19, 10-17).

Boys: Tamil Nadu (Sivabalan S 34, Arvind A. 18, Kasi Ranjan M. 14) bt. Madhya Pradesh (Amit Kanarjee 21, Siddharth Chouhan 17) 77-64 (24-11, 20-22, 11-11, 22-20).

3rd/4th Place Playoff

Girls: Chhattisgarh (Anjana Ekka 24, A. Kavita 17, Sagarika 16) bt. Karnataka (Navaneetha 27, Simonelle 20, Sagarika 13) 78-76 (20-19, 14-16, 34-19, 10-22).

Boys: Punjab (Loveneet Singh 23, Baljeet Singh 16, Manpreet Singh 12, Gauravdeep Singh 10) bt. Chhattisgarh (B. Dinesh 26, Ajay Pratap Singh 15) 78-62 (20-12, 15-12, 26-16, 17-22).

Tamil Nadu run ’n gun into the Final!

With no shortage of attacking talent, the Tamil Nadu Junior Boys’ team are making waves over at the 61st IMG-Reliance National Basketball Championships at Vashi (Navi Mumbai). Led by the wily and skilled star G. Sivabalan, TN boast of a balanced squad that is starting to peak at the right time.

“We have a stronger team than last year,” said Sivabalan, who was one of the youngsters in last year’s squad that were knocked out in the Quarter-Final stage of the tournament, “The difference this time around is our ball-handlers, who have given us an edge.”

TN have been playing some beautiful basketball at Vashi, winning all but one game at the tournament. Their only loss came against a motivated Rajasthan side in a group game, where their opponents pulled away in the last minutes to win by four points.

Apart from that setback, TN have been in scintillating form, easily beating Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, and sneaking past their toughest opponent, Punjab, 73-69 in a group game. In the semi-final against Karnataka, TN scored a tournament high 109 points in their high-speed run ’n gun style.

And at the helm of this offensive assault has been star forward Sivabalan. Armed with an unstoppable quick step and uncanny ability to finish tough lay-ups around the basket, the 6’2” player has been a nightmare for defenders all tournament. He has also shown nerves of steel, playing the best basketball in the tougher games. Sivabalan scored 24 points in the loss to Rajasthan, 28 points in a quarter-final win against Kerala, and 26 more points in the semi-final victory against Karnataka.

But he isn’t alone; aiding TN’s cause is GB Carmel Joseph, the experienced forward who has recently returned from playing for the Indian U18 team at the FIBA ASIA U18 Championship in Yemen. Players such as big man A. Aravind, S. Senthil Murugan, and KS Prasanna have been the pillars of this team.

Now, Tamil Nadu are set to face their toughest opponents, Punjab. Punjab are the tallest team in the tournament and have thus far proven difficult to beat. But TN have edged them before in the championship and will be looking to do it again.

“We have a lot of coordination amongst the players,” says Carmel Joseph, “Our offense style is freelance, and we can change our game according to the opponent.”

Sivabalan is confident that the team can go all the way. But Punjab are one of the most feared teams of the tournament, and the youngster will need to bring out his big game heroics once again if TN aim to raise the championship trophy on Sunday night.