IOB survive a scare

IOB Chennai beat ONGC in a tight affair where the final score stood 68-61 when the whistle was blown on the third day of the fifth All-India Savio Cup basketball tournament at the Don Bosco High School, Matunga, on Wednesday.

This result threw the competition wide open in the men’s draw with only Services remaining undefeated as yet. Both the sides were neck and neck through all the quarters with IOB managing to keep their nose ahead throughout the match.

Diminutive Arvind was the star of the day for IOB scoring 11 crucial points for his team. The 5-foot-4-inch player was a livewire on the court. He was either defending players almost double his size or dribbling his way across the court at a brisk pace. DNA caught up with a pleased Arvind, “We played as a team and we followed our coach’s instructions which led to us winning. ONGC was our toughest competitor so we are happy that we were able to beat them.”

When asked about his height and whether it had ever hindered him as a player he was quick to say,” Height has never come into the picture for me as I worked on my strength instead.”

The other star performers for IOB were Mehir Pandey with 18 points and Robsinson, who is just coming back from an injury, with 15 points. Trideep Rai had a good match for the second day running and was the top scorer for his side with 16 points while Shiv Hodda chipped in with 12.

In a women’s match, Chattisgarh handed the Kerala side a severe 111-69 thrashing. M Pushpa continued her good form and ended the day with 40 points.