32nd Youth National Basketball Championship: Gujarat boys advance to pre-quarterfinals; Karnataka girls find form
32nd Youth National Basketball Championship: Gujarat boys advance to pre-quarterfinals; Karnataka girls find form
Tamil Nadu player (in yellow and black) attempts a free-throw against Maharashtra Bhavnagar, Gujarat, 17th September 2015: Matches went on till late evening on Day 3 of the 32nd Youth National Basketball Championship at Bhavnagar, Gujarat. The Punjab boys’ team continued their winning ways against Haryana, cruising to a 56-22 victory in a one-sided match. The two level 1 girls’ games after 7:30 p.m. on Day 3 were close contests. Last year’s runners up Kerala girls edged past the Delhi team 50 to 45 with a balanced scoring effort, led by Akhila’s 19 points. The other girls’ game was probably the match of the tournament in the girls’ category so far. Defending champs Tamil Nadu girls faced a resurgent Maharashtra girls team, who were looking to give the champs everything they had. Led by India campers Shruti Sherigar’s 28 points and Rutuja Pawar’s 20 points, Maharashtra almost pulled off the victory with a lead in the final seconds of regular time. However, Tamil Nadu managed to even the scores thanks to the play of point guard M. Nishanthi and last year’s MVP J. Iswarya. Heading into extra time, Tamil Nadu clung on to a slim 3-point lead to clinch the victory. M. Nishanthi was huge for her team with 31 points. Heading into Day 4, three qualification matches for the Level 2 teams were scheduled in the morning session. The winner of these contests would move to the pre-quarterfinals to face a Level 1 team. The Chandigarh boys played a balanced team game and defeated Karnataka 66-64 in a game that went down to the wire. In the girls’ qualification matches, the Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal girls advanced to the pre-quarterfinals with easy victories against Goa and Chandigarh respectively.
Karnataka player (in white) attempts a jumper against Haryana In the level 1 games on Day 4 morning, the Andhra Pradesh girls lost both their games at the hands of Punjab and Madhya Pradesh by big margins. The Karnataka girls also comfortably defeated Delhi 57-23, led by Sandhya Raju’s 17 points. Coming off back-to-back victories on Day 3, the Chhattisgarh girls continued their stellar form in a tight contest against a strong Haryana side. Mahima Bhardwaj and Gulabsha Ali each put up 16 points for Chhattisgarh, who held their nerve to clinch a 1-point victory 59-58, thereby handing the Haryana girls their first loss of the tournament. In the boys’ level 1 games, defending champs Tamil Nadu broke no sweat in their 61-30 victory against Madhya Pradesh. Maharashtra boys also made quick work of their opponent Rajasthan in a 57-22 win. The final level 1 boys’ game had a surprise result, with Delhi tipping the strong Uttar Pradesh team 73-65. Delhi was led by Sorav Singha’s 20 points.
Uttar Pradesh point guard (in white) calling plays against Madhya Pradesh The first two games in the evening were both nail-biting encounters, with one going into extra time. After their victory in the morning, the Karnataka girls were confident coming into their game against Haryana, who lost to Chhattisgarh today morning. Karnataka started well, but faltered in the middle periods. Haryana played small ball and used their fast paced style of play well against Karnataka. But Karnataka dominated the final period to clinch the 73-65 victory led by Sandhya’s 34 points. The other game between Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh went into extra time with UP pulling off an 89-83 victory outscoring Madhya Pradesh 7 to 1 in the extra time period.
Gujarat boys during a timeout Home team Gujarat boys played their qualification game against Uttarakhand and outplayed their opponent in most departments. The local boys won in blowout fashion 76-48 and advanced to the pre-quarterfinals in front of a massive home crowd. The Maharashtra girls also had a good game against Madhya Pradesh registering a 66-52 victory.
Crowd mobs the Gujarat team after their victory
Results from Day 4 up to 8:30 p.m.
Girls: Level 1: Group A: Madhya Pradesh (Divyani 20, Vanshita 12, Shruti 6) bt Andhra Pradesh (B. Muripa 8) 54-11 (15-3, 15-6, 10-0, 14-2) Punjab (Aakarshan 11, Rajandeep Kaur 8) bt Andhra Pradesh 32-3 (13-1, 9-2, 8-0, 2-0) Maharashtra (Shruti Sherigar 32, Neha Vinod 21) bt Madhya Pradesh (Shruti B. 13, Divyani 11) 66-52 (20-17, 7-9, 21-14, 18-12) Group B: Chhattisgarh (Mahima Bhardwaj 16, Gulabsha Ali 16) bt Haryana (Bharti 21, Meena 10) 59-58 (10-20, 10-9, 15-16, 24-13) Karnataka (Sandhya C. Raju 17, Snigddha Nair 12) bt Delhi (Sushantika 8) 57-23 (24-7, 7-11, 17-3, 9-2) Karnataka (Sandhya C. 34, Harshitha K.B. 14, Snigddha Nair 12) bt Haryana (Bharti 19, Manrata 19, Meenu 13) 73-65 (20-13, 14-15, 14-21, 25-16) Level 2 qualification matches (Winner moves to pre-quarterfinals): West Bengal (Paramita Ghosh 22, Mala 14) bt Chandigarh (Amrit Kaur 18, Ramya 11) 67-48 (11-14, 13-7, 20-14, 23-13) Uttar Pradesh (Harshita 8, Shristi 7) bt Goa 36-3 (12-0, 6-0, 9-2, 9-0) Boys: Level 1: Group A: Delhi (Sorav Singha 20, Hansraj 14, Aakash Hooda 13) bt Uttar Pradesh (Shivendra 20, Prasun Mishra 13) 73-65 (16-19, 20-10, 27-21, 10-15) Tamil Nadu (R. Pranesh Kumar 13, P. Baladhaneshwar 10, G.K. Manikandan 10) bt Madhya Pradesh (Harshvardhan 10, Dhananjai 8) 61-30 (22-9, 22-10, 6-6, 11-5) Uttar Pradesh (Shivendra 37, Lav Singh 24) bt Madhya Pradesh (Harshvardhan 25, Vicky Batham 24) 89-83 (18-22, 17-21, 26-21, 21-18, Extra time 7-1) Group B: Maharashtra (Faisan Khan 30, Mohd. Musa 8) bt Rajasthan (Bipin Mathew 11) 57-22 (17-8, 14-6, 10-6, 16-2) Level 2 qualification matches (Winner moves to pre-quarterfinals): Chandigarh (Ajmer 19, Amit 18, Anuj 15) bt Karnataka (Dev Mura 23, Pavan Bhat 12, Vishal 12) 66-64 (16-14, 13-20, 14-17, 23-13) Gujarat (Satyajeetsinh 24, Karan 19) bt Uttarakhand (Prakhar 14, Vaibhav 12, Dheeraj Negi 12) 76-48 (14-17, 24-17, 22-10, 16-4)
About 32nd Youth National Basketball Championship
The 32nd Youth National Basketball Championship is being conducted in Bhavnagar, Gujarat from 14th to 20th September 2015 by the Gujarat State Basketball Association in association with the Bhavnagar District Basketball Association and the Youngsters Basketball Club, Bhavnagar under the aegis of the Basketball Federation of India. The tournament shall see the participation of 43 teams from different states, which includes and 22 teams in the boys’ category and 21 teams in the girls’ category, in the ‘16 and under’ age group. Last year’s Youth National Championship was held in Chandigarh. The winners of the 2014 version were Tamil Nadu, in both the boys’ and girls’ categories, while the first runners up position was secured by the boys’ and girls’ teams from Kerala. The third place winner in the boys’ category last year was the team from Haryana. In the girls’ category, the third place winner last year was Karnataka. This year’s tournament is being held on two outdoor courts at Maharaja Krishnakumarsinhji Bhavnagar University. KARP Impex Group, involved in the business of diamond polishing, crafting and sale and based out of Surat, Gujarat, is the title sponsor for the event. Other sponsors include Sports Authority of Gujarat, Sheetal Group, Acrysil Limited, Madhu Silica, HVK, Rudra TMX, Mono TMT Bar, Leela Worldwide, Maruti Metal Industries, Priya Blue Industries Private Limited, Navyug Pharma Chemical Private Limited, NBM – Iron and Steel Trading Private Limited and Kiran Diamonds.
About Basketball Federation of India
The Basketball Federation of India or BFI is the governing and controlling body of basketball in India, and is responsible for the development and promotion of the sport at all levels. BFI has been involved in conducting camps, clinics, events, and training sessions at its academies for the development of basketball. BFI came into being in 1935 and took complete control over Indian basketball in 1950. Prior to that time, the Indian Olympic Association handled the conduct of Indian basketball championships. Since 1950, the BFI has been conducting various such championships, from the grassroots to senior team participation in international tournaments. In addition, the BFI has been responsible for the establishment of strong sub-junior and junior level programs. The BFI has to its credit produced several international players of repute, among them 17 have been bestowed with the honour of Arjuna Awards. Earlier in June 2015, 19-year-old Satnam Singh Bhamara made history by becoming the first Indian national to be drafted by an NBA team, when he was selected by the Dallas Mavericks. More information at www.basketballfederationindia.org