Excellent bench strength was the key to the Tamil Nadu men’s team regaining the National basketball title after a decade in New Delhi recently, according to S. Bhaskar, the State’s chief coach.
Speaking to The Hindu from the Capital, Bhaskar said: “At no point of time were we scared when any of the players got injured. Each player was as good as the other. That was our biggest strength.”
Bhaskar, a Sports Authority of India coach based in Mayiladuthurai, said the team played man-to-man defence but changed to offensive tactics depending on how the opponent played on that day.
“For example, against Punjab in the final, they played zone defence, but we broke it. After the half-time, it became easy for us,” he said.
“And against Services, we changed our game plan here and there, but basically played a defensive game and explored attacking options,” he said.
The 47-year-old was all praise for forwards Pratham Singh and Prasanna Venkatesh, and centre Rikin Pethani for putting up a fabulous show.
“Prasanna’s drive-ins were very good; he has good penetration, and he was good from the outside too. Rikin won the ‘most valuable player’ award. Pratham, being experienced, played well.
“But I would say it was a complete team effort,” he said.
Winning the crown after 10 years was a great feeling, said Bhaskar who had first coached the team was in 2008 at the Surat Nationals.
Bhaskar termed the victory over Services in the semifinals as a huge morale-booster for the side, and said that had helped Tamil Nadu play in a relaxed frame of mind against Punjab in the final.
“Leading 82-81 against Services, and with 45 seconds to the hooter, we took a six-point lead. Our confidence went sky-high,” he said.
