58th Kerala Senior State Championship tips off in Thrissur

A league match in progress during the 58th Senior State Championship in Thrissur. In the backdrop: the Sree Kerala Varma College Men’s Hostel.

One of India’s strongest basketball states, Kerala, has begun its 58th Senior State Championship. As per BFI guidelines sent out to respective states it is mandatory to organise state championships prior to the Senior National Championships. The Senior State Championship is a handy tool that allows selectors the opportunity to pick the most in-form players for the state team that will then participate in the senior nationals. The 64th Senior Nationals was originally scheduled for end November but had to be postponed due to the ongoing Delhi Assembly elections. It will now be held from 26thFebruary to 5th March at the Tyagaraj Indoor Stadium, New Delhi.

The five day long Kerala Senior State Championship (3rd December to 8th December) is being hosted by the Sree Kerala Varma College in the city of Thrissur. Sree Kerala Varma has the distinction of producing numerous star players, most famous among them, the former Asian All Star Jayasankar Menon.

Unlike certain other states like Tamil Nadu and Karnataka which follow the club format, Kerala retains its district based division of teams in strict accordance with the BFI rules. All 14 districts are participating in the men’s section and 12 teams are competing in the women’s category. Last year’s men’s winners Ernakulum and women’s winners Palakkad continue as overwhelming favourites this year as well.

Apart from Ernakulam men, Palakkad men & women and Trivandrum, most of the other sides feature college students. Ernakulum men’s team features the stars from the Cochin Central Excise & Customs team such as Basil Philip, Eudrick Pereira and the veteran Subhash Shenoy. The Palakkad men and women’s teams are predominantly composed of players from Kerala Police. The third strong team in the fray is Trivandrum that comprises KSEB and BSNL players. It remains to be seen if KSEB’s star player Jeena, who was the find of the Indian team during last month’s historic fifth place finish at the FIBA Asia women’s championship will turn up for the Trivandrum side.

The teams will be vying for the CBC Warrior (for men) and Abraham Thomas Memorial ever rolling trophies. There is no cash prize that goes with this championship. A total of 31 league matches will be played followed by the knockouts from 6th December onwards. Majority of the matches are being held at the Sree Kerala Varma Collage, Thrissur. A few matches between lower pool teams will also be held at the Municipal Stadium, Thrissur.

Late last evening, a minute’s silence was observed in the memory of former state players Robin Anthony and P Dinesh Kumar who passed away earlier this year.

FIXTURES & POOLS

MEN
Pool A	Pool B	Pool C	Pool D
Ernakulam	Trivandrum	Thrissur	Kannur
Kollam	Pathanamthitta	Wayanad	Idukki
Palakkad	Kottayam	Kasargod	Malappuram
Kozhikode	Alappuza

In the men’s section, Pool A & B comprises the ‘super league teams’ i.e. the top eight teams from last year’s tournament. The top three teams from Pool A & B, one each from C&D will qualify for the knockout stages.

WOMEN
Pool A	Pool B	Pool C	Pool D
Palakkad	Trivandrum	Kannur	Trissur
Kollam	Ernakulam	Kozhikkode	Kottayam
Kasargod	Wayanad	Malappuram	Alapuzza

In the women’s section, two teams from each Pool will qualify for the knockout stages.

Day 1 Results (Tuesday, 3rd December 2013) brought to you by The Furtado Initiative

Women

Kozhikode 60 (Anu Thomas 19, Rhea Rajendran 10) bt Malapuram
Thrissur 65 (Grima 23, Anju J 10) bt Alapuzha 44 (Angel 12)
Palakkad 47 bt Kollam 17

Men

Idukki 70 (Akhil C Isaac 23, Thomas Joseph 18) bt Malapuram 48 (Farshad K 28)
Thrissur 55 (Jovin P Vincent 18, Sajith K S 13) bt Wayanad 22
Palakkad 52 bt Kozhikode 23

Day 2 Schedule (Wednesday, 4th December 2014)

* In the schedule given below, Court no. 1 is the Sree Kerala Varma College Court & Court No. 2 refers to the Municipal Stadium, both of which are in Thrissur

Morning Matches

6.00AM Thrissur v. Kottayam Women Court no. 1

6.00AM Wayanad v. Kasargod Men Court no. 2

7.00AM Ernakulam v. Wayanad Women Court no. 1

7.00AM Idukki v. Kannur Men Court no. 2

8.00AM Pathanamthitta v. Alappuzka Men Court no. 1

Evening Matches

3.00 PM Kasargod v. Kollam Women Court no. 2

4.00 PM Thrissur v. Kasargod Men Court no. 1

4.00 PM Kannur v. Malappuram Men Court no. 2

5.00 PM Trivandrum v. Wayanad Women Court no. 1

6.00 PM Trivandrum v. Kottayam Men Court no. 1

7.00 PM Kannur v. Kozhikode Women Court no. 1

8.00 PM Ernakulam v. Palakkad Men Court no. 1

9.00 PM Kollam v. Kozhikode Men Court no. 1

Republished with permission from ekalavyas.com. Original post: http://ekalavyas.com/2013/12/04/58th-kerala-senior-state-championship-tips-off-in-thrissur/

Edited by Staff Editor