CROWD support makes a lot of difference in any sport. When it comes to a game like basketball, especially played in a small hall where every inch of space is occupied by fanatic supporters of a home team, it assumes greater significance.
That is what Tamil Nadu learnt in the final of the National Games basketball championship at the Guru Nanak Stadium hall. It was a miracle that the crowd which kept worming its way in even after every nook and corner seemed to have been filled, did not create any trouble. But it did boost the morale of the Punjab team. Rightly so. In turn, it upset the rhythm of the Tamil Nadu men as well.
Punjab won 85-78 in a final which really did not turn into one of those edge-of-the-seat thrillers. That was mainly because of the fact that Tamil Nadu seemed to give up hope all too soon. With less than two minutes left, Tamil Nadu had crept up to 76-81 after Punjab had enjoyed a 10-point leeway much of the time from the end of the third quarter onwards.
But it had to be Punjab's day. Rather its playmaker Gagnesh Kumar's day. As he sank two free throws to shut Tamil Nadu out of the match with just 10 seconds left on the clock, the crowd went delirious. The jubilant scenes that followed the final whistle must have added spice to the revenge that Punjab had been thirsting for against the National champion.
The control that Tamil Nadu had gained with Shabeer Ahmed guarding the tall Punjab pivot, Parminder Singh Sr. quite effectively at the beginning, did not last for long. Parminder Sr. continued to be in tight check, but Gagnesh Kumar dribbled around the defence and drove in from the outside to score crucial baskets.
Added to Ganesh's brilliance was the sure shooting by Parminder Singh Jr. Gradually Punjab had the match under its control. Everytime Tamil Nadu came back and bridged the gap, these two were able to regain the initiative for the home team. Tamil Nadu had no answer to this duo.
In the second half, Parminder Sr. started asserting himself at least in gathering offensive rebounds while the Tamil Nadu players missed easy baskets at the other end. When the end approached, the Tamil Nadu players could not control their nerves while Punjab stepped on the pedal, obviously pumped up by the vociferous support from the overflowing stands. Robinson, Shivasankar and Moses Jeevananth tried to rally the Tamil Nadu side around but in vain.
Parminder Sr., getting bulkier and slower, is still the marksman that Punjab looks up to. Though he could not do much to break free from the excellent defence put up by Shabeer Ahmed in the final, he still managed 18 points.
For Punjab, Gagnesh Kumar continues to be the livewire in the line-up, a shrewd playmaker, a fine shooter from the outside as well as from near and a good defender. What was welcome from the Punjab viewpoint in the final was the splendid manner in which Parminder Jr. and Lakhwinder Singh rose to the occasion.
Tamil Nadu had overcome Jharkhand with a clinical performance in the semifinal while Punjab had trounced Andhra Pradesh.
Jharkhand looked temperamental. It allowed itself to be bogged down with the thought that it was unfairly penalised by the technical committee which barred Nishant Kumar after he had played a match. Nishant had played for ONGC this season. That team, an affiliated unit of Uttar Pradesh earlier, now belongs to Uttaranchal. Well before the two met in the semifinal, Tamil Nadu had protested about Nishant's inclusion and after he had played against Kerala, he was sidelined. So, too, Punjab's Suresh Kumar who also had played for ONGC.
The BFI officials were correct in interpreting the rules, but Jharkhand's main grouse was that it was not told anything in reply to the explanation it had given, including papers to prove Nishant's domicile status in Ranchi. There was no point in bringing the athletics argument into the issue since different federations followed their own regulations. As long as the IOA fails to enforce uniform rules, such controversies will continue to mar competitions.
Jharkhand's eventual loss to Andhra Pradesh in the bronze match was a surprise. Men like Jaldeep Dhaliwal and Riyazuddin gave up too quickly while Andhra, with P. B. Srinath, J. Pankaj and Vishal Kumar playing with a lot of determination won 66-63 in a match which swung either way throughout.
Maharashtra won the women's title. Its 73-61 victory over Tamil Nadu in the final was on predictable lines. Its shooting rate was the highest in the competition and that was bound to count in the longer run. In the final, it did well to keep the dangerous Tamil Nadu pivot, Renjini Jose, under check.
Ivy Cherian, Arnika Gujar and Manisha Kaprekar were the stars for Maharashtra. The team had tremendous all-round strength and coupled with that Ivy and Manisha were unerring from all angles. In the final, Ivy might have been a little subdued in the first half, but towards the end she was in full flow.
Tamil Nadu depended much on Renjini Jose and Meenalatha in all the matches.
Renjini, though guarded well in the final, scored her quota, but it was not enough for a team which could not match its rival's all-round superiority.
Kerala, which contributes the bulk of the woman basketballers to all other states, did not have the team that could stand up to the toughest of tests. It even lost to Andhra in the third-place play-off. For Andhra, Sofi Sam and Jetty Jose were consistent performers.
The results:Men: Final: Punjab 85 (Gagnesh Kumar 33, Parminder Singh Jr. 19, Parminder Singh Sr. 18) beat Tamil Nadu 78 (S. Robinson 34, Moses Jeevananth 11).
Third place play-off: Andhra Pradesh 66 (J. Pankaj 20, Vishal Kumar 14, Harikrishna 12) beat Jharkhand 63 (Mohit Bhandari 14, N. S. Rawat 12, Desraj 18).
Semifinals: Punjab 111 (Parminder Sr. 28, Gagnesh Kumar 13, Parminder Jr. 16) beat Andhra Pradesh 48 (Vishal Kumar 10).
Tamil Nadu 77 (Moses Jeevananth 20, Robinson 18) beat Jharkhand 67 (Desraj 20, Jaldeep Dhaliwal 18, Bhandari 16).
Women: Final: Maharashtra 73 (Arnika Gujar 14, Manisha Kaprekar 16, Ivy Cherian 16) beat Tamil Nadu 61 (Meenalatha 24, Renjini Jose 22).
Third place play-off: Andhra Pradesh 59 (Sofi Sam 24, M. A. Sisely 15) beat Kerala 40.
Semifinals: Maharashtra 75 (Ivy Cherian 28, Manisha Kaprekar 19) beat Kerala 46 (Liji George 11).
Tamil Nadu 92 (Renjini Jose 32, Shyamala Suganthi 15, P. Anitha 16) beat Andhra Pradesh 57 (Jetty Jose 18, Laiji U.P. 18).
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