Western Railway & Southern Railway emerge Ramu Memorial champions

Press Release: With the scoreboard oscillating crazily between the two teams in the last two minutes, the pressure got to Shooting For Success, USA, whose players fumbled when it mattered most, enabling Western Railway pull off a deserving 84-81 win in the men’s final of the 27th Ramu Memorial Basketball Tournament, organized by the Indian Gymkhana at the court on Sunday.

Earlier, Southern Railway outplayed South East Central Railway 64-47 to lift the women’s title. Geethu Anna Jose and S Kokila shared the honours with 19 points each for the winners, while Renjini Peter scored 15. For the losers it was Bharti Netam with 24 and Anju Lakra, 16 who did the bulk of the scoring.

Western Railway won Rs 1 lakh, while SFS, USA will take home Rs 50,000. Southern Railway won Rs 50,000 for their efforts, while South East Central Railway had to be content with Rs 25,000.

After Western Railway ran away with the early lead of 22-17 in the first quarter, SFS settled down to a good rhythm with the fit again Charles Moore making his presence felt with his sharp shooting, which fetched him three three-pointer and a tally of 24 points. SFS went into half time with a 42-33 led which they extended to 62-58 at the end of the third quarter.

The inclusion of Jasjyot Singh in the last quarter made the difference in Western Railway’s fortunes as he scored four three-pointers and had a percentage of six from eight for field goals to help them keep abreast of SFS. Western Railway were trailing 79-81 with less than two minutes left when Yadwinder brought them level with a drive-in. They then put immense pressure on the SFS forwards under their basket to steal the ball and set up Dilawar Singh to score or a 83-81 lead with less than a minute to go. Gagandeep, with his percentage shooting from under the basket, was the high scorer for the winners with 30 points.

An uncharacteristic fumble by the experienced David Jones put paid to SFS’s chances and after Yadwinder had scored one from two free throws for the score to read 84-81, Jones then muffed an attempt for a three-pointer and time ran out for the teams from USA.

Scores:

Men’s final: Western Railway 84 (Gagandeep Singh 30, Yadwinder Singh 18, Jasjyot Singh 16) bt Shooting For Success, USA 81 (Charles Moore 24, Limar Wilson 20, Joey Shank 13).

Women’s final: Southern Railway 64 (Geethu Anna Jose, S Kokila 19 each, Renjini Peter 15) bt South East Central Railway 47 (Bharti Netam 24, Anju Lakra 16).

Best Player Awards: Limar Wilson (SFS) and S Kokila (Southern Railway).

Western Railway hoist first-ever RIBA League trophy

It was the perfect ending that the exciting new tournament desired: the final of the first-ever RIBA League tournament held at the DDA Sports Complex in Vasant Kunj, New Delhi, came down to two of the strongest basketball teams – Western Railway and Indian Air Force – clawing at each other for the win. At the end, the back and forth game saw several lead changes, but Western Railway survived to notch a 64-60 victory.

The Reebok IGMA Basketball Association (RIBA) tournament was organised by the IGMA Sports Management company,in affiliation with the Basketball Federation of India (BFI). The five-day league-cum-knockout tournament, featuring some of the top basketball players in India, was launched at the DDA Sports Complex in Vasant Kung earlier this week. Eight of the top Men’s club teams in India took part in this new competition.

In a tournament full of close games, it was fitting that the finale was a thriller as well. Both the teams played out an intense, close game. At halftime, Railway held a 35-28 lead, but Air Force made sure to never let them out of their sight in the second half, mounting regular comebacks as the lead changed several times. At the end, it was Railway to stood winners, behind 25 points by Gagan Deep Singh and 17 points by Yadwinder Singh.

Despite the loss, Jogender put in a valiant performance for Air Force, finishing with 24 points and bagging the Finals' man of the match award. Narendar Kumar chipped in 15 for Air Force.

The winning team walked away with prize money of Rs. 75,000 while the runners-up were awarded Rs. 45,000.

Narendar Kumar of Indian Air Force, who was the competition's leading scorer was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament. Additional awards were given for the tournament's top rebounder to Gagan Deep Singh and best defender to Yadwinder Singh, both of Western Railway.

BFI's Secretary-General Mr. Harish Sharma, Indian international cricketer Ishant Sharma, and a host of other dignitaries attended the championship.