CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu men registered a comprehensive 87-69 win over Punjab to regain the senior National basketball crown at the Nehru Indoor Stadium on Sunday evening. This was Tamil Nadu’s 10th National title. The chief architects of the Muin Bek-led side’s win were A Aravind (25 points) and M Arvind Kumar (21). P Jeevanantham (14) and Muin (12) too played their part in the victory.
The keenly-awaited encounter kicked off with the home team taking a 12-point (29-17) lead at the conclusion of the opening quarter. With the momentum firmly on their side, Tamil Nadu raced to a 50-33 lead by the end of the next quarter. Despite Punjab putting pressure on the hosts, Tamil Nadu were able to raise their game at crucial junctures.
By the time the third quarter came to a close, Tamil Nadu were sitting pretty with a 72-52 lead. In the final quarter, Punjab tried their best to keep the game alive. However, Tamil Nadu did well to finish things off in style. For Punjab, Amjyot Singh (33) came up with a good show but it proved to be insufficient against an in-form Tamil Nadu unit.
In the women’s final, the formidable Indian Railway proved too good for Telangana as they won the match 131-82. For the winning side, Poonam Chaturvedi (26), Pushpa (19) and T Dharshini (19) were the main contributors. Others who played their part were Sruthi Arvind (11) and Shireen Vijay Limaye (10).
TN women finish third: Tamil Nadu women’s team had something to cheer as they defeated Kerala 82-70 to bag the third place in the competition. For Tamil Nadu, J Parthipa Priya (19) and S Rajeshwari (16) were the standout performers and received good support from B Neeta (14), R Sruthy (12) and A Ashmitha (10).
Results (All Finals): Men: Tamil Nadu 87 (M Arvind Kumar 21, A Aravind 25, P Jeevanantham 14, Muin Bek 12) bt Punjab 69 (Amjyot Singh 33, Amritpal Singh 12); Women: Indian Railway 131 (Poonam Chaturvedi 26, Pushpa 19, Dharshini T 19, Madhu Kumari 17, Gulbsha Ali 16, Sruthi Arvind 11, Shireen Vijay Limaye) bt Telangana 82 (Anbarasi 20, Priyanka P 20, Aswathy S Thampi 18)
