Madras Christian College (MCC) won the basketball title at the 81st Bertram Memorial tournament after it defeated Loyola Whites 70-67 in a pulsating semifinal league match here on Wednesday.
After having trailed Loyola by two points at the end of the first quarter (20-22), the next period saw MCC surge ahead by four (36-32). However, Loyola, thanks to Praveen Kumar’s 27 points recovered to establish a four-point lead (54-50) with just a quarter to go.
Earlier results had meant that MCC needed only a win to bag the trophy, while Loyola had to win by a margin of 17 points. Led by Kasirajan (19 points) and Vivek (14), MCC ensured the win beating Loyola by three points.
Other results:
Basketball: Semifinal league: MCC 59 (M. Vivek 10) bt G.R.D. Coimbatore 18; J.I.T., Chennai 85 (Sharhaukraj 32, Ajinkye 22) bt Loyola White 69 (Karthikeyan 19, Praveen Kumar 21); MCC 73 (Kasirajan 27) bt JIT 70 (Ajinkye 20); Loyola White 81 (Karthikeyan 28) bt G.R.D. 59 (Jayaseelan 17).
Volleyball: Pre-quarterfinals: Loyola Whites bt Loyola Hostel 25-20, 25-14; Loyola Whites bt Gurunanak 25-12, 25-11; Panimalar Engineering College ‘A’ bt A.J.S. Nidhi HSS 25-12, 25-14; Sri Krishna Art & Science, Coimbatore bt JHA Agarsen College 25-16, 25-16.
