The Hindu : Sport / Basketball : Kozhikode wins opener

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Wednesday, Nov 14, 2007
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Sport - Basketball

Kozhikode wins opener

Principal Correspondent

THALASSERY: Host Kannur, flattered to deceive in the opening match of the Sea Star 52nd State senior basketball championship at the Municipal Stadium here on Tuesday.

The host, after a promising beginning, failed to keep pace with Kozhikode, which won the men’s Pool ‘B’ encounter 64-47, in front of a goodly crowd.

Kozhikode gave little indication of what it was capable of early on, as it struggled to find rhythm, while the host looked confident and attacked with vigour. Not surprisingly, it was Kannur which led at the end of the first quarter, 25-16.

But, in the second quarter Kozhikode began to move faster and, with purpose. With its tall and talented pair of Bony Mathew and Nelson Jose combining well to torment the host, Kozhikode didn’t take long to take control.

Kozhikode was leading 41-35 at the end of the second quarter. The team was also well served by Robin James, who was accurate with his outside shooting, Shijoy Thomas and R.T. Vishnu.

Kannur’s defence worked adequately only in the opening quarter, in which its feeder K. Mahesh was also able to plot the team’s offense. But once Kozhikode settled down, Kannur had few answers.

This was the first ever game in the State officiated by three umpires. “Everything went off smoothly,” said Fr. Philips Vadakekalam, one of the three officials of the match.

In another men’s match, Thrissur beat Wayanad 65-41 (Pool ‘A’).

In the women’s section, Kannur received a walkover from Malappuam (Pool ‘B’).

The results (preliminary league): Men: Pool ‘A’: Thrissur 65 (Basin 16) bt Wayanad 41 (K.M. Babu 16). Pool ‘B’: Kozhikode 64 (Bony Mathew 14, Shijoy Thomas 14, Robin James 11) bt Kannur 47 (Ajeeth Sujanan 13).

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