South Central Railways hoopsters steamroll YMCA Secunderabad to claim title

HYDERABAD: YMCA Secunderabad, after stunning defending champions Customs & GST in the semifinals on Friday night, had raised high hopes of doing an encore in the final against South Central Railway on Saturday night.
However, the ‘professional’ Railway men proved too good for the upstarts as they streamrolled to a comfortable 83-57 win to emerge champions of the 3rd Samuel Vasanth Kumar Memorial Floodlit Prize Money Basketball Tournament, conducted by Sports Writers Association of Telangana (SWAT) and Hyderabad District Basketball Association (HDBA), at YMCA Secunderabad, here.
In the first half of the game, it looked as if YMCA will be able to hold their ground as they kept pace with the rivals. At half-time, SCR were ahead 50-34. But the champion side turned in an inspired show to snuff what little hopes YMCA hoopsters had entertained of a fight back.
It was attack from the word go by the Railways hoopsters as they kept their opponent at bay. The triumvirate comprising forward A Vijay Kumar, pivots Santosh Mani and Raju M played such a fast game that they denied ball possession to their rivals in the first two quarters.
SCR hustled the YMCA defence right through, rarely letting the latter settle down to guard their citadel effectively. Santosh was unstoppable sinking a trio of three-pointers en route to becoming the final's top scorer.
YMCA's forwards Harish Varma, Allen Peter Cyrus (who was later adjudged Most Promising Young Player) and Ashu Tyagi worked hard to catch up with the Railways, the trio in particular trying to find the ring from the outside. With SCR showing alacrity with defensive rebounds, the home side wasn't too successful with inside shooting either.
Marri Laxma Reddy, Chairman, MLRIT group of institutions, who was the chief guest, gave away the prizes. SCR took home Rs 15,000 and YMCA had to be content with Rs 12,000. The semifinalists Customs & GST and Sanathnagar Playground got Rs 7,500 each.
The six-day tournament, held in honour of the late Basketball Federation of India referee and sports journalist was jointly organised by the Hyderabad District Basketball Association and the Sports Writers Association of Telangana (SWAT).
Result (final): South Central Railway 83 (Santosh Mani 29, Vijay 22, Kaushik Ram 19) bt YMCA Secunderabad 57 (Harish Varma 20, Ashu Tyagi 12). Most Promising Young Player: Allen Peter Cyrus. Most Valuable Player: Merugu Vijay Kumar (Customs & GST). Best Coach: Banna Ravinder.
Photo captoin: South Central Railway, winner of the 3rd Samuel Vasanth Kumar Memorial Basketball Tournament, with chief guest Marri Laxma Reddy, Chairman, MLRIT group of institutions, SRPrem Raj, VP, TSOA,at YMCA Secunderabad on Saturday.