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Puducherry, 8th May 2016: Kerala Jr Men could not able to repeat the Performance been a Winner after they last won the Gold 29years back at Neyvel, Sudheep bose and his team can be proud as they are coming into the final after a gap of 19 years . Jr Women was unlucky as they have to meet Tamil Nadu in the quarter-finals and to satisfy with a 5th Position defeating Haryana 72-62 and the sad story is that Kerala which had beaten Maharashtra in the league round went on with a bronze Medal.

After the bitter disappointment of runners up finish last year, Karnataka girls emerged deserving champions in the Arise Steel 67th Junior National Basketball Championship organised by the Puducherry Basketball Association (PBA), under the aegis of the Basketball Federation of India (BFI), at the Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium in the city.

Kerala Jr which has beaten Tamil Nadu in the league Phase could not able to repeat the same in the final against Tamil Nadu and surrendered to them with the score of 77-88 After mediocre league rounds where they finished 2-2, Tamil Nadu boys have stepped up in the business end of the Championship, exacting revenge, first against Haryana in the quarterfinals, and now against Kerala in the finals. The Kerala side led by Md Shiras has been a revelation this year, but against a resurgent Tamil Nadu outfit playing not far from home, they found the going tough in the gold medal match.

In the first quarter both the teams played a zone defence and Kerala came prepared, as they were able to limit TN’s youth India captain Baladaneshwar’s offensive explosiveness. But Hari Ram, the Tamil Nadu Captain was aggressive both on the offensive and defensive boards, as he brought his ‘A’ game today with marvellous putbacks and mid-range jump shots. Taking a decent lead in the third quarter, Tamil Nadu was careful with the ball as the Kerala team shifted to a full-court pressure defence. With the time running out Kerala did all they could but the two Tamil Nadu guards Bala and Kali dribbled through their defence with ease as they created chances from themselves and their teammates. Kerala was still in the hunt trailing by 6 points in the last minute of the fourth quarter, but Hari Ram once again stepped up to finish the game off in style.

KARNATAKA GIRLS TRIUMPH

In the finals, both the teams came to the occasion prepared and were neck and neck at the end of the first quarter. Both the teams were playing zone defence and their respective shooters maximised on the opportunities and were able to score from behind the arc. Tamil Nadu led, 16-14, after the first ten minutes. The intensity changed in the second quarter as Karnataka shifted to man to man defence and were able to stop the three pointers of Tamil Nadu. In the third quarter, Karnataka took a huge lead as their pressure defence forced the Tamil Nadu players into many turnovers. The turnover led to easy transition baskets, many of which were converted by its senior international star Bhandavya. In the fourth quarter, Karnataka maintained its double-digit lead despite Tamil Nadu switching to a full court press in desperation.

BRONZE FOR MAHARASHTRA JR WOMEN & DELHI JR MEN

Maharashtra Jr women scrape past defending Champions Chhattisgarh 60-58 while Delhi Jr Men beat Haryana 77-72 to crown the Bronze

PRIZE DISTRIBUTION CEREMONY

BFI President Shri K Govindaraj was the chief guest for the prize distribution ceremony. Mr Aadhav Arjuna, Chairman of the Organising Committee & Managing Director of Arise Industries & Agency Pvt. Ltd. was the guest of honour. Dr T Sundararajan, the principal of Pondicherry Engineering College presided over the ceremony, with Mr V Rajasekar, Managing Director, Raman Roadways felicitating the guests. Other dignitaries overseeing the ceremony included Rev Fr MS John Bosco, President-PBA and Dr V Ragothaman, Honorary Secretary-PBA.

Detailed Results

Finals

   JR MEN

Tamil Nadu -88(Hari Ram 29, Bala 19) bt Kerala-77 (Shiras 23, Prem 22) [23-16, 20-19, 18-17, 27-25]

   JR WOMEN

Karnataka -(Bhandavya 29, Priyanka 10) bt Tamil Nadu (Srishti 8) 64-44 [14-16, 19-9, 19-3, 12-16]

3rd and 4th Place

   JR MEN

Delhi-77 (Vishal 17, Hasraj 14) bt Haryana-72 (Sonu Kumar 14, Deepak 11) 77-72 [11-12, 20-17, 20-20, 26-23]

   JR WOMEN

Maharashtra -60(Shruti 27, Neha 15) bt Chhattisgarh -58 (Vaniana 15, Gulabsha 14) 60-58 [10-13, 16-15, 11-9, 23-21]

5th and 6th Place

BOYS

Punjab -65(Sahil 20) bt Chandigarh-46 (Jatin 15, Abishek 15) 65-46 [21-14, 15-6, 20-12, 9-14]

GIRLS

Kerala-33 (Anusha 20, Nimmi George 18) bt Haryana-62 (Surya 33, Bharti 9) 72-62 [13-15, 19-15, 18-16, 22-15]

Details of Kerala Jr Men Team

Details of Kerala Team

Junior Men

Prem Prakash (Thiruvananthapuram)
Hails from Thiruvananthapuram  studying at Mar Ivanios College Thiruvananthapuram

Mohammed Shiraz
Hails from Alappuzha, Studying at St Ephrem’s HSS mannanam, Kottayam

Jacob Jaimon Jacob
Hails from Mannanam, Studying at St ephremes HSS mannanam,kottayam

Akhil B
Hails from Thiruvalla, Studying at St ephremes HSS mannanam,kottayam

Gineeb Benny 
Hails from Koratty, Studying in Little flower HSS Koratty

Indian Nelson 
Hails from Koratty, Studying in Little flower HSS Koratty

Grigo Mathew
Hails from Koratty, Studying in Little flower HSS Koratty

Sudharshan P(Alappuzha) 
Hails from Nileshwar Kasargod, Studying at St Berchnmns College Changancherry

Akhil P Murali(Idukki) 
Hails from Kudiathur, Thodupuzha Studying in ShanthalJyothi School Muttam

Sharan Frazilin 
Hails from Fort Kochi, Studying  at Sacred Heart C M I School Thevara

Ebin Wilson (Ernakulum) 
Hails from Kadungallur, Aluva  Studying at Muppathadam Govt HSS Aluva

Harikrishnan
Hails from Alappuzha ST Josephs HSS Pulicunnu

Coach – Sudeep Bose Native Place Cheruvatoor  coach with Kerala State Sports council
Asst Coach – Suni  Native Place Cheruvathoor , Secretary Kasargod District Basketball Association
Manager – Anil Bangalam – hails from Bangalam Town  in Kasargod 

Road to Final Jr Men and 5th Place Kerala

Jr Men Silver for Kerala
In the league round Kerala defeated Tamil Nadu 83-81, then Chandigarh 77-71 and drubbed Madhya Pradesh 62-38 but lost to Haryana 78-92 but  reached Quarter final and defeated Maharashtra 72-46 and in the Semi final beat Delhi 72-68 to meet Tamil Nadu  and Lost by 77-88.
 
Jr Women Position 5th
In the League round beat Uttar Pradesh 45-12, then Maharashtra 60-33 and Rajasthan 66-39 but lost to Karnataka 65-57 and again in the Quarter final lost to Tamil Nadu  36-63.

Then for the 5th to 8th Spot drubbed Delhi 76-33 and then beat Haryana to Secure 5th position.