Indian Navy’s victory highlights finale of the Royal Club Basketball Tournament New Delhi

In a thrilling finale, Indian Navy survived to defeat Captain’s Club to lift the Men’s trophy of the Royal Club Basketball Tournament, one of the oldest and most prestigious basketball tournaments in New Delhi, at the Montfort School in Ashok Vihar on Sunday. It was the 50th Golden Jubilee year of this tournament.

In the College Women’s section, Indira Gandhi Institute of Sports Sciences & Physical Education (IGI) beat Lady Sri Ram College (LSR) for a win. The School Boys division of the tournament was won by GD Goenka who beat DPS (Mathura Road) in the final game.

The tournament featured a total of 33 teams in three sections: Men, College Women, and School Boys.

Trailing by one point at halftime in the Men’s final, Indian Navy went neck to neck with Captain’s Club in the close game and outlasted them for a thrilling 82-78 win. Indian Navy were led by big performances by Soji Cherian (24 points), Mandeep (23) and Vipin (17 points). Praveen had a game-high 29 for Captain’s while Vinay added 17 for the losing side.

The College Women’s final was dominated by IGI, who were led by internationally experienced players like Sonika Ohylan, Pratima Singh, and Raspreet Sidhu. Sonika, who was later named the tournament’s best player, led the way with 26 points in the final where IGI led LSR throughout for a breezy 71-45 win. Pratima Singh added 24 points in the final, while for LSR, new recruit Chinmayee had 16.

The School Boys final was also an easy game for GD Goenka, who defeated DPS (MR) by 60-31. Goenka were led by Dhruv (17 points) while Roopender had 23 in a losing effort for DPS.

Final Scores

Senior Men: Indian Navy (Soji Cherian 24, Vipin 23) bt. Captain’s Club (Praveen 29, Vinjay 17, Sumit 12, Vipin Dalviya 10) 82-78 (HT: 44-45).

College Women: IGI (Sonika Ohylan 26, Pratima Singh 24, Raspreet Sidhu 12) bt. LSR (Chinmayee 16, Shivangi 15) 71-45 (HT: 36-26).

School Boys: GD Goenka (Dhruv 17, Raghuvendra 14) bt. DPS (Mathura Road) (Roopender 23) 60-31 (HT: 22-11).

Best Player Awards

Senior Men: Ashu (Indian Navy)

College Women: Sonika Ohylan (IGI)

School Boys: Dhruv Barman(GD Goenka)

GD Goenka Boys, Montfort Girls win 2nd Delhi School Basketball League

A month of action, over 60 games between dozens of teams, at dozens of courts around Delhi, and it all boiled down to the last minute and the last shots. In an exciting finale to the 2nd edition of the Delhi School Basketball League, the Boys’ team from the GD Goenka School survived a late rally by hosts Delhi Public School (Mathura Road) to win 52-50 and clinch their first championship on Monday. The Girls’ final was relatively anti-climatic, with an excellent Montfort side doubling up their victory from last year and once again defeating Modern 49-20 in the final to finish first for the second consecutive year.



The tournament was organised by the Basketball Federation of India (BFI).



GD Goenka, who finished at third place at last year’s tournament, entered into a hostile environment as the home crowd brought loud support behind the DPS (MR) side at the final. DPS, who had finished at the top of their Super League group, seemed to be favourites, but sharp, focused play by the visitors gave them an 8 point lead at halftime. DPS began their comeback in the third quarter, and made it a three point game before the final period. It remained close, but DPS failed to take the lead as the time ticked down.



With 1 point between the two sides in the last minute, Goenka’s inspirational guard and scoring leader Dhruv Barman hit a crucial three-pointer to seal the game for good, 52-50. Dhruv led the way with 20 points for the winning side.



“I can’t describe the feeling of having won this, it’s the greatest!” said Dhruv, “The Seniors of the team, like me, were all very emotional to have been able to win this championship before we leave school. The team depended on me to hit the final shot, and I have won it for them and for my coach.”



The girls final, a repeat of last year’s final, turned out to be a dud, as Montfort sped to a fast lead and never looked back. Playing without their leader Manini Rai, Montfort had no problem sharing the load amongst the rest of the squad. Tough defense completely shunned Modern School from scoring, as they only managed nine points in the last three quarters of the game. Montfort cruised to a comfortable 49-20 win and their second straight victory at this championship.



“We had to come out and play without Manini, and the whole team stepped up to play well today,” said leading scorer for Montfort, Aastha Goel, “It feels great to get this win.”



Earlier in the day, Modern Boys played out a close contest against Montfort in the third/fourth place game, which was decided in overtime. Modern came back from a four-point deficit at the beginning of the fourth quarter to tie the game in regulation and clinch a four-point victory at the end of overtime, 77-73. Archit (26), Satyam (24), and Pranav (21) all scored a high rate for the winning side. For Montfort, Unnat had 25 points in a loss.



Third place for the girls had been won by Bal Bharti Public School, who defeated Carmel Convent School a few days ago.



Winning teams in both the sections were awarded Rs. 75,000 each by the BFI. Runners-up received Rs. 50,000 each, and second runners-up were given Rs. 25,000 each.



Final Scores



Boys

GD Goenka School (Dhruv 20, Daksh 15) bt. Delhi Public School (Mathura Road) (Roopender 15, Ramit 15) 52-50 (15-10, 14-11, 10-14, 13-15)



Girls

Montfort School (Aastha 15, Gayatri 12, Shaifali 12) bt. Modern School 49-20 (17-11, 19-1, 9-6, 4-2)

Montfort School celebrate double victory at 1st IMG-Reliance School Basketball League

Basketball in India continues to take crucial steps in the right direction. To help the help of the game at the grassroots level and to create the right kind of competitive atmosphere for young talents to grow, the first ever IMG-Reliance School Basketball League was held in New Delhi from August 16-October 20th. 20 boys’ and girls’ teams from 12 different schools across the city took part in a mammoth 96 matches in the preliminary and super league stages.

At the end, the best two teams faced off in the Finals, which were held at Modern School (Barakhamba Road) - both the boys’ and girls’ finals were between the hosts Modern School and Montfort School (Ashok Vihar). The visiting teams pulled off a historic double by winning both the matches and going home as champions.

In the Girls’ final, the Montfort team came undefeated throughout the tournament and continued their phenomenon surge ahead. Montfort took an early lead and never took their foot off the gas pedal. Led by Manini Rai (19 points) and A. Chinmayee Meghana (17), Montfort strolled to a comfortable 56-25 victory.

The Boys’ game was a lot more competitive, as the hosts Modern started off strong in an attempt to upset the favoured Montfort side. Modern held a six-point advantage going into half-time, but Montfort returned to their confident and aggressive style of play in the second half. The comeback was completed successfully and Montfort held on in the final minutes of the game to win the game 50-43, led by 16 points from Nakul Agarwal who has been their best player throughout the tournament.

Earlier on Tuesday, DPS (Mathura Road) Girls and GD Goenka Boys won third place against their rivals DPS (RK Puram) Girls and DPS (Mathura Road) Boys respectively.

Each of the players from the two winning teams was presented with a Rs. 2,000 cash award from the Basketball Federation of India (BFI). Second place players received Rs. 1,500 and third place players received Rs. 1,000 each.

Additionally, the tournament’s sponsors IMG-Reliance provided an extra cash bonus to the top three performing schools of both divisions in the tournament to encourage the improvement of basketball infrastructure in the institutions. Bikram Singh, the vice-president of IMG-Reliance handed out Rs. 1 lakh to the first prize winners, Rs. 75,000 to the runners-up, and third place teams were rewarded with Rs. 50,000.

"This is a great moment in the history of basketball in India and specifically in Delhi," said Harish Sharma, the Secretary-General of the BFI, "The success of this league has been made possible due to our partnership and the support of IMG-Reliance. Now, we want to take this league to other cities across the country."

Sharma added that this was the first time that cash prizes were being rewarded to the schools. "We want to encourage the schools to promote basketball with this money by improving their basketball courts and facilities."

The league has been a colourful get-together of basketball enthusiasts as well as those who are new to the game. Along with encouraging established players and fans, many other school children across Delhi have grown a new-found interest in the game. Sharma has promised an even bigger and better school league in Delhi next year.

Montfort Girls star Chinmayee was satisfied with her team’s performance. "We’re very happy to win this league. It was a great experience playing in front of large crowds, which encouraged us. The league went on for a long time, and it helped us improve our game as we played each time two or more times. I feel very lucky to have won this year because I’m in 12th standard and won’t be participating in next year’s tournament."

From Montfort Boys, the final’s leading scorer Nakul Agarwal credited his team-mates for their support and inspiration in helping to pull off a great performance through the course of the tournament. Montfort made a great comeback after trailing in the first half. "Modern played a very tough game, but we had to prove that we are the best team and we are unbeatable. That is why we came motivated in the second half to win."

"It feels great to have won the trophy," added Nakul, "This the first time that basketball has been promoted so well in the schools and it’s great for the growth of the game in India."

Final Scores

Girls: Montfort School 56 (Manini Rai 19, A. Chinmayee Meghana 17) bt. Modern School 25 (Gauri 11)
Boys: Montfort School 50 (Nakul 16) bt. Modern School 43 (Archit Sinha 15, Satyam Nayyar 12)

Final Standings

Girls

1. Montfort School
2. Modern School
3. DPS (Mathura Road)

Boys

1. Montfort School
2. Modern School
3. GD Goenka School