Coimbatore: Indian bank emerged champions of the 55th All India basketball tournament for 'PSG Trophy' as they defeated Indian Army by 18 points in the finals held at PSG Indoor sports complex here on Tuesday.
Coimbatore: Indian bank emerged champions of the 55th All India basketball tournament for 'PSG Trophy' as they defeated Indian Army by 18 points in the finals held at PSG Indoor sports complex here on Tuesday.
It was Hariram who opened their account with a three pointer in the first quarter, following which the players of Indian bank were on their toes and kept calling for points. The Star of the game, Hariram sparkled by scoring more than 10 points in the quarter, helping to lead 9 points in the first quarter.
In the second quarter, both the finalists had scored 14 points. And, Indian bank maintaining their 9 points lead from the first quater. Though Indian Army fought hard to get into the game, Indian bank dominated the game and kept them away from taking lead in the second quarter. At the end of second quarter scores were 28-37 in favour of Indian bank.
Indian bank took advantage of the opportunities missed by the Indian army and kept their score board ticking. However, Indian army at the end of third quater came back into the game by scoring 19 points. Though the scores were even, at the end of the third qauter, Indian bank again roped their 9 points lead from the first quater.
The pressing targets and the pressure led the players from Indian Army miss opportunities and take wrong decisions in the final minutes, thus paving way for Indian bank team move a step forward.
Indian bank scored 23 points in the final quarter which made the task easy for the champions. At the 40th minute of the game, as the referee blew the final whistle, Indian bank were 18 points ahead of Indian Army. With crowd cheering for Indian bank, they lifted the trophy after 17 years.
The deadly trio Hariram, Bala Dhanesh and Muin Bek done it again for the team helping them to take home the prestigious PSG Trophy. This is the second consecutive trophy for Indian bank in Coimbatore and sixth PSG Trophy.
"Having lost the first game against Indian Navy in the league stage, boys were under pressure and we planned things accordingly which worked out for us as a team. Playing against Indian Army is a bit tough, as they have good quality players in their side but boys did well to seal them not once but twice. Winning this trophy after 17 years is a great feeling and we are happy with this victory and kudos to the boys", said Suryasekar Indian bank Coach.
Match : Indian bank (79) beat Indian Army (61)
Top scorers : Indian bank : Hari Ram (29), Gineeb Benny (14), Suriya (14)
Indian Army : Suresh Kumar (14), Issac Thomas (12), Sunil (11).
Images of the match :
