5th Mulki Sunder Ram Shetty All India Basketball Tournament: Hosts Vijaya Bank and Income Tax (Chennai) assured of semis berths

G Sivabalan of Income Tax Chennai going in for a layup
G Sivabalan of Income Tax Chennai going in for a layup

Bengaluru, 23rd August 2018: The 5th edition of the Mulki Sunder Ram Shetty All India Basketball Tournament, organized by Vijaya Bank, entered day two today at the Beagles Indoor Basketball Stadium, Malleswaram.

Vijaya Bank and Income Tax, Chennai posted dominant wins to go 2-0 in Group B. In doing so, both teams are assured of semifinal berths and will face each other tomorrow in their final group game.

Vijaya Bank, in fact, has posted three-digit scores for the second straight time, becoming the only team in the tournament to achieve this feat so far.

Income Tax, Chennai beat Indian Customs (Pune) 90-61

The first game of day 2 saw Indian Customs, Pune trying to fight for their first victory of the tournament against the dominant Income Tax team headed by veteran India team point guard Akilan Pari. Customs team kept their opponents under check in the first half of the game with the help of former Indian team guard Siddhant Shinde but couldn’t keep up with the mighty Income Tax team in the second half.

The 1st quarter started with a flashy behind the back fake from Pari for the opening basket for Income Tax team followed by a sweet up and under post move from Income Tax’s ex-international forward K. Ravikumar. As the game progressed, Customs, Pune answered every two-pointer by the Income Tax team with a three-pointer of their own and kept the game leveled through the first quarter. Income Tax ended the quarter with two quick fastbreak baskets from G Sivabalan giving them a 19-13 lead.

Siddhant Shinde of Customs(Pune)
Siddhant Shinde of Customs(Pune)

Income Tax scored 10 quick points in the first two minutes of the 2nd quarter thanks to some heroic offense from G Sivabalan which increased their lead to double digits. Midway into the quarter former Indian team guard Siddhant Shinde displayed a great shooting performance from midrange and reduced the lead back to 6 points. Ending the first half of the game Akilan Pari showed his expertise with the ball and created some beautiful plays for his teammates to end the quarter leading 48-36.

The 3rd quarter saw a complete change of momentum for the Income Tax team as their guard G Sivabalan started to heat up from beyond the three-point line and drained three long-distance shots on consecutive possessions. Meanwhile, Customs were not able to convert their attempts from the three-point line which they were heavily reliant on throughout the game.

Income Tax started the final quarter with a huge lead of 25 points which they maintained towards the end of the game thanks to a major contribution from S. Ramkumar in the fourth quarter. Customs could not overcome the deficit in the last quarter and lost the game 61-90.

Final score: Income Tax 90 (G Sivabalan 30 pts, Akilan Pari 18 pts) beat Indian Customs(Pune) 61 (Siddhant Shinde 25 pts, Ajinkya 13 pts) [19-13, 29-24,26-12,16-12]

Vijaya Bank beat Telangana State Team 102-60

The second game of the day saw hosts Vijaya Bank take on the young Telangana State team. Telangana made some noise in the first half but Vijaya Bank’s star guard Anil Kumar continued his stellar performance to make this a no contest.

Anil Kumar of Vijaya Bank on a layup
Anil Kumar of Vijaya Bank on a layup

The 1st quarter saw a great start for the Telangana team as Visu Palani gave them an early lead. But Telangana missed many easy baskets in transition later in the quarter because of which Vijaya Bank took a 6 point lead.

The start of the 2nd quarter again saw Telangana trying to get back into the game with some quick points but hosts Vijaya Bank came back with some solid defense and good playmaking by their point guard Rajesh Uppar and consecutive baskets by forward S Karthik. Anil Kumar continued his good form on both ends of the floor as he converted his own steels on the other end and finishing the half leading 65-33.

Vijaya Bank started the 3rd quarter resting all their starters as they were sitting on a comfortable 32 point lead but the Telangana state team still could not overcome the deficit created in the first half. Meanwhile, Clinton for Vijaya Bank kept their scoring streak alive and extended the lead even further and Nagaraj N. finished the game strong for Vijaya Bank with a slam dunk taking their score to triple digits.

Vijaya Bank 102 (Anil Kumar 19 pts, Harish 19 pts) beat Telangana 60 (Chandrahas 16 pts, Visu Palani 16 pts) [30-24, 35-09, 26-14, 11-13]

Late evening results from Day 1 (22/8/17)

Indian Navy (Lonavala) beat I.C.F Chennai 89-51

The second game on day one turned out to be an eye opener for the previous edition runners-up I.C.F Chennai. Their opponents Indian Navy from Lonavala displayed some great athleticism which the ICF team was not able to match up to. Indian Navy displayed great confidence on the floor in their debut match of the tournament under the leadership of Indian team guard Mahipal Singh.

Indian Navy started the game with some great ball movement and beautifully structured plays to get the ball to their big man Vivek Goti who scored 10 of his 14 points in the first quarter itself and was all over the offensive board.

Moving to the 2nd quarter I.C.F was still unable to match up to the speed and athleticism that was on display by the Indian Navy team. Guard Mandeep Singh took charge for Indian Navy in the second quarter scoring in double digits with some exciting finishes under the basket as a result of the unselfish playmaking of his team and gaining a 24 point lead at the end of the first half.

In the 3rd quarter, the Indian Navy showed some slack on defense as they rested most of their starters at the beginning of this quarter. This turned out to be the best quarter for the I.C.F team as their shooting guard K. Mukunth got a couple of three-pointers going but still were outscored by the Indian Navy bench and trailed 42-68 at the end of the 3rd quarter.

The 4th quarter started with some hustle from I.C.F but they were still unable to convert their shots and missed a lot of open shots from behind the three-point line. Meanwhile Indian Navy had a comfortable 26 point lead to begin the quarter which they increased even further and finished the game at 89-51.

Final score: Indian Navy 89 (Vivek Goti 14 pts, A. J. Thomas 14 pts) beat I.C.F. Chennai 51 (G.A. Anto Bethle 15 pts, C. Praveen Kumar 10 pts)

Income Tax, Chennai beat Telangana State Team 89-67

The final game of the opening day saw some great hustle and competition between the current favourites Income Tax team and another debutant to the tournament, the Telangana state team. Income Tax, Chennai had all the odds aligned towards them with a roster filled with a lot of international experience headed by team India veteran point guard Akilan Pari. But in this opening game, two of their international star big men Rikin Pethani and Aravind Annadurai were missing.

Starting off fluidly, Pari showed why he is considered as one of the best point guards in the country as he displayed some exceptional scoring and passing skills providing his team a 14 point lead to finish the first quarter.

The 2nd quarter was a very different story altogether as Income Tax had to continue the game without the help of their centre Jeevanantham Pandi who twisted his ankle while trying to secure an offensive rebound. The young Telangana team used this opportunity and had great success in securing multiple offensive rebounds and hitting six threes that cut their deficit to just 6 points.

In the 3rd quarter, Income Tax regrouped themselves and mounted a huge comeback thanks to their outstanding shooting guard G Sivabalan who penetrated the Telangana team defense on multiple occasions. Sivabalan was able to finish under the ring while taking contact which earned him some free throws as well. Telangana team guard Visu Palani who led the team in the first half tried to bring his team back into the game but they were outscored 10-30 in this quarter.

In the final quarter, Telangana team kept on hustling but with the return of Jeevanantham Pandi — who showed some excellent shot-blocking skills with his amazing wingspan and reach — Income Tax took away the game with a 22 point lead.

Final Score: Income Tax, Chennai 89 (Siva Balan 20 pts, Akilan 14 pts, P. Jeeva 14 pts) beat Telangana State Team 67 (Visu Palani 19 pts, Nikhil Sai 17 pts)

Day 2 Game 3: Indian Navy 84 (Mahipal Singh 30 pts, Vivek Goti 23 pts, GurWinder Singh 17 pts) beat Karnataka State Team 52 (Abhishek 28 pts, Balwan Hooda 9 pts) [17-16, 16-16, 05-32, 14-20]

Edited by Raunak J