Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) registered an easy 84-64 win over Army Service Corps (ASC), Karnataka, in a men's semifinal clash of the 31st Federation Cup basketball championship at the PSG Tech Indoor Sports Complex courts here on Saturday. Only the other day G.R.L. Prasad, the ASC coach, had said that it would be a bit easy for the team if they were to meet IOB in the semifinal. But the Bank men proved a tough nut to crack.
The opening minutes of the first quarter was far more open with both teams pumping their energies to the maximum for a strong first impression. But midway through IOB called the shots. Some impressive layups by S. Prasanna Venkatesh (16 pts) and the ever-reliable Rikin Pethani (29 pts) put the team in command. ASC fought hard but ran into rough weather quite early with Shashi Kumar, the only big star in team, running into foul trouble. And that dented the morale of the team to some extent. Also, the ASC men failed to control the boards at crucial junctures.
The second half continued much the same with IOB maintaining a sizeable lead. Of course, its players missed easy sitters but they made it up with some good defence.
In the fourth quarter, Rikin and Prasanna went flat out to take the team to a 73-56 lead. And ASC had no answers to IOB's tactical plan and final rush. Arguably the game was over at this point.
“ASC's weapon was speed but our defence was good. We had two men to check its single tall man (Shashi) and with it break its speed. It worked well,” said Azeez Ahmed, the IOB coach.
But ASC's coach was upset that his plans went awry. “We were all pumped up for this match but our boys could not control the post play. And, that's how the game went out of our hand.”
Southern Railway in final
In the women's section, title favourite Southern Railway defeated Tamil Nadu 73-67 for a place in the final. The host had in its roster a set of talented individuals but lacked the height and the sting to trouble its opponent in the first session. R. Rajapriyadarshini, D. Anitha Priya and Renjini Peter, were the pillars of strength for Railways during that period. The experienced Renjini, in fact, is returning to the side after a nine-month injury layoff. And, she played the pivotal role to great perfection.
Railways, with virtually no bench strength to back its efforts, exercised its strategies with caution and care. The scoring rate was not to its expectations but with great understanding and excellent court coverage the team managed to stay afloat for most part. The Tamil Nadu women fought back in a valiant manner after the lemon break. R. Varshanandhini and M. Keerthi showed sense of urgency but Railways, thanks to its rich experience, managed to sail through safely.
In the final, the Railway side will take on Chattisgarh, which scored a thrilling 99-98 win over a fighting West Bengal.
The results (semifinals)
Men: IOB 84 (Rikin Pethani 29, Prasanna Venkatesh 16) bt Army Service Corps (Karnataka) 64 (Jeethandar Singh 19, Issac T. Thomas 15). ONGC (Uttarakhand) 72 bt Indian Air Force 49.
Women: Southern Rly 73 (D. Anitha Priya 25, R. Raja Priyadarshini 14) bt Tamil Nadu 67 (R. Varshanandhini 22, M. Keerthi 17); Chattisgarh 99 bt West Bengal 98.
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