Defending champions Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) once again underlined their supremacy by recording an authoritative 63-53 win against Indian Overseas Bank in the men’s final of the Rs. 5 lakh prize money 10th Savio Cup All-India Basketball Tournament in Mumbai on Monday.
International Vishesh Bhriguvanshi, who scored 17 points, once again played the lead role while seasoned Anoop M. chipped in with 10 points for ONGC. For IOB, Prasanna Venkatesh scored 11 points while Amjyot Singh and Mihir Pandey contributed 10 points each.
ONGC, boasting current and former internationals, put up a better display and held an edge in the proceedings. On the other hand, IOB lacked coordination and consistency and as a result were not able to match their opponents.
Chennai-based IOB also made far too many errors, in both attack and defence, and were also guilty of wasting easy lay-ups which proved to be their undoing.
The oilmen exploited the situation and capitalised on the openings to find the hoop at regular intervals and established a 19-5 lead by the end of the first quarter. The Dehradun-based team continued to control the reins in the second and finished the first half with a healthy 31-16 advantage, which they maintained till the end.
After play resumed, IOB showed improvement but it was not good enough to put pressure on ONGC, who did well to keep their composure and sustain the momentum before completing a deserving win.
ONGC, for their efforts, received the Savio Cup and a cheque of Rs.1.3 lakh while IOB got the runners-up prize-money of Rs.70,000. Chhattisgarh, winners of the women’s crown were presented with a trophy and a cheque of Rs. 50,000 while Southern Railway pocketed the runners-up cash award of Rs. 25,000.
Poonam Chatruvedi of Chhattisgarh and ONGC’s Vishesh Bhriguvanshi were declared the best women and men’s players, respectively
Final results :
Men’s : ONGC 63 (Vishesh Bhriguvanshi 17, Anoop M. 10) beat IOB 53 (Prasanna Venkatesh 11, Amjyot Singh 10, Mihir Pandey 10). Half—time: 31-16.
Women’s : Chhattisgarh 71 (Poonam Chaturvedi 35, Saranjeet Kaur 16) beat Southern Railway 63 (Sonia Joy 22, Raja Priyadarshani 19). Half—time: 29-33.
