27th Federation Cup Basketball: Indian Air Force post 2nd straight win

The Indian Air Force men’s basketball team have grabbed more eyeballs than they would have expected, especially after their shocking win over reigning champions Punjab Police on day one of the the 27th Federation Cup basketball championship being played at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru.

And on Thursday, the Airforcemen showed that they was no complacency in their ranks after scripting the tournament’s biggest upset, as they posted their second straight win, scraping past Vijaya Bank 85-76 in a Group A clash.

The IAF outfit looked more clinical in attack and disciplined in defence.

They were well served by by point-guard Narender Grewal and shooting-guard Joginder Singh, who kept the scoreboard ticking over, logging 31 and 24 points respectively.

In fact, the all-round display from the Airforcemen proved to be clinching factor in the final outcome.

Vijaya Bank also paid a price for banking too much on Arvind – his 29 points was never going to be enough as his team-mates failed to pull their weight. Srinivas Naik and Basavaraj did shine in patches, which was not adequate enough to take his side to the doorstep of victory.

It wasn’t as if Vijay Bank didn’t have their chances – Arvind triggered extra excitement in the dying moments of the match pulling off a three-pointer as the scoreline read 79-76 with 1.46 seconds left on the clock in the fourth quarter.

But he muffed up a couple of crucial free throws to allow IAF scamper home.

Meanwhile, Punjab Police regrouped well after their surprising opening match loss, pipping Captain’s Club, Delhi 74-53.

The Punjab cops were determined to set things right after their first day poor show and led an evenly contest first half 36-32 before running away with the game.

Strong contenders ONGC lived up to their billing, fashioning a 96-59 win over Jind District in a men’s Group B match.

Results

Men: Group ‘A’: Indian Air Force bt Vijaya Bank 85-76; Central Excise and Customs, Kerala bt Captain’s Club, Delhi 88-63; Punjab Police bt Captain’s Club, Delhi 74-53.

Group ‘B’: ONGC, Uttarakhand bt Jind District, Haryana 96-59; Indian Overseas Bank, Chennai bt South Central Railways 80-45.

Women: Group ‘A’: South East Central Railway bt Kerala 79-68; Delhi bt Karnataka 82-77. Group ‘B’ Tamil Nadu bt Chhattisgarh 64-57; Maharashtra bt Andhra Pradesh 89-41.