1st Midhun Markose All India Basketball Championships: Day 5, Finalists Spotted

Ashey Mathew for KSEB against Central Railway, Mumbai. KSEB made it to the Finals. (Photo Courtesy: Kerala Basketball Association)

Kerala State Electricity Board women beat Central Railway, Mumbai 65-56 and will now meet South Western Railway in the finals. In the men’s section, Indian Overseas Bank, Chennai defeated Customs and Central Excise from Kochi and will take on Vijaya Bank in the finals of the 1st Midhun Markose All India Basketball Tournament for Men and Women. The tournament is being held at Central Stadium’s flood lit courts in Thiruvananthapuram.

In the women’s last league match on Thursday, KSEB, after leading 32-27 at half time went on to beat Central Railway 65-56. For KSEB, Grima was the top scorer with 15 points followed by Rosmy Thomas making 14 points. For Central Railway, Renjusha Mathew top scored with 13 points.

In the men’s first semi-final, IOB, Chennai defeated Customs and Central Excise, Kochi 60-53 after leading 21-16 at half time. For IOB, Aravind again top scored with 16 points followed by Prasanna making 14. For Customs, Subash J Shenoy was the top scorer with 19 points followed by Monish Wilson making 16.

In the second semi-final, Vijaya Bank after a comfortable lead of 32-23 to begin the third quarter beat Indian Army 71-53. For Vijaya Bank, Aravind top scored with 31 points followed by Sanjay Raj making 17. For Indian Army, Abhishek and Amir scored 11 points each.

The tournament also observed a few minutes silence in the memory of Smt Raymol Mathai, a former state player who passed away yesterday in Kochi. Shri Ramesh Chennithala, President of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee will be the Chief Guest on the closing day and will distribute cash prizes and trophies to the winners.

Detailed Scores

Women semi-final

• KSEB, Thiruvananthapuram 65 (Grima 15, Rosmy Thomas 14, Merlin Baby 10) bt Central railway Mumbai 56 (Renjusha Mathew 13, Greesha Varghese 11)

Men’s semi-final

• IOB, Chennai 60 (Aravind 16, Prasanna 14, Mihir Pandey 10) bt Customs and Central Excise Kochi 53 (Subash J Shenoy 19, Monish Wilson 16, Eudrick Perera11)
• Vijaya Bank, Bangalore 71 (Aravind 31, Sanjay Raj 17, Roshan 10) bt Indian Army, New Delhi 53 (Abhishek 11, Amur 11)

Final Day Schedule

• 4 pm: Match between semi-final losers Customs & Central Excise vs. Indian Army
• 5.30 pm: Women’s final between KSEB Thiruvanthapuram vs. SW Railway, Hubli
• 7.00 pm: Men’s final between IOB, Chennai vs. Vijaya Bank, Bangaloare
• 8.30 pm: Prize Distribution