Hoopdarshan Episode 88: Kobe Bryant + India's internationally-acclaimed FIBA official, Norman Isaac

We start off this episode with a lengthy discussion on life, legacy, and untimely death of the late, great Kobe Bryant.

In episode 88 of Hoopdarshan, we welcome Norman Isaac, India's own FIBA Technical Delegate and Commissioner who has officiated high-level international matches for decades, including the recent FIBA World Cup Final in Beijing. Isaac speaks to co-hosts Kaushik Lakshman and Karan Madhok about working a big event like the World Cup, the evolution of international basketball officiating over the years, how to improve the status of Indian basketball, and his own playing days for Andhra Pradesh.

In 2017, Isaac became the first-ever Indian to be named a FIBA Technical Delegate. He has served as FIBA Commissioner in numerous international basketball events, including the World Cup, FIBA Qualifiers and the FIBA Asia Cup. Originally from Hyderabad, he has been a referee for nearly 20 years and was appointment as chairman of BFI’s Technical Commission in 2015.



Hoopdarshan is the truest voice of Indian basketball, and since we're such hopeless fans of the game, it will become the voice of everything basketball related we love, from the NBA to international hoops, too. On every episode of Hoopdarshan, we will be inviting a special guest to interview or chat to about a variety of topics. With expert insight from some of the brightest and most-involved people in the world of Indian basketball, we hope to bring this conversation to a many more interested fans, players, and followers of the game.

Make sure to follow Hoopdarshan on Soundcloud or search for 'Hoopdarshan' on the iTunes Store! Auto-sync Hoopdarshan to your preferred podcast app NOW!

Hoopdarshan can be found on...

• - iTunes: Hoopdarshan 
• - Hoopdarshan on Soundcloud 
• - On Twitter: @Hoopdarshan 
• - Facebook.com/Hoopdarshan 

Hoopdarshan Episode 41: BFI's Himamshu Dabir on the rising stars of Indian basketball

Last week, India's largest domestic basketball tournament - the Senior Nationals - concluded in Puducherry, giving fans and scouts a taste of the best talent from around the country. To give us an informed discussion about the rising stars in Indian basketball, the Hoopdarshan podcast called up Himamshu Dabir, the chief of basketball operations for the Basketball Federation of India (BFI), to join us for Episode 41. Dabir shared his expertise with hosts Kaushik Lakshman and Karan Madhok on the most intriguing teams and players from the Senior Nationals, the future names and events to look forward to in Indian basketball, and on India's biggest need: the point guard position.

Dabir, an Indian-American born in Syracuse (New York), has been working with the BFI since 2012 and has been intimately involved with the growth of grassroots basketball programmes around India and assisting with the development of India's national basketball teams.



Hoopdarshan is the truest voice of Indian basketball, and since we're such hopeless fans of the game, it will become the voice of everything basketball related we love, from the NBA to international hoops, too. On every episode of Hoopdarshan, we will be inviting a special guest to interview or chat to about a variety of topics. With expert insight from some of the brightest and most-involved people in the world of Indian basketball, we hope to bring this conversation to a many more interested fans, players, and followers of the game.

Make sure to follow Hoopdarshan on Soundcloud or search for 'Hoopdarshan' on the iTunes Store! Auto-sync Hoopdarshan to your preferred podcast app NOW!

Hoopdarshan can be found on...

• - iTunes: Hoopdarshan 
• - Hoopdarshan on Soundcloud 
• - On Twitter: @Hoopdarshan 
• - Facebook.com/Hoopdarshan 

Uttarakhand Men and Kerala Women become 2017 National Basketball champions in Puducherry

In the largest and finest annual collection of Indian basketball talent, only the most toughest survive to reach the pinnacle, to gain the prestigious honour of being called 'National Champions'. At the 67th Senior National Basketball Championship for Men and Women - the 'Senior Nationals' - in Puducherry, a couple of wounded predators got their retribution. Uttarakhand (Men) and Kerala (Women) - both runners-up from the tournament in 2016 - found their salvation in Puducherry by winning the Finals of the Senior Nationals on Saturday, January 14.

The 2017 Senior Nationals tipped off on Friday, January 7th at the Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium in Puducherry. The championship was being organised by the Puducherry Basketball Association under the aegis of the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) and featured over 50 total men and women's teams from states and units across India.

The women's final pitted 2016 runners-up Kerala against the upstart team from Telangana, who had upset the mighty Indian Railways in the semi-finals and made it this far for the first time in their history as an independent state. Known for producing some of the best women's basketball talent in India, Kerala as a state had come short for over three decades at the Senior Nationals. When Telangana got off to a strong start on Saturday, leading 34-26 at halftime, it seemed that Kerala's misery would be stretched even longer. It took until the crucial fourth quarter for Kerala to bounce back, as they slowed the game down to a grind and began to dominate proceedings. Kerala outscored their opponents 22-8 in the final period On Saturday, and finally broke their 32-year curse to win the Senior Nationals gold with a 68-59 victory. Rising international star Jeena Scaria led Kerala with 20 while M. Gayatri scored 16 for Telangana in the loss.

The men's final pitted familiar foes and two heavyweights of Indian basketball - Uttarakhand and Tamil Nadu - against each other. Both teams had faced off in one form or another, including as ONGC and IOB, several times in big finals in recent years. Last year, Uttarakhand had bounced back from a 20-point deficit to beat TN in the Semi-Final, only to lose to Services in the final game. This year, TN, backed by nearby home support in Puducherry, hoped for a different outcome. But the result was decided chiefly on the talents of one exceptional superstar: Uttarakhand's and India's talented big man Amritpal Singh. TN had no answers for Amritpal, who scored 34 and caused havoc in the post all night. The two teams traded big runs back and forth in the first two quarters, but it was Uttarakhand who had the final word, finishing 23-16 in the fourth period to secure a 68-60 victory and their third national title in five years.

Kiran Bedi, the Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry, was the chief guest for the women’s finals between Kerala and Telangana, and distributed the trophies, medals and cash prizes. V Narayanasamy, Chief Minister of Puducherry, was the chief guest for the men’s finals between Uttarakhand and Tamil Nadu. In both men and women sections, the winning team received a cash prize of Rs 2,00,000/-, the first runners up Rs 1,00,000/- and the second runners up were awarded Rs 50,000/-.

A felicitation ceremony was also held for the Indian national men’s squad which finished a historic 7th at the 2016 FIBA Asia Challenge (in Iran in September) and won a bronze medal at the 21st Super Kung Sheung Cup 2016 (in Hong Kong in December). The FIBA Asia Challenge squad won a total cash prize of Rs 5,00,000/-, while the Hong Kong contingent received Rs 1,45,000/-.

Earlier on Saturday, the third/fourth place matches were held to determine the bronze medalists in each division. The Women's bronze medal was won by Indian Railways, who survived despite a semi-final injury to their veteran Anitha Pauldurai to defeat Chhattisgarh 84-77. Navaneetha PU (21) and Sruthi Menon (16) led the way for Railways, overcoming another big game by Chhattisgarh's giant center Poonam Chaturvedi (31). The Men's game was a fun matchup between Punjab and the surprising semi-finalists from Rajasthan. Punjab relied on the explosiveness of point guard Talwinderjit Singh 'TJ' Sahi (21) plus contributions by Rajveer Singh (18) and Gurvinder Singh Gill (16) to win 88-70. Vinod Kumar (22) and Sharad Dadhich (18) led the way for Rajasthan in the loss.

The BFI's President K. Govindraj also made several important announcements to the press on the day of the Finals in Puducherry. The big news was that India is setting up to host two major FIBA Asia tournaments this year: the Women's FIBA Asia Championship in Bengaluru, tentatively scheduled for September, and the FIBA Asia U16 Championship for Women, for which a city hadn't been decided yet.

The tournament concluded on Saturday with one major omission: Services. After some troubles between the federation and the units, it seemed that Services and Indian Railways had found a solution with the BFI to attend the Senior Nationals. Railways eventually attended, but Services - who won the 2016 Men's gold at the Senior Nationals - were last-minute absentees.

Final Results

• Women: Kerala (Jeena Scaria 20) bt. Telangana (M. Gayatri 16, Ramya R. 15) 68-59 [14-19, 12-15, 20-17, 22-8].
• Men: Uttarakhand (Amritpal Singh 34) bt. Tamil Nadu 68-60 (23-9, 5-24, 15-13, 25-16).

Third/Fourth Place

• Women: Indian Railways (Navaneetha PU 21, Sruthi Menon 16, Madhu Kumar 15) bt. Chhattisgarh (Poonam Chaturvedi 31, Sangeeta Kaur 13) 84-77 (25-18, 17-15, 25-14, 17-30).
• Men: Punjab (Talwinderjit Singh Sahi 21, Rajveer Singh 18, Gurvinder Singh Gill 16, Arshpreet Singh Bhullar 14) bt. Rajasthan (Vinod Kumar 22, Sharad Dadhich 18, Mohamad 13) 88-70 (22-22, 23-9, 18-17, 25-22).

Final Standings

Women

• 1. Kerala
• 2. Telangana
• 3. Indian Railways
• 4. Chhattisgarh
• 5. Tamil Nadu

Men

• 1. Uttarakhand
• 2. Tamil Nadu
• 3. Punjab
• 4. Rajasthan
• 5. Kerala

India's Sub-Junior National trophies retained by Madhya Pradesh (Boys) and Chhattisgarh (Girls) in Hyderabad

The best continued to get better. It was a familiar conclusion at the end of the 43rd Sub-Junior National Basketball Championship for Boys and Girls on the afternoon of Friday, October 7 in Hyderabad, as the reigning champions in both the boys' and girls' divisions - Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh respectively - won their final matches to retain their trophies. For MP, there was added cause for celebration as this gave them their third consecutive title as the best of the 'mini' age group.

The Sub-Junior Nationals featured India's finest under-14 basketball talent from around the country. The week-long tournament, tipping off on October 1, was held at the Sports Authority of Telangana (SATS) Indoor Stadium in Saroornagar. A total of 47 combined teams in the two divisions representing states from all over India too part. The tournament was organised by the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) and the Telengana Basketball Association (TBA) and sponsored by Arise Steel.

The girls' final on Friday pitted the last two winners of the trophy, Kerala and Chhattisgarh, to compete for the best sub-junior team in the nation. The game lived up to its billing with both teams sticking close to each other till the final minutes. Chhattisgarh caught fire at the right time in the final quarter to eventually create some separation and head to a 57-48 victory. Kirti (20) and Urvashi Baghel (16) led the scoring charge for the winning side, while Ann Mary Zachariah led Kerala with 19. The gold was the hundredth medal in a national basketball competition for Chhattisgarh's legendary head coach Rajesh Patel.

The men's finalists featured Madhya Pradhesh - with an asterisk. This was technically the 'BFI-MP' team, an independent squad of players from MP given one-time approval by the BFI to take part in this tournament under the 'MP' banner. This technicality surely arose from the differing loyalties of the state federations after the break-up of the BFI last year. MP faced Rajasthan, one of the top teams in the tournament, in a promising final clash. It turned out to be a topsy-turvy contests of crazy runs. After holding Rajasthan down to just six points in the first quarter, MP saw their opponents explode for 37 in the second. At halftime, Rajasthan held on to a 43-31 lead. But MP bounced back in the third to take a one-point advantage, and held on in a close finale to win 69-66. Virat Dhakad scored 19 for MP in the win, while Rajasthan were led by their star player Mahaveer Banjara (29).

Earlier in the day, Tamil Nadu girls blew past Maharashtra after a close first quarter to win their bronze-medal encounter 70-50. The undeniable trio of Nitika A (19), Sathya K 19, and Varshini J (18) were the leading scorers for TN. Siya Deodhar led Maharashtra with 18 in the loss. The boys' third-place game was won by Haryana, who disappointed cheering home fans to defeat Andhra Pradesh comfortably, 73-42. Gourav led Haryana with 19 in the victory.

P Niranjan Reddy, the vice Chairman of Telangana Government Planning Commission distributed the winning boys’ medals and trophy. Aadhav Arjuna, Managing Director of Arise Steel Industries was the special guest for the second day running. Also seen distributing the trophies and medals were Chander Mukhi Sharma, Secretary-General of Basketball Federation of India, M Rajender Reddy, President, Telangana Basketball Association, R Sridhar Reddy, President, Organising Committee (and also President of the Hyderabad District Basketball Association) and other dignitaries.

The semi-finals of the tournament was held on Thursday. In the first girls' semi, Chhattisgarh took a sizable 20-6 lead in the first quarter over Maharashtra, and for the rest of the game, fought back all the comeback attempts from their opponents to hold on to an eventual 51-45 win. Khushboo Gupta wrecked havoc for Chhattisgarh with a game-high 19 points. The second girls' semi-final was a classic back-and-forth battle between two neighbouring southern states: Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Kerala fought back from an early disadvantage with a game-changing second-quarter run. The two teams fought back and forth in the second half, and Kerala held on to to win the close game, 66-62. Ann Mary Zachariah (21) and Gouri (17) led the way for Kerala, while Sathya K poured in 29 points in a losing effort for TN.

Haryana started off their boys' semi-final clash against MP in high spirits, running off to a 18-9 early lead. But led by Sachindra Sharma (23), MP charted a patient comeback, eventually taking the lead by the third quarter, and then extending their advantage to hold on to a 66-54 win by the end. Depender scored 17 for Haryana in the loss. The last game of Thursday was a blowout semi-final victory for Rajasthan over Andhra Pradesh. The game was tied at 12-all at the end of the first quarter, but it was all Rajasthan after that. The duo of Seikh Saifali (32) and Mahaveer Banjara (24) were unstoppable as Rajasthan cruised to a 95-65 win. Shaik Ahmed Alisha scored 20 for AP.

Final Scores

• Girls: Chhattisgarh (Kirti 20, Urvashi Baghel 16) bt Kerala (Ann Mary Zachariah 19) 57-48 (18-16, 19-15, 8-11, 12-6).
• Boys: Madhya Pradesh (Virat Dhakad 19, Aman Negi 13) bt Rajasthan (Mahaveer Banjara 29) 69-66 (14-6, 17-37, 24-11, 14-12).

Bronze Medal Games

• Girls: Tamil Nadu (Nitika A 19, Sathya K 19, Varshini J 18) bt Maharashtra (Siya Deodhar 18, Chaitaali Bafna 14) 70-50 (16-14, 14-7, 27-16, 13-13)
• Boys: Haryana (Gourav 19) bt Andhra Pradesh 73-42 (17-6, 25-10, 12-19, 19-7).

Final Standings

Girls

• 1. Chhattisgarh
• 2. Kerala
• 3. Tamil Nadu
• 4. Maharashtra
• 5. Rajasthan

Boys

• 1. Madhya Pradesh
• 2. Rajasthan
• 3. Haryana
• 4. Andhra Pradesh
• 5. Telangana

43rd Sub-Junior National Basketball Championship to tip off in Hyderabad on Saturday

Telangana might be India's "newest" state politically, but the region, as part of Andhra Pradesh has long been one of simmering hotbeds of Indian basketball. Now, the relatively-new Telangana Basketball Association (TBA) get a chance to showcase their refreshed strength: tipping off on Saturday, October 1, the TBA and the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) will host the 43rd Sub-Junior National Basketball Championship for Boys and Girls in Hyderabad. The week-long tournament will be held at the Sports Authority of Telangana (SATS) Indoor Stadium in Saroornagar until October 7th.

The Sub-Junior Nationals, sponsored this year by Arise Steel are India's youngest ational basketball tournament and are popularly referred to as the "Minis". Featuring players of the under-14 age group, this year a total of 47 combined teams in both the boys' and girls' divisions representing states from all over India will be taking part.

This will be the first National level basketball tournament in Hyderabad in 13 years. As many as 22 matches per day will be played on a league cum knockout basis inside the two indoor courts within the stadium complex. While the Championship will tip off on the morning of 1st October itself, the opening ceremony will be held later in the afternoon from 4 pm onwards. Bandaru Dattatraya, Union Minister for Labour and Employment will be the chief guest of the occasion. Other guests of honour will be G Kishan Reddy (MLA and Floor Leader, BJLP Telangana), A Dinakar Babu (IAS, Vice Chairman & Managing Director, Sports Authority of Telangana) and Aadhav Arjuna, Managing Director, Arise Industries and Agency Private Ltd.

Madhya Pradesh (Boys) and Chhattisgarh (Girls) are the defending champions of this tournament from the 42nd edition held in Puducherry earlier this February. Other teams to watch out for this year will include Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh in the boys' division while Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, and Maharashtra among the girls. Both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, states that share Hyderabad as their capital, will be looking for home support to propel themselves higher this week.

Participating teams in the 43rd Sub-Junior National Basketball Championship

Boys

• Group A: Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Kerala
• Group B: Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Haryana, Karnataka
• Group C: Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir
• Group D: West Bengal, Gujarat, Jharkhand
• Group E: Punjab, Goa, Puducherry, Uttarakhand
• Group F: Bihar, Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Telangana

Girls

• Group A: Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Haryana, Rajasthan
• Group B: Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, Telangana
• Group C: Delhi, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh
• Group D: West Bengal, Goa, Jammu and Kashmir
• Group E: Punjab, Bihar, Jharkhand
• Group F: Chandigarh, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Uttarakhand

You can find the full schedule of games along with technical information via the Basketball Federation of India here.

One unique rule only for the Sub-Junior level is that no player can play for more than three quarters in a game, and 10 out of 12 members in each team must play for at least 10 minutes in each match. This rule is to ensure competitive exposure to maximum number of players.

"I would like to thank our title sponsors Arise Steel for making this event possible, and for their continued patronage towards Indian basketball. The stadium is fully ready and we have arranged for accommodation, travel and food for all the participating teams and officials," said Mr Norman Isaac, BFI executive committee member and General Secretary of the TBA.

2016 Federation Cup: Kerala Women rise to the top; ONGC Men make it a four-peat

At Goa, the best in Indian basketball clashed against the best. The top performing state/unit teams from around the country came together for the competition of the elites, the 30th Federation Cup Basketball Championship for Men and Women. After six daysT of high-quality basketball performances, age-old rivals met up in Finals on Monday, March 14, at the Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Indoor Stadium at Goa University in Teleigao. The two finals were settled when the young Kerala Women's squad leaped up to defeat Chhattisgarh and Dehradun's ONGC made it four gold medals in a row with a defeat of IOB.

The 2016 Federation Cup was organized by the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) and the Goa Basketball Association (GBA) from March 9-14. The annual tournament generally features the Champion District/Unit/Club from the top eight teams of the previous year's Senior National Championship in the Men's section, and the top eight state teams from the previous Senior National Championship in the Women's section. This year, hosts Goa added their units/state teams to the competition fray as well.

Old foes ONGC (Dehradun) and Indian Overseas Bank, Chennai (IOB) met once again in a final at the national stage. The two best Men's club teams in India have been sharing honours for the past several years, and defending champs ONGC were now looking for their fourth final win in a row following last year's gold medal in Pune. ONGC blazed ahead to an unbelievably hot start, leading IOB 27-5 after the first quarter alone. The quarter break provided the perfect tonic to IOB's woes, who stormed back to make the game competitive again at halftime, with ONGC leading just 31-26. With the game hanging in the balance until the final period, ONGC blew the game wide open by capitalizing on their opponent's offensive struggles to secure a 73-57 win. Team India veterans Vishesh Bhriguvanshi (20) and Yadwinder Singh (17) led the way for the winning side. International star Pratham Singh scored 25 for IOB in the loss.

The Women's final was also a captivating affair, featuring the young and star-studded Kerala squad taking on the current established powers of Chhattisgarh. Chhattisgarh's biggest strength was in Poonam Chaturvedi, their 6-foot-9 center who is India's tallest female basketball player. Chaturvedi had been unstoppable throughout the course of the tournament, and continued her dominant streak with 33 points and 11 rebounds in the final. But Kerala's speed and hot shooting had brought them this far, and gave them confidence to take an early lead in the final. At halftime, Kerala led 43-41, but it was their big third-quarter push that finally settled the game. Kerala outscored Chhattisgarh 22-15 in the third, and were able to maintain their advantage through the final period to secure a 80-71 win. The talented Keralite trio of Stephy Nixon (26), Jeena PS (22), and Neenumol PS (21) led the way in the win. Sharanjeet Kaur of Chhattisgarh added 21 in her team's losing effort.

ONGC's Vishesh Bhriguvanshi and Chhattisgarh's Poonam Chaturvedi were named MVPs of the tournament.

The BFI also befittingly chose the finale of the Federation Cup to felicitate yesteryear Senior India basketball legends. The players felicitated were Hanuman Singh (Arjuna Awardee), Hanif Patel, Mohammed Rizwan, Dilip Murthy, Siraj Ahmed (all former India men's players), Ajay Sud (Vice President-BFI), K Govindaraj (President-BFI), SK Kataria, Abbas Moontasir (both Arjuna Awardees), Sat Prakash Yadav (current head coach of the Indian men's team and former India men's player), Reginald Rajan (former India player) and Parminder Singh (Arjuna Awardee).

Earlier in the day, Telangana won third place defeating the South-Eastern Central Railways (SECR) Bilaspur Women 65-56. Telangana were led by M. Gayathri’s 20 points and P. Divya’s 18 points, while Seema Singh scored 26 points to go with 15 rebounds for SECR. In the men’s third place match, Army Red edged past Vijaya Bank, Bengaluru to clinch the bronze medal. Karnataka guard Mayur Bhat had 23 points and Jai Ram Jat added 16 in Army’s victory, while Vijaya Bank forward Arvind Arumugam had 25 points in the losing effort.

Final Scores

• Women: Kerala (Stephy Nixon 26, Jeena PS 22, Neenumol PS 21) bt Chhattisgarh (Poonam Chaturvedi 33, Sharanjeet Kaur 21) 80-71 (23-17, 20-24, 22-15, 15-15).
• Men: ONGC (Vishesh Bhrighuvanshi 20, Yadwinder Singh 17, Trideep Rai 15) bt. IOB (Pratham Singh 25, Aravind Annadurai 13) 73-57 (27-5, 4-21, 20-21, 22-10).

Bronze Medal Matches

• Telangana (M. Gayathri 20, P. Divya 18) bt SECR (Seema Singh 26) 65-56 (11-10, 22-8, 20-17, 12-21).
• Army Red (Mayur Bhat 23, Jai Ram Jat 16, Vivekananda Das 14) bt Vijaya Bank (Arvind Arumugam 25, Rajesh Uppar 14, M. Navin 13pts) 76-66 (22-19, 17-16, 15-15, 22-16)

Final Standings

Women

• 1. Kerala
• 2. Chhattisgarh
• 3. Telangana

Men

• 1. ONGC
• 2. IOB
• 3. Army Red

2016 National Basketball Championship crowns India's finest in Mysuru: Services (Men) and Indian Railways (Women)

Let's call 2016 the year of redemption in Indian Basketball, when the past greats returned to the top of the mountain and rejoiced in glory once again. For the past eight days, Mysuru (Karnataka) became the heartbeat of hoops in India, hosting the country's largest and most-prestigious basketball event, the 66th Senior National Basketball Championship for Men and Women. Over 53 combined teams in the Men and Women divisions participated, and after two high-flying finals on Saturday, January 16th, Indian Railways (Women) and Services (Men) emerged as national champions.

The 'Senior Nationals'- organized by Karnataka State Basketball Association (KSBBA) under the aegis of the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) - tipped off at the Chamundi Vihar Stadium Complex in the city on Saturday.The championship returned to Mysuru after a gap of 29 years. 29 men’s teams and 24 women’s teams representing most of India's states and provinces took part.

The first final on Saturday was the women’s game between Kerala and Indian Railways. Both teams entered the final with a perfect 6-0 record and were facing each other for the first time in the tournament. Kerala began the game well and ended the first period with a 3-point lead in the game. Railways made a crucial change in their defensive strategy to begin the second quarter to make a comeback. Veteran Railways point guard Anitha Paul-Durai connected on three 3-pointers on her way to 16 points. Railways blew the game wide open in the second half to cruise to a 72-55 victory, clinching the gold medal after a gap of two years. Stephy Nixon was the leading scorer for Kerala with 17 in a losing cause.

The men’s final between Services and Uttarakhand was expected to be a hard-fought battle for first place. Both teams came into the final on a 5-1 record, after knocking out the more favoured Punjab and Tamil Nadu teams in the semifinals. The defending champions started off well, with their star player and India captain Vishesh Bhrighuvanshi (20 points) leading the charge. Down by 2 points at the end of the first quarter, Services cranked up the heat with their point guard Joginder Singh shooting lights out from long distance. Joginder (26 points) nailed 6 threes in the game to give Services a double-digit lead over Uttarakhand. The backcourt due of Joginder and Narender Grewal (20 points) ensured that Services maintained a 10-plus point lead through the third quarter. But entering the fourth, Uttarakhand made a push for a comeback behind center Murali Krishna (24 points) to cut down the Services lead down the stretch. Services maintained their composure down the stretch to stave off the Uttarakhand comeback attempt. They held on to a 6-point lead to end the game with a 73-67 victory and capture the gold medal after a gap of 9 years.

Navaneetha PU of the Indian Railways was awarded the Most Valuable Player in the women’s section, while Services' and India's international starting point guard Joginder Singh was awarded the men’s Most Valuable Player. Each MVP was given a cash prize of Rs. 10,000.

Dr. HC Mahadevappa, Minister for Karnataka's Public Works Department, Mahadeva Prasad, Karnataka's Minister of Co-operation, Dr HM Ambarish, Karnataka's Minister of Housing and Abhay Chandra, Karnataka's Minister for Fisheries & Sports were the chief guests during the final.

Earlier in the day, Delhi women edged past Telangana 71-66 to capture third place. Raspreet Sidhu led the scoring for the Delhi side with 21 points, while sisters Pratima Singh and Prashanti Singh contributed with 19 and 16 points respectively. Telangana centre Anusha Anto had 24 points in the loss and Jincy Joseph added 17. Tamil Nadu men bounced back from their disappointing semifinal loss against Uttarakhand yesterday to defeat Punjab and secure third place. Tamil Nadu dominated the game in the second half and ran away to an 82-68 victory. Tamil Nadu forward Aravind Annadurai scored a game-high 33 points in the contest and teammate Rikin Pethani chipped in 18. Gagandeep Singh (18) and TJ Sahi (17) were Punjab's leading scorers.

The gold medal winning teams were awarded a cash prize of Rs. 1 lakh each. Runners up were awarded Rs. 50,000 each and the third placed teams were awarded Rs. 25,000 each.

On Friday, the tournament's semi-finals were capped by a memorable comeback by Uttarakhand Men, who bounced back from 20 points down to defeat Tamil Nadu and book their spot in the Finals. India internationals Bhriguvanshi (21) and Yadwinder Singh (21) played a big part in Uttarakhand's comeback bid, as the Dehradun-based unit outscored TN 24-12 in the final quarter to win 71-69. In the second Men's semi-final, Services ended Punjab's roaring charge in style, doing most of their damage in the opening and final quarters. The trio of Jairam Jat (20), Ashutosh Rai (18), and Joginder Singh (16) proved to be too much for Punjab too handle. Services won 83-66. Punjab were led by young star Gurvinder Singh Gill (16).

The women's semi-finals on Friday turned out to be relatively one-sided affairs. Indian Railways used their experience and guile to make short work of the surprise team of the tournament - Telangana - for a 78-50 win. Experienced India star Anitha Paul Durai led Railways with 20, while Divya P. had 21 for Telangana in the loss. Kerala relied on some heroic performances by their star players to turn a potentially tricky game against Delhi into an easy win. India's rising star Jeena PS had 30 points and 10 rebounds while Stephy Nixon pitched in with 19 points and 19 rebounds to help Kerala win 82-41. Pratima Singh scored 21 for Delhi's Women.

Final Scores

• Men: Services (Joginder Singh 26, Narender Grewal 20) bt Uttarakhand (Murali Krishna 24, Vishesh Bhrighuvanshi 20) 73-67 (15-17, 25-14, 16-15, 17-21).
  
• Women: Indian Railways (Anitha Paul-Durai 16, Navaneeta 14) bt Kerala (Stephy Nixon 17, Jeena PS 14, Anjana PG 14) 72-55 (12-15, 26-13, 19-13, 15-14).
  

Bronze Medal Games

• Men: Tamil Nadu (Aravind Annadurai 33, Rikin Pethani 18, Prasanna Venkatesh 13) bt Punjab (Gagandeep Singh 18, TJ Sahi 17, Rajveer Singh 13) 82-68 (17-17, 15-20, 30-19, 20-12). 
• Women: Delhi (Raspreet Sidhu 21, Pratima Singh 19, Prashanti Singh 16) bt Telangana (Anusha Anto 24, Jincy Joseph 17) 71-66 (21-21, 12-20, 15-11, 23-14).

Final Standings Men

• 1. Services
• 2. Uttarakhand 
• 3. Tamil Nadu 
• 4. Punjab 
• 5. Karnataka

Women

• 1. Indian Railways 
• 2. Kerala 
• 3. Delhi 
• 4. Telangana 
• 5. Chhattisgarh

Hyderabad District Basketball Association (HDBA) panel has been dissolved

After charges that accused them of holding back the promotion of basketball and basketball players in the city, the incumbent panel of the Hyderabad District Basketball Association (HDBA) was dissolved at a Special General Body Meeting, reported The Hans India. Consequently, a five-member Ad-hoc Committee was formed to run the affairs of the HDBA and conduct fresh elections.

It was reported that a "growing fissures" within the committee led several members of the HDBA to question the panel's decisions, including non-participation Hyderabad players at the Youth National Championship in Bhavnagar and Junior National Championship in Ludhiana earlier this year. The Hans India reported that: "The decision to dissolve the body was unanimous on the charges that the incumbent panel was not promoting the game to the required levels and for preventing players from the district from attending selection trials called for by the Telangana Basketball Association."

Via Hans India:

The observers for the meeting included Vijay Kumar Yadav, President of Hyderabad District Olympic Association and A Aleem Khan, DSDO of DSA, Hyderabad.

Office-bearers of the Ad-hoc Committee: Mohan Rao (Chairman), R. Sridhar Reddy (Convenor), Norman Isaac, S Nagabhushnam and Solomon Prem Kumar as members.

Hyderabad - one of the fastest-growing basketball cities in India - is the capital of Telangana and de jure capital of Andhra Pradesh.