Prasanna Jayasanakar - Hoopistani Indian Basketball Hall of Fame

Indian basketball has been blessed with several queens over its history, leaders who have broken the gender barrier in the game to excel, and help a generation of players after them excel, too. One of these leaders is Prasanna Jayasanakar, the legendary player and coach from Kerala and Southern Railways, who is today's addition into the Hoopistani Indian Basketball Hall of Fame.

As the story goes, Prasanna was originally drafted to play badminton at the Sports School in Kannur, Kerala, but because there was a shortage of players in the basketball team, she switched sports. Soon, her career took off. She started playing for Kerala in 1982 with the sub-junior and junior nationals, and was in the state's senior team from 1983 onwards, while she was still a teenager. From 1985 to 1996, she played for the powerhouse Southern Railway team in Chennai, a relationship that sealed her post-playing future, too.

Prasanna played for India's senior women's team from 1984-1996, and one of the highlights of her international career was captaining Team India at the 1990 FIBA Asian Basketball Championship in Singapore.

Post-retirement, Prasanna has been one of the most influential coaches in India, primarily at her position with the influential Southern Railway team, which contributed to the Indian Railways unit that has dominated India's women's basketball for several decades. Among other stars, Prasanna helped nurture the talents of Indian basketball great (and Hoopistani Hall of Famer) Geethu Anna Rahul. As player and coach, she has won dozens of medals in National Championships, Inter-Railway tournaments, All India University championships, Federation Cups, and more. Prasanna was also one of the only female coaches in the short-term men's pro league in India, the UBA.

Prasanna's husband, Jayasankar Menon, is also a legendary basketballer and a Hall of Famer. Together they were behind the Professional Basketball Academy (PBA) in Chennai. Through the course of her career, Prasanna has been given several individual honours, such as the GV Raja Award. She has been involved for a handful of times as a selector and observer for India's women's national championship and has served in the coaching staff of India's national teams.

Click here for more of the Indian Basketball Hall of Fame.

Indian Bank (Men) and Southern Railway (Women) win 2019 All India Basketball Tournaments in Coimbatore

Two of the most prestigious invitational basketball in India came to a conclusion on Saturday after six days of high-level hoops action in Coimbatore. Indian Bank (Men) and Southern Railway (Women) won the 54th Nachimuthu Gounder Cup and 18th CRI Pumps Trophy respectively after a couple of close finals. The tournament was held from May 27 - June 1 by the Coimbatore District Basketball Association (CDBA) at the VOC Park Basketball Court.

Indian Bank from Chennai defeated Income Tax in the finale 74-64 to secure the gold medal.

In the women’s category Southern Railway (Hubli) managed to maintain the lead from the beginning over South Central Railway and won the match and trophy by two points 57-55.

India Army defeated Indian Air Force 72-62 for third place in the men's division, while last year's women's champions KSEB finished third with a 46-33 win over Arise Steel.

There was Rs.1.85 lakh prize money and Cup for men and Rs.1 lakh and trophy for women’s teams. Customs (Chennai) and KSEB (Thiruvanathapuram) won last year's iterations of the tournament.

Jayasankar Menon: Hoopistani Indian Basketball Hall of Fame

Jayasankar Menon has been crucial to the development of Indian basketball both on and off the court. As a player, he set new records for individual performances with the national team in the 1980s-90s. After retirement, he has been involved with the welfare and growth of the game as the IBPA founder and a coach. Today, he is named into the Hoopistani Indian Basketball Hall of Fame.

Originally from Wadakanchery in Kerala's Thrissur district, Menon got his start in Kerala, but eventually came to be associated closely with basketball in the neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu. In Chennai, he played for Southern Railways from 1987 and played a major role in the dominant Indian Railways side from the late 80s to the 90s that were always the favourites in the national championships. In 15 Nationals with Railways and TN, he won five golds, a silver, and a bronze.

On the international circuit, the power forward rose to become of the country's top players. He was the first Indian to be chosen for an Asian All Star team in 1997, was nominated for the Arjuna Award, won 2 gold medals for India in the South Asian Games, played in four FIBA ABCs, and captained Team India to the ABC in Korea where he was at his dominant best.

Over the years, Menon received various accolades for his influence on the sport, from the Tamil Nadu government, from Indian Bank, and more. However, despite all his accolades, the Arjuna Award has eluded him. He continued to play at the domestic level until his late 30s with Indian Bank. He found himself in controversy when a scuffle in 2005 left him with a 3-year ban on the game.

After retirement, Menon rebounded to give back to the game. He was the founder and General-Secretary of the Indian Basketball Players Association (IBPA), former member of the FICCI sports committee, and former director of Chennai's Professional Basketball Academy (PBA), among many more coaching and operational connections with the game. Menon is married to a former Indian national women's basketball captain, Prasanna Jayasankar.

Click here for more of the Indian Basketball Hall of Fame.

India's top basketball teams head to Goa for 2016 Federation Cup

Two years ago, the Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Indoor Stadium at Goa University in Teleigao hosted one of the contemporary high-points of Indian basketball. The 2014 Lusofonia Games were being held in Goa, and it was at this stadium where Head Coach Scott Flemming led the Indian national Men's squad to a memorable basketball gold medal victory in the tournament. While Goa has never been known to flaunt much basketball structure or associate positive history with the sport, this was a moment that generated real excitement for the sport among local fans.

This week, the same indoor stadium will get a chance to take a step further. The 30th Federation Cup All India Basketball Tournament for Men and Women - organized by the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) and the Goa Basketball Association (GBA) - is set to be held in Goa from March 9-14. A tournament among only the elite teams in the sport in both men's and women's division, the Goa University will once again play host to some of the most talented players in Indian Basketball starting tip off on Wednesday, March 9.

The Federation Cup is held annually and is one of the most coveted tournament's for basketball clubs/state teams throughout India. Generally speaking, in the men’s section, the top eight state teams from the previous year’s Senior National Championship send the Champion District/Unit/Club of the State Championship/Inter-district/Inter-Unit. Counting a team from hosts' Goa, this year's Men's competition will feature nine teams. In the women’s section, the top eight state teams from the previous year’s Senior National Championship are eligible to participate, along with the Champion team of the Indian Railways Unit. Another significance of the Federation Cup is that it serves as the qualifying tournament for the FIBA Asia Champions Cup for Men, which pits the top clubs in the continent against each other. The winning men’s team from the Federation Cup qualifies to the FIBA Asia Champions Cup, which is set to be held in October this year.

The Federation Cup will seek to bounce back after the fiasco surrounding the tournament a year ago. Last year's Federation Cup was held in Pune (Maharashtra) around the same time that the BFI broke apart into two separate executive committees, with meeting one in Bengaluru, one in Pune. The Pune committee - led by Poonam Mahajan - organised the 2015 Federation Cup, but it is the Bengaluru committee - led by K. Govindraj - that now has control over the BFI and is organizing the 2016 Federation Cup. ONGC (Men) and Southern Railway (Women) were crowned champions in Pune and will return this year to defend their title in Goa as well. ONGC have won the last three gold medals at the Federation Cup and will be seeking a four-peat.

Teams participating in the 2016 Federation Cup are:

Men

• Group A: ONGC (Uttarakhand), Bhiwani Club (Haryana), Vijaya Bank (Karnataka), Ludhiana Basketball Academy (Punjab).
• Group B: Indian Overseas Bank (Tamil Nadu), Army Red (Services), Kerala Police (Kerala), North Western Railway (Rajasthan), Don Bosco Oratory (Goa).

Women

• Group A: Chhattisgarh, Kerala, Maharashtra, Goa.
• Group B: Delhi, South East Central Railway (Chhattisgarh), Karnataka, Telangana.

You can find a detailed schedule of matches via the BFI here.

"The six-day tournament will be played on league cum knock out basis which will feature champion club from the top eight states of the previous year’s Senior National Championship", Goa Basketball Association secretary Ashley Rosario told reporters in Goa. Goacom reported that DD Sports will telecast the tournament's semi-finals, finals, and closing ceremony live nationally. Amita Mascarenhas and Suzeth Durate will be Goa’s flag bearer for the opening and closing ceremony.

KSEB Women and IOB Men win 2016 FEASTO All India Basketball Tournament in Kozhikode

Kerala's City of Spices Kozhikode - also known as Calicut - played host to some of the top basketball players in the nation over the past week as the FEASTO All India Basketball Tournament for Men and Women as the city's VK Krishnamenon Indoor Stadium from February 22-28. The championship, revived after a gap of 16 years, featured various top-level basketball clubs from around the region and other states. It was the Women's team from Thiruvanathapuram's Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) and the Men's team from Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) in Chennai that emerged champions with resounding victories in their respective finals on Sunday, February 28.

In the Women's final, Kerala stars Stephy Nixon and Anjana PG scored 18 points apiece for KSEB to help them easily defeat the more experienced Southern Railway squad from Chennai, 71-52. Apporva Muralinath scored 18 for Southern Railway in the loss.

In the Men's final, IOB relied on the efforts of talented forward G. Sivabalan (18) to rush past Bengaluru's Vijaya Bank, 75-52. A. Aravind scored 19 for the losing side.

Prasanna Venkatesh of IOB and Anjana PG from KSEB won the Men's and Women's MVP awards respectively.

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.

Income Tax and Southern Railway win 2015 All India Jeppiaar Basketball Trophy

Several of the top club teams in India headed down south to Chennai to take part in the fifth installment of the Jeppiaar Trophy All India Invitational Tournament, a championship that brought together 11 teams in the Men's and Women's divisions to the Jeppiaar Institute of Technology (JIT) in the city. After six days of basketball featuring some of the best present and future stars in the country, Income Tax (Men) and repeating title winners Southern Railway (Women) ended the tournament as champions after the final day on Saturday, March 14.

The participating teams at the 2015 Jeppiaar Trophy were:

Men

Pool A: Vijaya Bank, KSEB, Sathyabama University, Income Tax.
Pool B: Indian Army, Air Force, JIT.

Women: Southern Railway, JIT, South Central Railway, South Eastern Railway

In the Men's final, Income Tax defeated Vijaya Bank 67-59. Income Tax's Vinay Kaushik scored 22 points in the final for his team's victory and was named the Player of the tournament. The Women's tournament was only held in round-robin fashion in the group stage. Southern Railway finished undefeated in the Women's group and were thus named champions, with South Central Railway and South Eastern Railway finishing second and third respectively.

The last iteration of this tournament was held back in 2013, with IOB (Men) and Southern Railway (Women) emerging as winners.

Before the tournament, JIT created a preview video about the tournament and the Men's and Women's home teams. You can check it out here.

IOB (Men) and KSEB (Women) win 2015 JCI Basketball Tournament at Athirampuzha

In Athirampuzha (Kerala), the St Aloysius Flood-Lit Basketball Court hosted the 6th JCI All India Invitational Basketball Tournament, where the local state's Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) defeated Chennai's Southern Railway in the final to bring a title for the home fans. In the Men's final, Chennai's Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) won the final against Cochin's Customs and Central Excise.

In the Women's final, Thiruvanathapuram's KSEB fought in a neck-to-neck battle against Southern Railway, before surviving for a 55-50 win.

IOB's Aravind led with 17 points for IOB to completely dominate Customs and Central Excise in the Men's final, winning 62-30 in the end.

Kerala Women's Team was felicitated at the tournament for their maiden basketball title at the National Games earlier this month.

ONGC (Men) and Chhattisgarh (Women) win 10th Savio Cup in Mumbai

Continuing the momentum gained from winning India's biggest domestic basketball tournament - the Senior Nationals in Rajasthan - players for Chhattisgarh (Women) and ONGC (Men ) rose above their opponents to be crowned champions at the 10th Savio Cup invitational basketball tournament in Mumbai. One of the top club/state basketball championships in India, this year's Savio Cup was once again held at the Don Boscho school in Matunga from January 11-18. The Women's and Men's finals were held in front of an eager, hoops-loving crowd on Sunday, January 18th.

ONGC - the Men's club side featuring several of the same players who won the Senior National Championship in Bhilwara (Rajasthan) a few weeks ago - returned to the Savio Cup as the reigning champs with hopes to lift the title again. In the tournament's finale, ONGC faced their familiar rivals IOB (Chennai), whom they had defeated in the final last year as well as trumped over earlier in this year's tournament. With tournament MVP Vishesh Bhriguvanshi leading the way, ONGC once again got the better of their foes. ONGC started with a 19-5 run in the first quarter and held on to their advantage till the end for a 63-53 victory.

The women's final brought out the top stars in the country in a clash of 2014 Savio Cup winners Southern Railway and the winners of the last two Senior National Championships, Chhattisgarh. Railway started the game on top, racing up to a 33-29 lead. But Chhattisgarh bounced back with a strong performance in the third quarter to go up by five before the start of the final period. The gold remained in touching distance for both squads, but it was eventually Chhattisgarh who provided another clutch performance to stamp their mark over Indian Women's hoops with a title-clinching, 71-63 victory.

Sponsored by United Phosphorous and Tridhaatu Realty Infrastructure, this year's Savio Cup featured seven Men's teams and four Women's teams.

On several days at the tournament, Arts-based therapy practioneer Gayatree Joshi held relaxation therapy sessions for the participating players.

10th Savio Cup - one of India's top national tournaments - tips off in Mumbai tomorrow

As it is usually the tradition in the early Indian basketball calender, rivalries that are born at the Senior Nationals are settled just a few days later, when India's best players meet again in Mumbai at the Savio Cup. Now entering it's 10th edition, the Savio Cup is one of India's top national invitational tournaments, where the most stacked club and state/unit teams compete for the prestigious title. This year's Savio Cup will tip off tomorrow, Sunday January 11th with seven Men's and four Women's teams. Sponsored by United Phosphorous and Tridhaatu Realty Infrastructure, the tournament will be held at the Don Bosco School's basketball courts in Matunga with the finals on January 18th.

ONGC - the Men's club side featuring several of the same players who won the Senior National Championship in Bhilwara (Rajasthan) a few days ago - will return to the Savio Cup as the reigning champs with hopes to lift the title again. In the Women's division, Southern Railway will look to continue their dominance at this tournament after winning gold the past four years. National and international stars like Vishesh Bhriguvanshi, Amrit Pal Singh, Riyazuddin and Yadwinder Singh, Amjyot Singh, Anitha Pauldurai, Anju Lakra, and many more will be in action through the course of the next week.

Savio Cup 10 participating teams

• Men: ONGC, Indian Railways, Maharashtra, Indian Overseas Bank (Chennai), Punjab, Services, Bhavnagar Youngsters.
  
• Women: Southern Railway, Punjab, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh.
  

International squads invited for this year's Coimbatore All India Basketball Tournaments

It's the Golden Jubilee of the All India Basketball Tournaments in Coimbatore, and to celebrate, this year's invitational tournaments for both men and women will feature South Asian international squads competing for the title. The 50th PSG Trophy (for Men) and the 13th CRI Pumps tournament (for Women) will both be up for grabs starting tomorrow, July 25th, in Coimbatore (Tamil Nadu). The Men's national team from Bangladesh and Women's national team from Nepal have been invited to take part in a competition that will otherwise be competed for among Indian club sides. The six-day tournament will end with the Finals on July 30th.

Photo courtesy: Ekalavyas

The tournament is being organized by the PSG Sports Club and will also mark the silver Jubilee of PSG Medical College, Coimbatore. ONGC (Men) and Southern Railway (Women) will be playing to defend their titles at the respective competitions. Nine teams in the Men's division and a total of six women's teams will take part.

Participating Teams

PSG Trophy (Men): ONGC, Indian Navy, Indian Army, IOB (Chennai), Punjab, Customs (Cochin), ICF (Chennai), Electricity Board (Kerala), Bangladesh.

CRI Pumps Tournament Southern Railway, Electricity Board (Kerala), South Central Railway, South Eastern Central Railway, Western Railway, Eastern Railway, Nepal.

This is the first time that international teams will take part in these tournaments. G Selvaraju, Joint Managing Director of CRI Pumps, told Business Standard that with the participation of international teams, both the organizers (PSG and CRI Pumps) propose to make this tournament as an Asian level championship in the near future.

ONGC (Men), Southern Railway (Women) defend titles at 2014 Advani Memorial Basketball Tournament

Coming into the 17th edition of the All India Advani Memorial Basketball Tournament (AIAMBT) as holders, ONGC (Men) and Southern Railway (Women) defending their titles in style, leading their respective Finals end to end for comfortable victories. The five day tournament - which tipped off in Jaipur (Rajasthan) on April 9 - concluded with the Finals featuring some of India's top basketball players on Sunday, April 13, 2014.

Southern Railway (Women), who comprise of several players from the Indian Railways squad, got a measure of revenge against Chhattisgarh's South East Central Railway (SECR - from Bilaspur) with a comfortable 75-47 win in the Final. Last month, many of the SECR players made up the Chhattisgarh squad that shocked Indian Railways in the Final of the Indian National championship. At the AIAMBT Finals, Anitha Paul Durai was the star for Southern Railway, scoring 18 points - all from the three-point line - to lead all scorers en route Southern Railways' victory.

Photo Courtesy: Ekalavyas

The Men's game which followed was a relatively tighter affair between ONGC and Indian Air Force (IAF). IAF had no answers for the outside shooting threat of ONGC veteran Trideep Rai, who led all scorers with 27 points. Young Indian international Amrit Pal Singh added 17 for the victors, as ONGC closed out the game for a 76-61 win.

Southern Railway's Kokila Subramani (Women) and ONGC's Amrit Pal Singh (Men) were named the Most Valuable Players of the tournament.

Both winning teams were awarded Rs. 1 Lakh each while the runners-up won Rs. 50,000 in both divisions.

The AIAMBT was started in the year 1975 as a tribute to the late Principal of MNIT (formerly known as MREC) Professor RM Advani, but is only in its 17th iteration this year. This edition of the tournament featured eight Men's teams and six Women's teams representing as clubs or states. It was also noted by the recap of the tournament on Ekalavyas.com that this tournament is perhaps India’s only senior invitational basketball tournament that is completely managed by students (of MNIT).

All India Advani Memorial Basketball Tournament tips off in Jaipur

Many of the top Men and Women basketball playeres from across India will be in Jaipur (Rajasthan) this week for the 17th edition of the All India Advani Memorial Basketball Tournament (AIAMBT) in the city. The tournament, which is being organized at the Malaviya National Institute of Technology (MNIT), tipped off on Wednesday, April 9 and will conclude with the Finals on April 13th. This edition of the tournament will feature eight Men's teams and six Women's teams representing as clubs or states.

The participating teams are: (via Ekalavyas)

Men

Pool A: Services Sports Control Board (SSCB), North Frontier Railways (NFR Guwahati), Punjab, Rajasthan.
Pool B: ONGC, Indian Air Force, South Central Railway (SCR - Secunderabad), Rail Coach Factory (RCF Kapurthala).

Women

Pool A: Southern Railway (Chennai), Eastern Railway (Kolkata), Delhi
Pool B: Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB), South East Central Railway (SECR Bilaspur), Rajasthan.

In the Men's section, Punjab (who were finalists at the BFI National Championship last month) and the talented ONGC side will be favourites to take home the title. The Women's fray could see a fight to the finish between the consistently successful Southern Railway side and SECR from Bilaspur, a team that is sure to feature some members of the Chhattisgarh team which upset Indian Railways in the National Championship last month.

Several top Indian stars, such as Geethu Anna Jose, Anju Lakra, Amrit Pal Singh, Vishesh Bhriguvanshi, Yadwinder Singh, and more are taking part in the tournament.

The AIAMBT was started in the year 1975 as a tribute to the late Principal of MNIT (formerly known as MREC) Professor RM Advani, but is only in its 17th iteration this year. On April 9, at the tournament's opening ceremony, the event was inaugurated by Ajit Mohan Saran (IAS), Scretary Youth Affairs and Sports, Govt. of India and Ajit Kumar Singh (IAS), Principal Secretary Youth Affairs and Sports, Govt. of Rajasthan.

Check out Ekalavyas for results from the first day of games and the schedule ahead.

ONGC (Men) and Southern Railway (Women) win 9th Savio Cup in Mumbai

Although they started as favourites to hold on to their title, Southern Railway had to battle till the very end and use every bit of their talent and experience to outlast the spirited hosts Maharashtra in the Women's final of the 9th Savio Cup on Saturday, January 18th, at the Don Bosco High School in Mathunga, Mumbai. Familiar foes ONGC and IOB met in the Men's title game, with ONGC continuing their hot stretch in recent tournaments to add another trophy to their glittering cabinet.

Photo Courtesy: Ekalavyas.com

The 9th Savio Cup tipped off in Mumbai on January 11th, featuring participation by seven Men's and four Women's squads. The tournament was sponsored by Tridhaatu Realty and Indian Oil.

Southern Railway were playing without superstar Geethu Anna Jose and hadn't been their usual convincing selves, after already dropping a game to their final opponents Maharashtra earlier in the tournament. Maharashtra on the other hand have been enjoying a string of relative success in their Women's division. In the Final, Maharashtra - led by Manisha Dange - wanted to stamp in their authority and a dominant first half saw them go into the break with a 33-19 lead. Southern Railway fought back in the third period, and a back-to-back fourth quarter finally saw them take the lead in the game's last minutes. Southern Railway inched ahead to survive for a 67-62 victory behind 19 points by Apoorva Murlinath. Dange had 30 for Maharashtra in a losing effort.

ONGC (Uttarakhand) were back in the Final after losing to American side Sportspower USA in the previous edition of the tournament. With Chennai's IOB starting off on the right foot, it seemed like ONGC would face a final defeat once again. But they fought back to take a halftime lead, and then completely dominate proceedings in the game's second half en route to a 70-52 victory. Veterans Trideep Rai (22) and Yadwinder Singh (19) were the game's leading scorers.

Photo Courtesy: Ekalavyas.com

The Men's winning side were rewarded Rs. 1.5 lakhs and the runners-up were given Rs. 65,000. For Women, the winning side was given Rs. 50,000 and runners-up Rs. 25,000.

Sportspower returned this year without the former NBA players who helped them lift the title last year. Their roster was short this year, so two Indian players - Vinay Kaushik and Prakash Mishra - were added to the team. Ex-NBA player David Wood was supposed to be a part of the team but didn't make it. Jahaziel Howard - the younger brother of NBA star Dwight Howard - came to Mumbai as part of Sportspower's roster.

Savio Cup 9 to tip off in Mumbai today

One of the most prestigious basketball tournaments in India - the Savio Cup is set to return for it's ninth edition at the Don Bosco High School in Matunga, Mumbai from Saturday, January 11th. The tournament will feature seven teams in the Men's edition and four Women squads. American basketball outfit Sportspower will return to defend their title from last year, while women's champions Southern Railway will once again start as favourites in their division.

Savio Cup 8 featured Sportspower for the first time, a team that included three former NBA players: Jerome Williams, Anthony Bonner, and Paul Grant. Sportspower defeated ONGC in the finale, while the Women's title was decided with Southern Railway's victory over host side Maharashtra.

Savio Cup 9 participating teams:

Men: Sportspower USA, ONGC, IOB, Income Tax, Punjab, Services Maharashtra.
Women: Southern Railway, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Kerala.

ONGC (Uttarakhand) and Chhattisgarh will be looking to carry over some positive momentum after their victory at the Federation Cup in Ahmedabad earlier this week.

The tournament will conclude with finals on Saturday, January 18th.

ONGC & Southern Railway won Golden Eagle Blue Star All India Tournament in Chennai

Blessed with some of the most dominant India international player’s on their roster, Dehradun’s ONGC side blazed through the Golden Eagle Blue Star All India Invitational Basketball Tournament in Chennai, defeating Customs and Central Excise (Kochi) in the tournament's Men's final on Thursday, August 22nd. The Women's final was also held earlier on the same day, and home side Southern Railway added another feather to their successful cap by sweeping past Secunderabad's South Central Railway.

Eight Men's teams and six Women's squads, divided into two groups each, took part in the six-day tournament, which was held at the JJ Stadium in Chennai.

India's national squad Center Amrit Pal Singh continued his development as a superstar anchor in the middle, scoring 29 points in dominating performance in the final to lead ONGC to a 76-63 win. India's captain Vishesh Bhriguvanshi added 16 points for the winning team. ONGC were able to withstand Customs and Central Excise's duo of Monish Wilson (21) and Eudrick Pereira (17) in their victory.

Southern Railway - who have been the glowing spark in India women's basketball led by the usual suspects Geethu Anna Jose and Anitha Paul Durai in recent years - had little trouble in cruising past South Central Railway 62-43 as they brought some cheers from the home crowd in their victory. Anitha had a game-high 23 points in the Women's final.

The Men's winners (ONGC) took home a cash prize of Rs. 1 lakh, while second place (Customs and Central Excise) were rewarded Rs. 60,000. Women's winners (Southern Railway) also won Rs. 75,000 and runners-up (South Central Railway) Rs. 40,000.

The group stage of the tournament was played in a league format, with the top two teams from each group qualifying for the knockout stages. The semi-finals were held on Wednesday. Amrit Pal Singh (22) and Bhriguvanshi (18) led ONGC to a 64-50 win over home side IOB. In a high-scoring second men's semi-final, Customs and Central Excise defeating Indian Army (Delhi) 89-80. Eudrick Perira (20), Monish Wilson (19) and Basil Phillip (18) led the winning side.

In the Women's section, Southern Railway entered the final by defeating Western Railway 65-49. Manda Meshram (20) and Jilna Jose (18) led South Central Railway to a 83-65 win over Eastern Railway (Kolkata). Madhu Kumari had a valiant performance with 30 points for Eastern Railway in a losing effort.

The finals were broadcast live on DD Sports in India. Another special shoutout here to Gopalakrishnan R., who did an incredible job in covering this tournament on SportsKeeda every day.

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.

4th Jeppiaar Basketball Tournament begins in Chennai today

Home town squads Southern Railway and IOB will be out to defend their crown against some of India's top clubs at the 4th Annual Jeppiaar All India Invitational Basketball Tournament for Men and Women in Chennai. A respected club basketball tournament, the Jeppiaar tournament is organized by the JIT Institute of Technology Basketball Club and will be held from May 26-31 at the college grounds near Sriperumpudur.

Elite teams from across the country will vie for honours for AP Baulraj Trophy for Men and Marcella Rolling Trophy for Women, along with grand cash prizes. Ten Men's teams and five Women's teams will take part:

Men: IOB (Chennai), Indian Air Force, Indian Army, Indian Navy, Income Tax, Jeppiaar Institute of Technology, ONGC, Punjab Police, KSEB, Sathyabama University.

Women: Central Railway, Western Railway, Southern Railway, KSEB, Chhattisgarh.

ONGC and Southern Railway win 2013 Ramu Memorial Basketball Tournament in Mumbai

India’s premier invitational basketball competition – the Ramu Memorial Basketball Tournament (RMBT) came to a conclusion in Mumbai on Sunday night with thrilling finales at the Indian Gymkhana basketball courts in Matunga. The 10-day long tournament, which featured India’s finest men and women players, as well as top youth players from the state of Maharashtra, concluded with victories for ONGC (Men), Southern Railway (Women) and Savio Club (Youth Boys).

The RMBT is one of the most prestigious basketball tournaments in the country. This was the 28th edition of the tournament, featuring participation from 11 teams from all across India in the Men’s and Women’s division and a further eight teams in the Youth (U21) tournament from Maharashtra.

In a hotly-contested Men’s final, ONGC (Uttarakhand) were made to sweat against IOB (Chennai), as the game went all the way down to the wire. While ONGC enjoyed a nine point lead at halftime, IOB stormed back in the third quarter and remained neck to neck with ONGC in the fourth till the final buzzer. Behind dominating performances by India internationals Yadwinder Singh (18 points) and Vishesh Bhriguvanshi (17), ONGC were able to maintain their lead and win the game 59-54. Pratham Singh (21) and Rikin Pethani (18 points, 10 rebounds) were the leading scorers for IOB.

The Women’s final, which pitted two of India’s finest sides in Southern Railway and Chhattisgarh against each other, turned out into a blowout in Railway’s favour. Southern Railway, who had been defeated by Chhattisgarh by one point in a thrilling group game earlier in the week, took revenge by jumping into an early 15-4 lead in the first quarter of the Final en route to an impressive 64-39 victory which retained them the RMBT title. Railways’ Anitha Pauldurai – who struggled with her shot all game – nevertheless ended up with 17 points and 9 rebounds to lead the way for her squad. R Rajpriya had 20 points and 6 rebounds.
Railways played without the presence of their legendary Center Geethu Anna Jose.

The Final of the Maharashtra Youth Boys Tournament was also held on Sunday and won by Savio Club, who used their considerable height advantage to slip dominate Mastan YMCA 86-54.

Vishesh Bhriguvanshi of ONGC won the Best Player trophy at the tournament.

Earlier on Saturday, ONGC defeated Indian Air Force 72-52 in the first Men’s Semi-Final led by Bhriguvanshi's efficient 27 points and lock-down defence on the other end. IOB played in a thrilling second final against Punjab which they won 79-75.

A ‘Skills Challenge’ – akin to the similar competition held at the NBA’s All Star Weekend – was also held on Saturday. Southern Railway’s Kokila (Women) and RCF’s Kapurthala’s Nikhil Chopra (Men) emerged as winners.

This year’s RMBT took a step further than any other basketball competition in India in terms of embracing technology in promoting their games across the country, and potentially, across the world. Although Ramu Memorial has always been an attractive destination for local fans to attend and watch India’s finest players in action, this year, the action was brought closer to home than ever for those following the championship from long-distance. Through effective use of Facebook, Twitter, and the RMBT website, fans were able to get instant updates and recaps of the action. The games were shown on DD Sports as usual, but this year, the tournament was even live-streamed on RMBT’s YouTube page.

2013 Ramu Memorial Basketball Tournament to tip off on April 14

One of India’s premier basketball competitions – the Ramu Memorial Basketball Tournament (RMBT) – is set to be launched again for this year’s edition at the Indian Gymkhana in Mathunga, Mumbai from April 14-21. The 28th edition of the tournament will feature 11 of India’s top state and club teams participating in the senior category for Men and Women combined. In addition, a Youth (U21) Development tournament featuring teams from Maharashtra will begin on April 12.

The RMBT is one of the most prestigious basketball tournaments in the country. It started off back in the 1960s as a small scale competition between the local teams. In the 70s, it mushroomed into an all India tournament. While it was discontinued for a few years between 1993-2005, it was revived in 2006 and has since firmly established itself as one of the top competitions for Indian basketball players and fans.

In the last edition of the championship, Western Railway (Men) and Southern Railway (Women) emerged as champions. Many of India’s top players are currently participating for their states and units in the National 3x3 Basketball Championship in New Delhi, and they will head straight to Mumbai for the Ramu Memorial trophy after the Delhi tournament ends on April 11th.

Western Railway and Southern Railway will both be back to defend their trophies. Hosts Maharashtra is also fielding teams in both Men’s and Women’s categories. The teams participating in the tournament this year are:

Women: Southern Railway, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra

Men

Pool A: ONGC, Punjab, RCF – Kapurthala, Karnataka.
Pool B: IOB Chennai, Western Railway, Maharashtra, Air Force.

In addition, here are the eight Maharashtra club teams taking part in the Youth (U21) Men’s Tournament:

Pool A: Savio Club, Mastan YMCA, Fr. Agnel’s.
Pool B: Indian Gymkhana, NNH, Ghatkopar YMCA.

Although dates are yet to be confirmed, a Dunk Contest and a Three-Point Shooting Competition will be held at the event on April 19-20. It was also recently announced that all games of the tournament will be streamed live on YouTube on the channel: RMBT Basketball. Check updates on the tournament's Facebook page closer to the tip off for more updates.

Stay updated with all the information regarding this tournament via it's official website.