Agnel boys on verge of basketball history

A win on November 4 will make them the first school or college in the State to bag a hat-trick of titles

MUMBAI: The basketball players of Vashi’s Fr Agnel’s Multipurpose High School are on the anvil of history. If the under-19 boys go on to win the State championship in Kolhapur on November 4, they would become the first school or college team in the State’s basketball history to bag a hat-trick of titles.

The school has been State champions for the past two years. In 2004, the Agnel lads defeated a school from Kolhapur, while in 2005, they emerged champions by beating Nagpur division.

The team is representing Mumbai division after defeating Dhirubhai Ambani School, Mumbai 77-50 in the finals of the divisional-level championship that concluded at Fr Agnel’s court on Tuesday. Kaustubh Shetye, who has represented the State in three School Nationals, scored the highest 31 points for Agnel. He was ably supported by Sagar Sonavane and Suraj Sujathan who scored 14 points each. For the Mumbai team, Yash Mittal netted 21 points while Varun Dattani and Aditya Tarakhia scored 12 and six points respectively.

After giving a scintillating performance in the divisional meet, the spirited Agnelites are confident of giving their best in the State championship and win the title for the third consecutive time. “We will not take any chances. We have our schedule planned. From October 15, we will practice for two hours in the afternoon to get acclimatised to the conditions in Kolhapur. Besides that we will also practice in the evening under floodlights,” said team coach Ravi Nair.

The players have also toiled hard throughout the year to reach this level. “Last year, after winning the State championship, we decided to go for the hat-trick this year. We have worked hard to reach this far and hope that our efforts will bear fruit,” stated their star player Kaustubh Shetye.

Following their seniors, the school’s under-17 boys team — which looks equally determined to bag the State title for the second time — also won the divisional-level tourney at Vashi. They had been State winners in 2005 and beat Don Bosco, Mumbai, 59-44 in the final of this year’s divisional-level meet. However, Agnel’s under-14 team could not shine as they lost to Mandanpura High School, Mumbai 35-30 in divisional-level final.