Services annex men's title, Railways retain women's crown

Jaipur, Jan 4 (UNI) Services annexed men's title after a gap of 21 years defeating Kerala 84-709 in a thrilling final while Railways retained women's crown defeating Delhi 86-70 at the 57th Senior National Basketball Championship, which concluded here today.

Last year's runners- up Punjab beat Uttaranchal 85-82 after taking a lead of 40-36 at the half time to secure third position in the men's section while Chhattisgarh overcame Punjab 63-60 to secure the third place in women's section.

The Sawai Man Singh Stadium indoor hall saw Serives downed in the first half by 38-36 at the interval. They took the court with a regenerated power to ultimately clinch the title. Besides capitalizing on the opportunities that came there way they did well in restricting their opponents in scoring appreciably. Kerala too tried at their level best as the two fought tooth and nail for every point. The armymen were forced to tie on point on 65-65, 76 and 78 in the last quarter.

Jairam was the top scorer for Services with 21 points while Dileep (19), Ababu (13) and Sambhaji scored (11) were the other main contributors. For Kerala, Abhilash displayed brilliant game, who scored 30 points while Harish (14), Monish and Subhash made 10 points each.

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