ONGC Men & Southern Railway Women cruise to easy final wins at the 7th Savio Cup

It is famous for being one of the most competitive and exciting basketball tournaments in the country, and judging by the quality of the Men's games thus far, it seemed that the final encounter at the 7th Savio Cup All India Basketball Tournament at Don Bosco, Matunga, Mumbai, was going to be an epic encounter between two sides in peak form. But the night belonged to the stacked ONGC outfit, who showed no mercy versus National Champions Punjab and clinically finished off their opponents for a 61-42 victory on Sunday.

In the Women's final, last year's winners Southern Railway showed no mercy on Chhattisgarh's South East Central Railway (SECR) - presumably their toughest competition in the tournament - as they headed for a comfortable 86-49 win.

The triumph for ONGC and Southern Railway came only about a week after both had won the Men's and Women's competition at Athirampuzha JCI Tournament in Kerala.

The 7th edition of the Savio Cup was held from January 8-15, 2012. The Men's final featured ONGC and Punjab, two teams with the most number of recognisable faces of Indian Men's Basketball today. With the addition of Vishesh Bhriguvanshi and Yadwinder Singh from Railways - two players who were barred from taking part in the Senior Nationals last month - ONGC strengthened their squad that already featured Trideep Rai, Riyazuddin, Anoop, and other stars. Vishesh and Yadwinder had been an integral part of the Railways side which had lifted the Savio Cup a year ago: the two stars celebrated Savio Cup victory once again but in different colours.

ONGC carried out their game-plan and played efficient offense in the Final against a strong Punjab side, which featured India's current internationals like TJ Sahi, Jagdeep Singh Bains, Amjyot Singh, and Amrit Pal Singh. Punjab had a bad shooting night, and ONGC took advantage to dominate the game and win 61-42.

In the Women's final, it was a similar story as Southern Railway - led by Geethu Anna Jose and Anitha Paul Durai - lifted yet another trophy. This was the third trophy for the duo and other Railway players who had won the National Championship in Tamil Nadu, the Athirampuzha championship in Kerala, and now, the Savio Cup in Maharashtra.

The Men's division featured several tough teams this year, including the competitive IOB side, who lost to Punjab in the 'Semi Final League' stage. American side 'Shooting For Success' once again brought star-studded players and highlight plays to the Matunga courts, but were a disappointment this year as they failed to repeat their Finals performance from 2011 and lost several of their games.

A Slam Dunk competition was also held at the tournament, where American player Terry Fields of 'Shooting For Success' defeated Punjab's TJ Sahi for the title.

Shooting For Success share high-flying exciting hoops in India

David “DJ” Jones was born in California and now spends his time working in San Antonio, Texas with his basketball camp/foundation, Shooting For Success (SFS). Funny then, that the city where he hears the crowds offering him the most home support these days is thousands of miles away from home... Mumbai.

With four years of participation in Mumbai’s Savio Cup, and this year, for the first time playing in the 2011 Ramu Memorial Basketball Tournament (RMBT), SFS have certainly made a name for themselves in Mumbai. The club has been the only consistent foreign side visiting India for basketball competitions in recent years, and their fan following has now reached near-cult status.

SFS’ connection with India began when their team manager, Tushar Patel, first the team over here. “We always have a great experience here, and that is why we keep coming back,” said DJ, who is the captain and coach of the side, as well as the coach back home for the SFS camp in Texas. “It is the great experience that makes us keep coming back – teams that don’t come here are missing out!”

SFS are a crowd-favourite in Mumbai, as they exhibit amazing above the rim athleticism, swarming defense, and some hot shooting rarely seen on courts in India. DJ, who has played at the professional level in the States for over a decade, says that Mumbai has been one of the places that has shown him the most love. They chant his name ‘DJ! DJ! DJ!’ every time he gets on court; they scream in delight whenever he beats a man off his quick dribble or drains one of his many reliable three-pointers. “The fans treat us well here, so we keep coming back!” he says.

Apart from their captain, the current SFS side playing at the RMBT in the Indian Gymkhana in Matunga feature the tall and athletic forward Terry Fields, who is one of the most exciting dunkers in the team and won the Savio Cup’s Slam Dunk Competition. DJ also mention point guard Limar, who is a fantastic point guard and tough defender.

Still, it’s not all ‘showtime’ from SFS – At the Savio Cup a few months ago, the Indian Railways side, led by Vishesh Bhriguvanshi, shocked SFS in an exciting finale. SFS have returned for Ramu Memorial with another strong squad, hoping to prove themselves again. “We want to get better each time and keep the fans on the edge of their seat with excitement,” said DJ, “The Savio Cup loss left a bad taste in our mouth but we are back here to win.”

With two wins in their first two games, it seems that Shooting For Success certainly mean business!

Indian Railways and Southern Railway win Savio Cup 6

In an exciting finale to eight days of mesmerising basketball at the Don Bosco–Matunga in Mumbai, Southern Railway (Women) and Indian Railways (Men) pulled off impressive victories to hoist the sixth edition of the United Phosphorous Limited (UPL) All India Savio Cup on Sunday, January 30th. Southern Railway relied on the talents of legendary Geethu Anna Jose to help beat Chhattisgarh in the Women’s final, 76-66. In the Men’s game, National Champions Indian Railways rallied behind an explosive game by Vishesh Bhriguvanshi as they pulled an improbable 91-79 upset over the strong American side, Shooting For Success (SFS).

For his consistent dominance throughout the competition, Bhriguvanshi was named player of the tournament. Anju Lakra, the Chhattisgarh captain, took the honour in the Women’s division.

In a tournament that has been gathering momentum and fan-following over the past few years, the Savio Cup 6 featured six Men’s teams (Indian Railways, SFS, IOB Chennai, Services, Punjab, Maharashtra) and four Women’s teams (Southern Railway, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Karnataka) who played in a league system from January 23-29th, with the final held on January 30th.

Trailing at the end of the first quarter in the Women’s final, Geethu, Anitha P., Renjini Peter, and the rest of the Southern Railway squad began to turn the game around against Chhattisgarh. Geethu led the game with 29 points while Anitha and Peter added 16 each for Railway as they won by 10 points. For Chhattisgarh, star players Pushpa M (27) and Anju Lakra (20) shined in the final.

Undefeated thus far, American side SFS were strong favourites to win the Men’s final as they faced the Indian Railways side who had won the National Championship in New Delhi a few weeks ago. Instead, Railways kept the game close in a face-paced, back-and-forth match-up. Trailing by two at the end of the third quarter, Railways played their strongest basketball behind Vishesh 33), Yadiwinder Singh (20) and Gagandeep Singh (16) to stand as 91-79 winners. Terry Fields (29) was the high man for SFS.

The winning teams in both divisions were rewarded Rs. 50,000 and the runners-up with Rs. 25,000.

A dunk competition was also held on the penultimate day of the Savio Cup, which was won by Terry Fields of SFS. Amjyot Singh (Punjab) and Anwar Ferguson (SFS) finished second and third respectively.

Final Scores

Women: Southern Railway 76 (Geethu Anna Jose 29, Renjini Peter 16, Anitha P. 16) bt. Chhattisgarh 66 (Pushpa M. 27, Anju Lakra 20).

Men: Indian Railways 91 (Vishesh Bhriguvanshi 33, Yadiwinder Singh 20, Gagandeep Singh 16) bt. Shooting For Success 79 (Terry Fields 29, David Jones 13).

Best Players Awards

Women: Anju Lakra (Chhattisgarh).

Men: Vishesh Bhriguvanshi (Indian Railways).