67th Junior National Basketball Championship: The Second Day

Puducherry, May 2, 2016: The 67th Junior National Basketball Championship entered its second day, at the Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium in the city of Puducherry, today.

Tamil Nadu gets into the act

After their tough loss to Kerala, Tamil Nadu boys came back strong in their 2^nd game as they went against an equal sided Chandigarh. It the high scoring game, both the teams showed off their offensive potential. Hari Ram, the Tamil Nadu Captain, delivered on both ends of the court and Amit from the Chandigarh made his presence felt with his shooting ability from behind the arc. Amit had five three pointers in the first half alone, but in the second half, Tamil Nadu's guards Bala and Kali worked on exerting defensive pressure, turning them into fast break opportunities. Tamil Nadu ended up winning the game with a comfortable 20 point margin.

The 2^nd Level 1 boys game between Haryana and Madhya Pradesh ,was a blow out as Deepak lead his team, with 20 points, to an easy victory. In the girls level 1 section, Chhattisgarh was able to stay undefeated with a convincing win on day 2 against Haryana. Riya Vimel led her team with 20 points.

Bala of Tamil Nadu (white) explodes on a fast break against Chandigarh (blue)

Punjab pulls off the Victory

Later in the afternoon, Punjab took on Madhya Pradesh in a crucial league match in the girl’s section. Both the teams were looking to advance to the quarterfinals round. With the Puducherry’s heat making it hard for the players to compete at their full potential, Punjab took the lead in the first quarter, but they weren't able to contain Madhya Pradesh (MP). Leading the MP team, Sakshi, who is well known for her crafty left handed finishes, performed her role on offense and defense, as she played her heart out to intercept and steal the ball. In the last minute, the scores were tied, and this led to Punjab resorting to a two-three zone to limit Sakshi’s driving options. Madhya Pradesh was playing a full court man to man press. Although Punjab lost two of their main players to foul trouble, the bench stepped up as they converted the winning free throws to seal the deal.

Punjab (green) pulled off the victory, despite of the heroics of Sakshi (seen here playing for MP in dark blue) (The Team from Madhya Pradesh played in Chhattisgarh Jerseys)

Inauguration Ceremony of the 67th Junior National Basketball Championship

Late last evening, the inauguration ceremony was held. Mr. Aadhav Arjuna, Chairman Organizing Committee & Managing Director, Arise Industries & Agency Private Limited was the Chief Guest. Mr Ranson Thomas, President, Organizing Committee & Correspondent- Good Shepherd English School was the guest of honour. Other dignitaries present, included Mr Ranson Thomas, Principal, Pondicherry Engineering College, Dr Joy Thomas, Principal, Good Shepherd English School and Mrs Alice Kisku, Principal, The Study L'ecole International. Also present were Rev Fr. MS John Bosco, President of Puducherry Basketball Association (PBA) and Dr V Ragothaman, Honorary Secretary, PBA.

Chief guest Aadhav Arjuna MD of Arise Industries among the players at the opening ceremony; RIGHT: hoisting the BFI Flag.

Results of Day 2 - up to 5: 00 PM

Level 1

Boys

1. Tamil Nadu 98 (Hari Ram 26, Bala 19, Kartick 11) bt Chandigarh 79 (Amit 42, Abishek 12) [24-24, 23-21, 27-15, 24-19]

2. Haryana 96 (Deepak 21, Jonu Kumar 15) bt Madhya Pradesh 65 (Midundas 15) [27-19, 21-22, 26-13, 22-11]

Girls

1. Chhattisgarh 55 (Riya Vimel 20, Vandhana Anje 11) bt Haryana 44(Surya 15) [14-9, 16-10, 14-8, 11-7]

2. Punjab 51 (Komalpreet 17, Rajandeep 12, Amanpreet 10) bt Madhya Pradesh 49 (Sakshi 28) [10-18, 11-8, 10-7, 20-16]

Level 2

Boys

1. West Bengal 71 (Saddam 22, Gopal 22) bt Karnataka 57 (MD Aaif Ali 25, Sumen Bose 13) [21-15, 18-11, 11-19, 21-12]

2. Himachal Pradesh 83 (Sushant 27, Jatin 22) bt Tripura 64 (Akhay 24, Sourav 19) [25-19, 24-12, 18-17, 16-16]

Girls

1. Delhi 55 (Sushantika 19, Sneha 12)bt Jharkhand 42 (Usha 16) [18-3, 10-14, 8-11, 19-14]

2. West Bengal 49 (Chatterjee 24)bt Puducherry 12 [18-4, 9-2, 15-0, 7-6]

3. Gujarat 49 (Arti 20) bt Bihar 6 [14-0, 12-0, 8-0, 15-6]

4. Himachal Pradesh 88 (Somik 34, Vishanti 28)bt Uttarakhand 66 (Srishti 28, Akshita 10) [14-15, 27-15, 23-18, 24-18]

Results of Day 1 - Post 5: oo PM

Level 1

Girls

1. Haryana 65 (Surya 18, Namraj 16) bt Madhya Pradesh 53 (Sakshi P 22) [13-8, 11-12, 20-16, 21-17]

Level 2

Boys

1. Goa 72 (Shavn Arajun 30, Roy Pereikka 24) bt Karnataka 66 (Gurv Prasad 29) [15-18, 18-13, 20-17, 19-18]

2. Gujarat 67 (Amit 25, Mahideep 12) bt West Bengal 53 (Alok 23) [14-24, 17-10, 16-10, 20-9]

3. Puducherry 72 (Krishnan 29, Shildin 13) bt Assam 78(Pappu 16) [11-24, 24-15, 21-16, 22-17]

Girls

1. West Bengal 44 (Chatterjee 23) bt Chandigarh 22 (Amlit Kavs 6) [7-7, 14-6, 13-4, 10-5]