6th Savio Cup basketball tournament: Railmen on right track

Maharashtra men had a disastrous start to their campaign in the United Phosphorus All-India 6th Savio Cup basketball tournament, as they lost two matches in two days. They were defeated in their second league match by Indian Railways 94-70 at Don Bosco, Matunga, on Monday.

The battle was half-lost for Maharashtra at a very early stage as Railways established a 12-point lead in the first quarter itself. They tried to make a comeback with three consecutive three-pointers in the second quarter but the railmen still managed to extend their lead by 15 more points and the half-time score read 47-32 in Railways’ favour.

In a game that witnessed a number of fouls being committed, Maharashtra were unable to match up to the railmen’s physical and rough game. Their defense was below par and they missed out on a lot of rebounds that cost them dearly. Adding to their woes, they were also overpowered in terms of height and that went against them when it came to defending their half or grabbing the long distance passes.

Maharashtra’s Raj Kalbhor (25) and Mahesh Nagane (19) fought hard to restore points from missed opportunities in the third quarter but their efforts were not enough to narrow down the point difference. In the final quarter, Maharashtra scored 15 points but Railways were far ahead by then and won their opening game with a difference of 24 points. Prakash Mishra (24) and Yadwinder Singh (18) top scored for Railways and helped them in grabbing three valuable points in the league.

Maharashtra coach Abhay Chavan was disappointed but felt that his team had put up a decent performance. “The two teams (IOB & Railways) we lost to are well established and play at top level leagues whereas we are just in the growing stages. It was a very physical game on their side and my boys could not match up to it,” he said.

When asked about the weaknesses of his team, he said, “Our defense was very poor. We have good strikers but bad defending let us down. Fundamentally, we were superior to them but we couldn’t use that to our advantage on court. Also, the height factor was a major disadvantage for us. Overall, I am happy with the boys’ performance and I hope that they manage to win the next game,” he said. Mumbai take on Services while Railways play Punjab in their next game.

Results (Men): Indian Railways beat Maharashtra 90-74; SFS (USA) beat Punjab 80-57