2015 Federation Cup in Pune: ONGC make it a three-peat of titles, Southern Railway women win gold

ONGC's star-studded squad out of Uttarakhand made it three wins in the last three years as they defeated IOB (Chennai) in a finals rematch of the 29th Federation Cup Basketball Tournament for Men and Women at the Shiv Chhatrapati Krida Sankul in Mahalunge, Pune (Maharashtra), on Thursday, April 2. The Women's competition at the tournament was held in round-robin fashion and it was Southern Railway - who finished atop the group standings - and emerged as winners.

The Federation Cup pits India's most successful recent clubs or states against each other. In the Men's division, the participating teams were chosen from the eight best club sides from India's top ranking states in the previous National Basketball Championship, while the Women's teams were represented by the eight top rankings states or railway units themselves. The 29th Federation Cup, organized by the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) in association with Maharashtra State Basketball Association (MSBA) and Pune District Basketball Association, tipped off on March 29.

In a rematch of last year's men's final, ONGC easily fought off their rivals IOB en route to a 71-50 win. India's national team big man Amrit Pal Singh came up huge for ONGC with 20 points. The Uttarakhand-based held a small 34-28 advantage at halftime, but turned up the gears after the break to outscore IOB by 15 in the final two quarters of the game.

The Third Place game for Men was won by Indian Army, who were led by the high-scoring duo of A Gopal (25) and Jai Ram Jat (22) in a 61-53 victory over Punjab Police.

The Women's division was held in a round-robin league fashion only. Southern Railway needed a victory on the final day to secure their lead and end the tournament as champions, and they delivered in style, thumping Chhattisgarh 87-56 in their last game. Kerala secured the Women's silver medal with a dominant 74-29 win over Delhi.

Scores

• Men's Final: ONGC (Amrit Pal Singh 20, Vishesh Briguvanshi 13) bt. IOB (Amjyot Singh 14) 71-50 (21-13, 13-15, 25-16, 12-6).
  
• Third Place: Indian Army (A Gopal 25, Jayram Jat 22) bt. Punjab Police 61-53 (7-19, 23-13, 12-6, 19-15).
  
• Women's Super League: Southern Railway (Alagutamil 15) bt. Chhattisgarh (Sharanjeet Kaur 17, L Deepa 13) 87-56 (18-15, 27-17, 15-16, 27-8).
  
• Women's Super League: Kerala bt. Delhi 74-29 (21-11, 18-10, 16-3, 19-5)
  

Final Standings Men

• 1. ONGC
  
• 2. IOB
  
• 3. Indian Army
  

Women

• 1. Southern Railway
  
• 2. Kerala
  
• 3. Chhattisgarh
  

ONGC's Amrit Pal Singh and Kerala's Jeena PS were named the tournament's Most Valuable Players in the Men's and Women's sections respectively.

The Federation Cup was held in the midst of back-office drama for the BFI, as two different factions called two separate meetings to elect two different executive committees to run the federation. Now, the BFI has two different presidents and the factions are headed for a court-case. At the tournament itself, an official sparked more conflict: Lalit Nahata - organizing secretary of the Federation Cup and joint secretary of the MSBA - insulted India's former captain Riyazuddin of ONGC by putting a dirty mop on his face/shoulders. Several of Riyaz's teammates and players from other teams came to the player's defense immediately. After a near altercation, Nahata first resigned into an office and later came out to apologize to Riyaz and the other players.

There is more than enough drama and excitement on the basketball court in India to keep us entertained, as the Federation Cup proved. In the future, we hope that the drama stays exactly where it belongs, and out of the hands of officials hindering the sport in India.

2015 National Games Basketball: Uttarakhand (Men) and Kerala (Women) win gold medals in Kerala

It took four years for the National Games to return back on the Indian domestic basketball calendar. And India's best ball players - hungry to add the prestigious medal to their trophy collections - made it almost worth the wait.

Photo Courtesy: Ekalavyas.com

The basketball tournament of the 35th National Games - held from January 31 - February 14, 2015 across Kerala - came to a conclusion on the evening of Friday, February 13 with two satisfying finales for the energetic crowd at the Indoor Stadium in Mundayad (Kannur). Hosts Kerala were cheered on by their home fans as they raced past neighbouring Tamil Nadu for a victory in the Women's final. The Men's gold was fought closely in one of the greatest finals in Indian basketball, with Uttarakhand finally moving past Tamil Nadu in double overtime to finish as champions.

After a four-year absence, (the last National Games were held in Jharkhand in 2011) the 2015 National Games - which are basically inter-state Olympics - returned this year, organized by the Indian Olympic Association (IOA). A total of 16 teams (eight Men, eight Women) took part in the basketball tournament at the Games this year from February 9-13.

On Friday, Uttarakhand and Tamil Nadu Men were the final show at the basketball court, and they gave the fans a night to remember. The two powerhouses - who are the previous two winners of India's Senior National Championship - played in a classic back-and-forth contest, as neither side refused to cave in. Tied at 40-40 at halftime, TN took a 10 point lead at the end of the third quarter, only to see the lead disappear thanks to a strong comeback by Uttarakhand in the fourth. Tied at 81-each, the game went into overtime, and after five more minutes, when there was no one with a clear advantage, double overtime began at 92-92. Finally, the clutch efforts of veteran star Riyazuddin (17) lifted Uttarkhand to a hard-fought 105-97 win. The star of the night was Amrit Pal Singh, who ended with 38 points and 18 rebounds for Uttarakhand. Vishesh Bhriguvanshi (20) and Yadwinder Singh (18 points, 17 rebounds) also put in big performances for their side. At the other end, Prasanna Venkatesh (28), Aravind (20 points, 10 rebounds) and Pratham Singh (18) were the leaders for TN.

Photo Courtesy: Ekalavyas.com

TN faced disappointment in the Women's final, too, as the home side Kerala relied on stifling defense to shut out their opponents and win 56-36. Kerala started strong, limiting TN to just 12 points in the first half and taking an early 16 point lead. Despite improved performances by their opponents after halftime, Kerala cruised to a 20 point victory. Jeena PS (19 points, 13 rebounds) was Kerala's star on the night.

The Bronze Medal games were also held earlier on Friday. Karnataka's Navaneeta played one of the best games of her career with 24 points and 21 rebounds to help her side score a hard-fought 74-70 win against Maharashtra. Karnataka had to fight back from being down five at halftime to secure a win. Savitha added 23. For Maharashtra, the leading scorers were Manisha Dange (21) and Renu Maurya (18). The Men's game was a wash in the favour of Services against Karnataka. The efforts of Narender Grewal (25) and Joginder Singh (16) were too much for Karnataka to handle, who trailed big early in the game and got no respite as Service cruised to a 90-53 win. Anil Kumar had 20 for Karnataka in a losing effort.

Final Scores

• Women: Kerala (Jeena PS 19, Poojamol KS 13) bt. Tamil Nadu 56-36 (16-8, 12-4, 11-16, 17-8).
  
• Men: Uttarakhand (Amritpal Singh 38 pts, Vishesh Bhriguvanshi 20, Yadwinder Singh 18, Riyazuddin 17) bt. Tamil Nadu (Prasanna Venkatesh 28, Aravind 20 pts, Pratham Singh 18) 105-97 2OT (17-23, 23-17, 25-15, 16-26, 11-11, 13-5).
  

Bronze Medal Games

• Women: Karnataka (Navaneeta 24 pts, Savitha 23) bt. Maharashtra (Manisha Dange 21, Renu Maurya 18, Geo Blessen 13) 74-70 (14-18, 20-21, 22-16, 18-15).
  
• Men: Services (Narender Grewal 25, Joginder Singh 16) bt. Karnataka (Anil Kumar 20) 90-53 (19-15, 28-11, 26-17, 17-10).
  

Indian Basketball’s All Star Weekend in be held in Mumbai on April 8-9

Get ready for Indian basketball’s brightest stars to shine together: For the second year, the top Men and Women players in India will descend to the Mastan YMCA in Mumbai to take part in Indian Basketball’s All Star Weekend - India All Star - on Friday 8th and Saturday 9th of April, 2011. Organised by Ibrahim Lakdawala of Lakdawala Developer PVT. LTD., the two day event will host skills competitions on April 8th and the Men and Women All Star Games on April 9th, featuring the most talented players in the country divided into East and West sides.

India’s most popular and exciting players, from all over the country, have been invited by the organisers for this landmark event, which will be an opportunity for Indian hoops aficionados to see their favourite players in action against each other. “We had organised the All Star Game on a small scale last year,” said Lakdawala, a former national-level player for the country, who has been the brainchild behind the project, “But this time, we will be hosting a much bigger event.”

The events on Friday will include a three-point shooting competition for Men & Women and a Slam Dunk Competition for Men. The All Star Games will be held on Saturday evening: the participants in the two games will be divided into East and West sides. The all stars will include top-level players such as Jagdeep Singh, Yadwinder Singh, Trideep Rai, Vishesh Bhriguvanshi, Geethu Anna Jose, Anitha Pau Durai, Prashanti Singh, and Akanksha Singh.

“It will be a fun festival of basketball,” said Salim Shaikh, the co-organiser of the event, “We hope that our players will enjoy participating against each other. There will be a lot of exciting prizes for all the players.

“In addition, we will have a lot of merchandise for the fans, including T-shirts featuring their favourite Indian players,” Shaikh added.

The All Star Game will also mark as a fitting prelude to the Ramu Memorial Basketball Tournament, set to tip off at the Indian Gymkhana Grounds in Matunga, Mumbai, from April 10-17.

Indian All Star Teams

WOMEN

East

Anitha Pau Durai (Tamil Nadu) - Captain
Seema Singh (Chhattisgarh)
Sonika Ohylan (Delhi)
Raspreet Sidhu (Delhi)
Bharti Netam (Chhattisgarh)
Asha Hegde (Delhi)
Pushma M. (Chhattisgarh)
Anju Lakra (Chhattisgarh)
Savihta C.S. (Karnataka)
Manisha Dange (Maharashtra)

West

Prashanti Singh (Delhi) - Captain
Geethu Anna Jose (Tamil Nadu)
Divya Singh (Delhi)
Akanksha Singh (Delhi)
Varsha Verma (Delhi)
Kokila (Tamil Nadu)
Aakansha Singh (Chhattisgarh)
Sonam (Karnataka)
Sagarika Shyam (Karnataka)
Smrithi (Maharashtra)

MEN

East

Yadwinder Singh (Railways) - Captain
Vishesh Bhriguvanshi (Railways)
Trideep Rai (ONGC)
Anoop (ONGC)
Jai Ram Jat (Services)
Harish Koroth (IOB)
Shanmugam Sridhar (ONGC)
Arvind (Railways)
Arjun Singh (Railways)
Ajay Pratap Singh (Chhattisgarh)
Amrit Pal Singh (Punjab)
Murali Krishna R. (ONGC)

West

Riyazuddin (ONGC) - Captain
Jagdeep Singh (Punjab)
Shabeer (ONGC)
Mihir Pandey (IOB)
Jasjot Singh (Railways)
Narender Kumar (Services)
Mohit Bhandari (ONGC)
Gagandeep Singh (Railways)
Bobby Singh (Uttar Pradesh)
Talwinderjit Singh Sahi (Punjab)
Jaskaran Singh / Amjyot Singh (Punjab) – not confirmed yet

With experience on their side, ONGC aim to win their third straight Federation Cup

One look at the team list for ONGC, and it’s immediately clear that there is something special about this team. Of all the team’s playing at the Federation Cup in Raipur, ONGC might not feature most of the current crop of India’s internationals (that honour goes to Western Railway), or feature some of the game’s exciting youngsters who play for teams like Billai Steel Plant, but they’re a squad blessed with some of the most experienced players in India.

“Our experience is obviously our strongest point,” says ONGC coach Rajendra Singh Rathore, who has been a former Junior and Senior India player himself, “We have a mix of former and current stars who are starring in this championship.”

ONGC feature the likes of Trideep Rai, who was part of India’s recent squad that travelled to Guangzhou (China) for the Asian Games. But along with him are a host of other legends, such as the superstar Riyazuddin, who is attempting a comeback from a serious injury, Mohit Bhandari, Murali Krishna, Anoop, and Sridhar S.

Each of their various weapons bring different things to the game, resulting in a well-assembled fit. The wily point-guard Bhandari orchestrates ONGC’s offense, slashing through defenders to shoot, lay-up, or create great shooting opportunities for his teammates. Riyaz, who is one of the best in the country at creating his own shot, succeeds best when the team begins to play a fast-paced game. Their dominating big men, Murali, Anoop, and Nishant Kumar make it difficult for opponents to out-rebound them. And ONGC turn most to Trideep, their best pure scorer, to make the big shots when most needed.

Still, having perhaps the oldest squad in the tournament doesn’t come without its speed-bumps. Several of the players in ONGC are playing the tournament with niggling injuries. But no obstacle, whether internal or from a foe, has been able to defeat the team’s spirit. Even in the toughest of games, ONGC look calm and assured of themselves, ready to strike when the moment calls for.

Unlike the usual run-and-gun offense applied by most of their opponents, ONGC play a slightly slower inside-outside game, relying on half-court set-ups and their beefy big men to help them control the paint.

Coming into this year’s tournament in Raipur, ONGC are the two-time holding champions of the Federation Cup, after their triumphs at Alwar (Rajasthan) and Rourkella (Orissa) in the previous years. “We have done well in this tournament in the past, and we will do our best to retain it,” said team captain Amit Kumar Singh.

So far, it has been smooth sailing in the Semi-Finals for the squad: ONGC have won all three of their group games, defeating IOB (Chennai) and Billai Steel Plant in close contests, and then blowing past Vijaya Bank for an easy victory on Sunday morning.

Coach Rathore believes that it will be their ability to perform well in the close competitions that will give them a slight edge going further in the tournament. “Our experience will count the most in neck-to-neck games,” he said, “This is when we feel we can perform better.”

Featuring the best amongst the best in the country, there are no easy games in the Federation Cup: but with a squad which has been through so many battles and with so many years of experience under their belt, ONGC are looking hungry to make it a three-peat.

Delhi sets the biggest stage for the biggest games

National Basketball Championships have been held in India before – 60 times before to be exact – but there is something special about the 61st. Something different. The cheers are louder. The lights are brighter. The passes are so crisp that you can hear them zoom by.

The best Indian players in the business are displaying their talents at the 61st IMG-Reliance National Basketball Championship in New Delhi with the biggest prize in Indian basketball at stake. There is no bigger stage for the biggest games in the country, and the national capital has stepped up to host this fierce competition. But what will make this championship truly memorable that it is the first year that the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) is receiving full sponsorship for its events by the IMG-Reliance partnership.

As BFI’s secretary-general Harish Sharma said to reporters to Monday, basketball is indeed ready to take the next step and conquer India.

An electric atmosphere is greeting players and fans every day at the Talkatora Stadium and the Modern School at Barakhamba, where the games are being held. On Friday afternoon, Andhra Pradesh face a challenge from Chandigarh in a relatively quieter affair, but not lacking in drama and intensity. A trumpeting sound from the crowd screamed over the applause – it was no vuvuzela, but a cheaper and equally effective knock-off! At the Talkatora Indoor Stadium, the players rushed and hustled their sneakers over the squeaky bright wooden floor, looking like one of the best basketball-playing surfaces in the country. An LED screen atop the stands show the live action as it unfolds, and then show highlights from basketball around the world during the breaks, including from the international games and the NBA. Hip-Hop and Punjabi music blares during time-outs and quarter-ends. The AP-Chandigarh game enters crunch time, and the small crowd gets on their feet for the last few minutes. AP hold on to their nerves in their end, stretch out their lead, and pull off an impressive 15 point victory.

The crowd gets larger and louder as the sun goes down. atmosphere reaches fever pitch by the evenings, when the marquee teams like Indian Railways, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Services, and of course, the hosts Delhi take centre-stage. Railways, who are the two time champions in both the men’s and women’s divisions, are once again the favourites to find their way to the Indian Basketball’s Promised Land!

But the best thing about this kind of competition in India is the showcase of India as a cultural phenomenon itself. No matter where in India the players hailed from, they shared a common enthusiasm for basketball. On Friday alone, the Talkatora stadium bore witnesses to players communicating in Telugu, Marathi, Hindi, Punjabi, Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil, and English. It’s a snapshot of the complete picture of Indian on one basketball court, communicated through dribbles, jumpshots, and hustle plays.

The Talkatora stadium itself has become a temporary temple of sorts to Indian basketball’s finest. Fans walk cardboard cut-outs of their basketball idols, getting am impression of the ones who are making a name for themselves in the sport across the country: players like Shiba Maggon, Sambajhi Kadam, Riyazzudin, Akanskha Singh, Anitha P., and many others.

On the court itself the action hasn’t disappointed. With quick, on-point passing, awesome athletic ability, and some dead-eye sharp-shooting, the Nationals are serving as the perfect platform for Indian basketball fans to catch a glimpse of their country’s elite.

The tournament moves on to the Quarter-Final stage from the 2nd of January, and the Finals are scheduled to be held on the 4th. The stage for the biggest teams has been set; now all eyes will be on the biggest teams to step up and claim it!