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)

IOB & Southern Railway defend Jeppiaar title in Chennai

For the second consecutive year, Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) and Southern Railway won the Jeppiaar All India Basketball Tournament in their home city of Chennai. The invitational tournament, which is a prestigious club competition in India and recently concluded it's 4th edition, was organized by the JIT Institute of Technology Basketball Club and held from May 26-31 at the college grounds near Sriperumpudur.

Southern Railway - led by India's legendary center Geethu Anna Jose - defeated Western Railway 62-49 in the Women's final on Friday after leading by six at halftime. Jose had 24 points in the game and S. Kokila added 19. Earlier on the same day, Chhattisgarh Women defeated Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) 53-48 behind 26 points by Swaranjeet Kaur to win third place.

The Men's final was a rematch of last year's finale between IOB and ONGC, and once again, the result was the same. IOB held on to a 10 point lead at halftime and continued their dominance in the second half to close in on a 59-45 win. IOB's Vineeth Ravi Mathew had 19 points. Indian Army beat Indian Navy 66-55 to finish third in the tournament; Sridhar had 18 points for Army.

In the Men's semi-finals earlier, ONGC had gotten through by defeating Indian Army 68-55. Legendary guard Riyazuddin had 25 points in a throwback performance for ONGC while Sridhar fought back with 18 for Army. In the other Men's semi, IOB blew by Indian Navy 54-34.

JIT's Shashant Rai (Men) and Chhattisgarh's Swaranjeet Kaur (Women) were named the Most Valuable Players of the tournament.

All India Basketball tournaments to be held in Coimbatore from August 28th

From August 28th - September 2, the 48th PSG Trophy tournament for Men and the 11th CRI Pumps tournament for Women will be held in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, for eight Men's and seven Women's basketball clubs from across India.

Participating teams:

PSG Trophy (Men): ONGC (Dehradun), RCF (Punjab), Indian Navy (Delhi), Customs (Chennai), Vijaya Bank (Bangalore), South Central Railway (Secunderabad), Indian Overseas Bank (Chennai), and Income Tax (Chennai).

CRI Pumps Tournament (Women): South East Central Railway (Chhattisgarh), Southern Railway (Chennai), Electricity Board (Kerala), South Central Railway (Secunderabad), South Western Railway (Hubli), Eastern Railway (Kolkata), and Rising Star (Chennai).

Both tournaments will be played on a league basis, before the Semi Finals and Finals on the 1st and 2nd of September respectively.

ONGC and South East Central Railway won last year's Men's and Women's tournaments respectively.

Indian Navy’s victory highlights finale of the Royal Club Basketball Tournament New Delhi

In a thrilling finale, Indian Navy survived to defeat Captain’s Club to lift the Men’s trophy of the Royal Club Basketball Tournament, one of the oldest and most prestigious basketball tournaments in New Delhi, at the Montfort School in Ashok Vihar on Sunday. It was the 50th Golden Jubilee year of this tournament.

In the College Women’s section, Indira Gandhi Institute of Sports Sciences & Physical Education (IGI) beat Lady Sri Ram College (LSR) for a win. The School Boys division of the tournament was won by GD Goenka who beat DPS (Mathura Road) in the final game.

The tournament featured a total of 33 teams in three sections: Men, College Women, and School Boys.

Trailing by one point at halftime in the Men’s final, Indian Navy went neck to neck with Captain’s Club in the close game and outlasted them for a thrilling 82-78 win. Indian Navy were led by big performances by Soji Cherian (24 points), Mandeep (23) and Vipin (17 points). Praveen had a game-high 29 for Captain’s while Vinay added 17 for the losing side.

The College Women’s final was dominated by IGI, who were led by internationally experienced players like Sonika Ohylan, Pratima Singh, and Raspreet Sidhu. Sonika, who was later named the tournament’s best player, led the way with 26 points in the final where IGI led LSR throughout for a breezy 71-45 win. Pratima Singh added 24 points in the final, while for LSR, new recruit Chinmayee had 16.

The School Boys final was also an easy game for GD Goenka, who defeated DPS (MR) by 60-31. Goenka were led by Dhruv (17 points) while Roopender had 23 in a losing effort for DPS.

Final Scores

Senior Men: Indian Navy (Soji Cherian 24, Vipin 23) bt. Captain’s Club (Praveen 29, Vinjay 17, Sumit 12, Vipin Dalviya 10) 82-78 (HT: 44-45).

College Women: IGI (Sonika Ohylan 26, Pratima Singh 24, Raspreet Sidhu 12) bt. LSR (Chinmayee 16, Shivangi 15) 71-45 (HT: 36-26).

School Boys: GD Goenka (Dhruv 17, Raghuvendra 14) bt. DPS (Mathura Road) (Roopender 23) 60-31 (HT: 22-11).

Best Player Awards

Senior Men: Ashu (Indian Navy)

College Women: Sonika Ohylan (IGI)

School Boys: Dhruv Barman(GD Goenka)