Southern Railway & IOB (Chennai) win the 3rd Jeppiaar Trophy in Chennai

Shining with the help of some home town advantage, the squad’s from Southern Railway and IOB (Chennai) won the Women’s and Men’s trophy respectively at the 3rd Jeppiaar All India Invitational Basketball Tournament in Chennai. Southern Railway defeated South East Central Railway (SECR) in the Women’s final on Thursday to win the championship, while IOB lifted the title after beating ONGC in a closely contested Men’s final on Friday evening at JJ Indoor Stadium.

Only in the third year since its inception, the Jeppiaar Tournament in Chennai has gained a reputation as one of the most exciting and competitive basketball championships in India, featuring some of the best club sides from across the country. The tournament, which was held from October 9-14th this year, also plays as a fitting precursor to the Senior National Basketball Championship which will be taking place in Chennai in two months.

The tournament was organised by the Jeppiaar Institute of Technology, Sriperumpudur.

The Woman’s championship featured four teams: Southern Railway, SECR, Billai Steel Plant, and Central Railway. Southern Railway had an exceptional tournament, as they won all three of their round robin games before entering the final versus SECR. After a closely-contested first quarter, the result of this final also soon became a foregone conclusion as SECR had no answers for Southern Railway’s three-pronged attack of Anitha Paul Durai, Geethu Anna Jose, and Kokila S.

Anitha was the best player in the final, leading the way with 31 points as Southern Railway won easily, 89-40. Kokila S. was rewarded for her consistent play and named as the player of the tournament in the woman’s section.

The Men’s competition featured a much wider spread of eight teams: Chennai Customs, RCF Kapurthala, Punjab Police, Indian Air Force, ONGC, Sathyabama University, Indian Army, IOB (Chennai), Integral Coach Factory (ICF) (Chennai), and hosts, Jeppiaar Institute of Technology. After the group stage, four teams: IOB, Indian Army, ONGC, and the surprise package Sathyabama University qualified for the Semi-finals. IOB and ONGC defeated Indian Army and Sathyabama in their semi-final clashes respectively on Thursday.

The Men’s final saw two experienced sides, IOB and ONGC, face off against each other in a classic encounter. The game was close throughout, with IOB leading by two at the end of the first quarter and ONGC leading by three at the end of the second. IOB began to improve their game in the third period and slowly stretch the lead in this tough, defensive match-up. By the end of the game, ONGC found it hard to close the gap as IOB won 55-48 to lift the Jeppiaar trophy for the first time.

Sathyabama won the third-place game, defeating Indian Army 74-67 behind efforts by Rikin S Pethani (22 points), Vignesh (18), and Raghu Ram (17). Pethani was named the Men’s Player of the Tournament.

The Men's winning team was awarded with Rs. 1.1 lakh, runners-up with Rs. 80,000, and 2nd runners-up with Rs. 50,000. In the Women's section, the winning team was awarded with Rs. 80,000, runners-up with Rs. 50,000, and 2nd runners-up with Rs. 30,000.

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).