Customs (Chennai) and KSEB (Thiruvanathapuram) win 2018 All India Basketball Tournaments in Coimbatore

The five-day invitational basketball tournaments in Coimbatore - Nachimuthu Gounder Cup for Men and 17th CRI Pumps Trophy for Women - came to a conclusion on Thursday, May 31, with victories for Customs (Chennai) and KSEB (Thiruvanathapuram) in the Men's and Women's tournaments respectively.

Top club teams from around India were invited for these prestigious tournaments, featuring eight Men's teams and and eight Women's teams. The tournaments were organised by the Coimbatore District Basketball Association (CBDA).

Customs beat Indian Railways 69-63 in the Men's final of this 53rd All-India Championship, led by Hari Ram (26).

In the women's section, KSEB beat Eastern Railway (Kolkata) 59-43 in the final.

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 Kerala Basketball Championship: Title for Ernakulum Men and Thiruvanthapuram Women

Although the 60th Kerala Senior State Basketball Championship for Men and Women started off with multiple contenders and exciting talent from across the spectrum of districts in the state, the conclusion of the 2015 edition of the tournament was much like how the tournament concluded one year ago. The championship ended on the evening of Tuesday, December 15, at Kanhangad with familiar faces raising the winners' trophy. With victories in their respective Finals, Ernakulum Men and Thiruvanathapuram Women repeated their feats from last year and retained their titles to be crowned champions of Kerala once again.

The championship was held at the Green Valley School in Kanhangad.

Anchored by three Senior Internationals - Jeena PS, Anjana PG and Stephy Nixon - Thiruvanathapuram defeated Palakkad 57-44 to retain the Women's title on Tuesday. Nixon scored 18 while Jeena added 17 for the winning side. Thiruvanathapuram led by 39-28 at halftime and held on to their lead in a defensive second half to secure the victory.

In the boys' final, spearheaded with the experience players from Customs and Central Excise in Kochi, Ernakulum defeated the young outfit of Kozhikode 54-38. Internationally-experienced player Basil Philip was the lead scorer in the game, pacing Ernakulum with 18.

In the bronze medal games earlier in the day, Thiruvanathapuram Men defeated Kottayam 46-32 to finish at third place. Thrissur Women were paced by Grima Merlin Varghese's 22 points en route to their 50-45 bronze medal victory over Kozhikode.

The Kerala State Basketball Association (KSBA) honoured the state's representatives to India's national teams in the 2015 calendar year, including coaches Sebastian PJ and Aju Jacob and players Jeena PS, Stephy Nixon, Anjana PG, Poojamol KS, Basil Philip, Muhammed Shiras and Joshua J George.

Thiruvanthapuram (Women) and Ernakulum (Men) retain their titles at 59th Kerala State Basketball Championship

After six days of intense basketball action at the 59th Kerala State Basketball Championship for Men and Women in Aluva, the cream rose to the top once again. On the tournament's exciting final day at Aluva's temporarily-built Carmel Club indoor stadium, the reigning champs from last year - Thiruvanathapuram (Women) and Ernakulum (Men) - both defended their crowns to lift the Kerala state titles.

Thiruvanathapuram's Women's side were led by Indian international Jeena PS as well as rising star Stephy Nixon. After last year's triumph, Thiruvanathapuram met familiar foes in the final once more - Palakkad - marking it the third consecutive year that these two teams had played each other in the tournament's finale. The match was evenly contested in the first quarter but Jeena (23) Grima Merlin Varghese (16) did enough to help Thiruvanathapuram pull away to a massive 47-24 lead. Thiruvanathapuram held on to their comfortable advantage, and despite a 16-point performance by Palakkad's Neenumol PS, went on to win the game 58-47.

The Men's final was also a rematch in it's third year running, between Ernakulum and Thiruvanathapuram, and Ernakulum were bidding to win the contest for the third year in a row. But unlike last year, this was no cakewalk for the holding champs. Boosted by their young talents like Arjun GK (18) and Umesh Krishnan (16), Thiruvanathapuram took an early lead and were up by 38-31 at halftime. But Ernakulum chipped away at the advantage in the second half and made a spectacular fourth quarter comeback to take the lead and secure a 69-62 victory for a three-peat of titles. Shinumon Augustine and Monish Wilson scored 18 and 16 points respectively to help Ernakulum in their triumph.

Thiruvanathapuram's duo of Jeena PS (Women) and Umesh Krishnan (Men) were adjudged to be the best players of the tournament and handed the P S Viswappan Gold Medal. The award of most promising player - named in memorial of P Paremeswaran Pillai - was handed to Thiruvanathapuram's Grima Merlin Varghese (Women) and Ernakulum's Nikhil KR (Men).

This year's Lifetime Achievement award name din honour of PC Thomas (former Coach, international referee, and technical officer of Kerala State Sports Council) was handed by the Kerala Basketball Association to PP Varghese, the secretary of the association, in recognition for his achievement in the field of basketball.

Earlier in the day, Thrissur had no problem dominating Ernakulum en route to a 48-29 victory and the bronze medal in the Women's division. The Men's bronze medal game was won by Kollam, who defeated Palakkad 58-38 behind 16 points each by Rahul Krishnan and SS Deepu. Palakkad's Shabu Kumar also added 16 in the loss.

The best performers of the championship will comprise of the state team to represent Kerala at India's Senior National Basketball Championship.

Kottayam (Boys) & Kozhikode (Girls) win 1st St Joseph's ABCA All Kerala Junior Basketball Tournament

The Amateur Basketball Coaches Association of Kerala (ABCA) organized the 1st ever St. Joseph's ABCA All Kerala Junior Basketball Tournament for boys and girls from April 5-7 at the Sacred Heart CMI Public School, Thevara, Ernakulam. Kottayam (Boys) and Kozhikode (Girls) won their respective finals on Monday, April 7, to lift the inaugural trophies.

Kottayam defeated Thiruvanathapuram 67-58 in the Boys' Final, despite a game-high 20 points by Prem Prakash for the losing side. In the Girls' game, Kozhikode completely dominated Kottayam for an easy 34-16 win.

Sugeeth Nath of Kottayam (Boys) and experienced youngster Elizabeth Hilarious of Kozhikode (Girls) were named the Best Players of the tournament. Amal Anto of Thiruvanthapuram (Boys) and rising star Poojamol KS of Kottayam (Girls) were named the Most Promising players of the tournament.

The winners in both sections received Rs. 5000 cash prize while the runners-up were handed Rs. 3000 each.

Ernakulum (Boys) and Kollam (Girls) finished at third place for their sections.

KSEB win 2014 Electricity Board Men's Basketball Tournament in Thiruvanathapuram

The Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) defended their home city of Thiruvanathapuram to lift the trophy at the 39th All India Electricity Sports Control Board Basketball Tournament for Men on Saturday, March 29th. The four day tournament was held at the Pattom, Vyduthi Bhavan Basketball court in Thiruvanathapuram, Kerala and brought together the best basketball teams from various electricity/power corporations around the country.

The Final was held between KSEB and the tournament's defending champions, the Punjab State Power Corporation. Albin Baby of KSEB erupted for a game high 37 points to ensure that his side maintained a commanding lead en route to their 93-76 victory. Ajeeth Sugunan chipped in with 20 points. Harprith Singh scored a team-high 19 points for the Punjabi squad.

KSEB employees who represented India at the national sports stage in the past year were honoured at halftime during the final, including basketball stars such as Jenna PS and Stephy Nixon.

Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Company won the bronze medal as Sivakumar scored 31 points to lead them for an easy 69-45 victory over the Haryana Power Sports Group. Sonu Malik scored 30 for the losing side.

Ernakulum (Men) & Thiruvanathapuram (Women) win 58th Kerala State Basketball Championship

After five days of exciting basketball action, the finale of the 58th Kerala State Basketball Championship came down to a few familiar faces. On December 8, the Sree Kerala Varma College in Thrissur hosted a repeat of both the Men's and Women's Finals from last year. In the Men's competition, Ernakulum repeated their triumph from last season by thumping Thiruvanathapuram en route to a 89-48 win. Thiruvanathapuram were able to save some face in the Women's division though, when last year's losing side defeated reigning champs Palakkad 71-54 to snatch the gold medals.

Teams from 14 districts from Kerala battled for the honors in the Men's section and 12 teams in the Women's division at the state championship. The tournament was organized by the Kerala Basketball Association under the auspices of the Thrissur District Basketball Association.

Thiruvanathapuram's Women's team - led by India internationals Jenna PS and Stephy Nixon - showed no trouble getting some revenge on last year's loss for their big victory. Jeena was fearless throughout, leading the way with 37 points. Neenumol PS and Liji Mol of Palakkad added 18 and 17 points respectively in the loss.

An onslaught of offense led by Abhilash (27) and Monish Wilson (20) led Ernakulum to a repeat title victory over Thiruvanathapuram, who were paced by Vijobi Vakkachan's 19 points.

Earlier in the day, Kannur's Women side secured third place in the championship with a close win over Kottayam, 68-63. Premi P. Lal had an impressive 32 point outing for the victors, while Kottayam were led by young star Poojamol KS (19) and Minnu Marium (17). In the high-scoring men's third-place game, Pathanamthitta - led by Nicewin M (28) and Edwin Irvin (19) - outlasted Kottayam to score a 86-78 win. Akhil Mathew Sunny had a strong 30 point outing for the losing side.

The best performers of the championship will comprise of the state team to represent Kerala at India's Senior National Basketball Championship, slated for February 2014.

IOB & South Western Railway win 1st Midhun Markose All India Basketball Tournament in Thiruvanathapuram

IOB (Chennai) Men and South Western Railway (Hubli) Women won their respective Finals matchups and took home the trophy at the end of the 1st Midhun Markose TDBA All India Basketball Tournament, held in Thiruvanathapuram (Kerala) from August 4-9. The finals were held on Friday, August 9 at the Central Stadium in the city.

The Men's final was a close contest as Vijaya Bank (Bangalore) led IOB 32-29 at halftime, but IOB made a comeback in the second half behind 19 points by A. Aravind to win 68-63. Vijaya Bank had their own Aravind who added 21 points in a losing cause.

In the Women's final, the eventual winners found themselves in a similar predicament midway. Hubli's South Western Railway trailed 28-19 at halftime to KSEB, but turned the score around in a thrilling finish to inch away to a 63-60 win. Savitha LS scored 24 points for the winning side eclipsing 19 points by KSEB's Merlin Baby.

Actress Gouthami Nair and international footballer Joe Paul Archery were amongst the celebrities attending the Finals.

Customs and Central Excise took the third spot as they defeated Indian Army 88-64 after leading 44-36 at the half time. Customs which had lost to Indian Army in the League round thus avenged their defeat as it worked today as an cohesive unit with 6 of them scoring in double digits. Gopal Ram had 19 points for Indian Army in the loss while Suresh Kumar added 16.

Thiruvanathapuram to host 1st Midhun Markose All India Basketball Tournament

"God's Own Country", India's southern state of Kerala, has long been known for being a hotbed for basketball, featuring some of the country's finest players and basketball tournaments. Yet, it took 13 years for an All India club tournament to return to the state's capital and largest city, Thiruvanathapuram. Starting from Sunday, August 4th, that wait will be over. The Thiruvanathapuram District Basketball Association (TDBA) will launch the first ever Midhun Markose TDBA All India Basketball Tournament for Men & Women at the Central Stadium in the city. The tournament, featuring seven Men's teams and four women's teams from across the nation, will be held from August 4-9.

Kerala's Minister of Health VS Sivakumar will be present as a special guest on the opening day of the matches to greet the players.

Here is the list of participating teams:

Men

Group A: Indian Overseas Bank (Chennai), Vijaya Bank (Bangalore), Kerala Police (Thiruvanathapuram).
Group B: Indian Army, Customs & Central Excise (Kochi), KSEB (Thiruvanathapuram), Mar Baselios College of Engineering (Thiruvanathapuram).

Women: KSEB (Thiruvanathapuram), Kerala Police, Central Railway (Mumbai), South Western Railway (Hubli).

Although many of India's top male players are currently in Manila with the national team for the 2013 FIBA Asia Championship, the tournament in Thiruvanathapuram should feature enough star power amongst the remaining male and female players.

The championship will reward a total prize money of Rs. 1.5 lakhs.

Ernakulum (Men) & Palakkad (Women) win 57th Kerala State Basketball Championship

Riding on with their newly recruited players from Kerala Police, the Palakkad Women's team took their first ever Gold at the 57th Kerala State Senior Basketball Championship at the Govt Higher Secondary school at Manjeri. Ernakulum Men dethroned defending Champion Thiruvanthapuram to take the Men's title.

In an exciting final Palakkad took their maiden title as they beat Thiruvanthapuram, who were represented by members of Kerala State Electricity Board, 57-51. Neenumol PS and Surya PR top scored with 18 points each for the winners.

In the Men's battle, Ernakulum - comprised of players from Central Excise, Kochi - had to fight hard to beat Thiruvanthapuram 66-54. Ernakulum had a close 33-29 lead at half time. Monish Wilson came up with 17 points for the winners. Eudric Pereira had 15 points for Thiruvanthapuram.

In the Women's 3/4th place game, Kannur Defeated Thrissur 66-40 with their prolific scorer Jeena PS scoring 35 points. Pathanamthitta Men took the third spot after defeating Kollam 69-48.

The Kerala Basketball Association felicitated the members and coaches of Kerala teams which won the titles in the National school Games and National Youth Championship.

Awards were also distributed to individual players from the State rewarding their performances through the year. Eudrick Pereira and Neenumol PS won the P S Viswappan Memorial Gold Medal for the best player. Basil Phillip and Poojamol KS were given the Parmeswaran Pillai Memorial Cash award.

57th Kerala State Basketball Championship to tip off in Manjeri on Tuesday

14 Men's teams and 12 Women's teams will make up for large contingent of competitors who are set to take part in the 57th Kerala State Basketball Championship in the city of Manjeri in Malappuram District, Kerala, from December 4-9, 2012. The championship, which is being held at the Govt. Boys Higher Secondary School in the city, is being organised by the Kerala Basketball Association under the auspices of Malappuram District Basketball Association.

The tournament is being held in preparation for India's Senior National Basketball Championship, slated to held in Ludhiana, Punjab, in the end of December. Kerala's team for the Senior Nationals will be chosen based on their performance at this tournament.

This 6 day Championship will features 47 matches, which are scheduled to be played on a league and knockout basis.

A ‘Referees Clinic’ will be set up to familiarise the players with the newly implemented laws for the championship. International Referee Fr. Philips Vadakeekalam, Chairman of Technical Commission (Kerala), will lead the clinic on the venue from 1 PM on December 4th the opening day. This will be followed by a test for aspiring Referees on 6th December.

Thiruvanathapuram (Men) and Kannur (Women) are the defending Champions of this tournament. India's international stars Basil Phillip, Eudrick Perreira, and Jeena PS can be expected to take part in the championship.

Groupings

Men

• Group A: Thiruvanathapuram, Trissur, Alapuzha, Kozhikode
• Group B: Ernakulum, Pathanamthitta, Kollam, Kannur
• Group C: Palakkad, Idukki, Wayanad
• Group D: Kottayam, Malappuram, Kasargod

Women

• Group A: Kannur, Trissur, Malappuram
• Group B: Thiruvanathapuram, Alapuzha, Kozhikode
• Group C: Ernakulum, Kollam, Wayanad
• Group D: Palakkad, Kottayam, Kasargod

Thiruvanathapuram Men & Kannur Women win the Kerala State Basketball Championship

Reigning Champions Thiruvanthapuram had mixed luck at the 56th Kerala Senior State Basketball Championship in Wayanad on Friday: Thiruvanathapuram Men defeated Ernakulum 62-59 to win the final, while the younger Kannur outfit defeated Thiruvanathapuram's experienced women's side 67-48 to lift the women's title.

With 21 points, Ajeeth Sugunan was the high-man in the Men's final for Thirvanathpuram in the close final. Manoj R added 16 to keep his Ernakulum side in the race for the title till the very end.

In the Women's final, young star PS Neenumol had 20 points for the winning Kannur side, cancelling out 16 by SS Anjanna of Thiruvanathpuram.

Thiruvanathapuram's Men had qualified for the final showcase after rushing past Thrissur in their semi-final match-up. Ernakulum had defeated Pathanamthitta in their semi. Earlier in the Women's Semi-Finals Kannur defeated Kollam while Thiruvanthapuram defeated Kottayam.

Pathanamthitta Men and Kollam Women took the Bronze medals at the championship, as Pathanamthitta beat Thrissur (49-34) and Kollam beat Kottayam (63-51) in their respective third/fourth place games.

Final Scores

Men: Thiruvanthapuram (Ajeeth Sugunan 21, Vijbivakkachan 14) 60 bt. Ernkuluum (Manoj R 16) 55.

Women: Kannur (PS Neenumol 20, PR Surya 14, Jeena PS 13) 68 bt. Thiruvanathapuram (SS Anjanna 16, Seena Joseph 14) 47.

Kerala's young starlets honoured

Kerala's youth and junior girls have had a memorable year in hoops, becoming a powerhouse. in women's basketball in the country. Earlier in the Kerala State Championship, Kerala's winning teams in several annual national-level basketball championships were felicitated at the tournament in Wayanad.

In the past year, Kerala's Under 17 Girls team won the School National Championship in Rajasthan, Kerala U18 Girls' team went undefeated to win the Junior National Championship in New Delhi, and Kerala's U16 (Youth) side won the Youth National Championship in Nagpur.

Perhaps the most talented amongst the youngsters in the past year was 17-year-old Jeena PS. Hailing from Padinjarathara, in the Wayanad District of Kerala, the five-foot-ten inch post player has been the chief force behind Kerala’s recent success in the Youth and the Junior level. Jeena was part of the side that won both the Youth and the Junior championships last year, and was the best player at this year’s Junior Nationals as Kerala won the tournament again. She is one of the best Junior rebounders in India, and holds her own when playing with the Seniors, too. Jeena also represented India in the first ever FIBA 3x3 Championship in Rimini in Italy. In the Junior Nationals, Jeena scored a high of 40 points in the first game against Punjab. She had 33 points and 29 rebounds in an emotional, overttime Semi-Final win against Chhattisgarh, and notched 17 points and 17 rebounds in the Final win against Tamil Nadu. Over the course of the tournament, she averaged 24.3 points per game.

Another young star for Kerala is Poojamol KS, 15, who is quickly becoming the young face of Kerala hoops. Pooja is a versatile, do-it-all player, as capable of running the break on offense as she is of grabbing crucial offensive rebounds in the post. She was the best player in the Nagpur Youth Nationals, topping her performance with 40 points and 13 rebounds in the final. As a younger member in the Junior squad, she was still good enough to play a starring role in the team’s starting five. She also grabbed the 'Best Player' award at the School Nationals.

Besides these two, Kerala’s Junior side boasts of several other extraordinary young talents, such as Elizabeth Hillarios, Premi P Lal, Surya PR, Anjana PG and Aswathy S Thampy.

The Coaches who helped these teams were also Felicitated Coach Jose Philip, Jijon Paul and Biju D Themman.

Mahindra NBA Challenge to tip off in Thiruvanathapuram for first-time ever

The Mahindra NBA Challenge, the largest, multi-city, community-based basketball league in India, is tipping off in Thiruvanathapuram for the first time on Sept. 3. This will mark the NBA’s first event in the state of Kerala and as part of the league’s commitment to grow the sport of basketball in the country.

The Mahindra NBA Challenge, conducted in collaboration with the Basketball Federation of India (BFI), the Kerela Basketball Association, and the Thiruvanathapuram District Basketball Association will run for eight weeks culminating on October 16.

Thiruvanathapuram is the fifth and final city participating in season two of the program following leagues held in Bangalore, Delhi, Ludhiana and Mumbai. Participation has increased by 30% from the inaugural season in 2010 with more than 6,000 participants.

Approximately 100 teams will participate in Thiruvanathapuram across four divisions: sub-junior for ages 12 to 13, youth for ages 14 to16, and junior for ages 16 to 18 and adults 19 and over.

Thiruvanathapuram, and the state of Kerala, are a natural choice for the NBA and for the basketball programme to head for next: Kerala has amongst the most fervent and well-organised hoops cultures in India. It is the state that has nursed some great Indian players, including Geethu Anna Jose, the first Indian player to be offered a trial with WNBA teams. Dozens of school competitions are already held annually in the state. A few months ago, the Director of Basketball Operations of NBA-India Troy Justice held camps for coaches and players in Thiruvanathapuram.

The Mahindra NBA Challenge will provide NBA-style basketball training in a fun environment and offer players the chance to compete against each other at the Central Stadium.

The league will culminate with a weekend-long celebration of basketball from October 14 to 16 that will feature an all-star game, semi-finals and finals. The event will engage the community with NBA-style entertainment, musical and dance performances and on-court basketball contests where fans can win exciting prizes.

The inaugural Mahindra NBA Challenge, held from April 2010 to September 2010, included leagues in Mumbai, Ludhiana, and Bangalore and attracted thousands of participants, including members of India’s Men’s and Women’s National Basketball Team. For more information please visit www.facebook.com/mahindranbachallenge.