Date:27/05/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/05/27/stories/2007052705892000.htm

Sport - Basketball

MEG emerges champion

Sports Reporter

KARUR: MEG, Bangalore won all its semifinal league encounters to clinch the LRG Naidu Memorial Cup for men at the 52nd all-India basketball tournament, conducted by the Karur Basketball Club, here on Friday.

Tamil Nadu Basketball Association (TNBA), Chennai, with two wins, finished second, while ICF, Chennai secured the third spot with a solitary win.

The last semifinal league match between MEG and TNBA was an exciting affair. MEG made a brisk start making full use of TNBA's weak defence to take a 23-9 lead at the end of the first quarter. The latter showed signs of improvement in the second session, but still was down 17 points at the halfway mark.

Much to the delight of the crowd, the third quarter saw TNBA staging a spirited fightback. The tired-looking MEG players found the going tough as TNBA reduced the lead to just two points when the session ended. Having done all the hard work, the TNBA cagers failed to hold their nerves when it mattered most. They missed some crucial baskets and their passing was also below par. On the other hand, MEG hoopsters got the rhythm back and went on to score a 77-69 win. Peter John managed 34 points for the winner.

The chairman of TNBA, A.N. Dyaneshwaran, gave away the prizes in the presence of S. Chandramohan, the secretary of Karur Basketball Club.

The results: Semifinal league: MEG 77 (Peter John 34, Sweeto Francis 15) bt TNBA 69 (John de Plato 20, Shiva Shankar 16); ICF 70 (Ashwin 20, Srinivasan 16) bt Indian Army 60 (Pramod Kumar 11, Rajesh 10); TNBA 71 (John de Plato 18, Shiva Shankar 17) bt Indian Army 68 (Navneet Singh 15, Satish Kumar 14).

Special awards: Best player from TN: John de Plato (TNBA); Best player other than Tamil Nadu: Satish Kumar (Indian Army); Maximum three-pointers: Shiva Shankar (TNBA); Best-disciplined team: HASC, Bangalore.