Mumbai, Nov 5: Two minutes fifteen seconds into the second half, Western Railway were struck a massive blow, from which they were never to recover. Towering international Ivy Cherian walked dejectedly out of court after being forced to commit her fifth foul. Trailing 25-37 at that stage, Central Railway sparked off a 19-0 run in the next ten minutes to set the foundation for a 56-47 win in the penultimate women's league match for the Shariatullah Khan Memorial Trophy, in the 2nd Ishaque Ansari all-India basketball tournament at the Late Bachoo Khan court, Nagpada here this evening.It was sweet revenge for Central, who had lost to Western in their previous two encounters in the city.Ivy Cherian (three offensive rebounds, 11 points, 70% shooting) was the danger, and credit must go to Jeo Jose for easing her out by forcing fouls. Ivy, along with Meena Singh, who shrugged off a poor start to end the first half with a 3-pointer, gave Western the edge.
In the second half, Jeo and Jiji neatly turned the tables.Jeo (five blocks, five offensive rebounds, 27 points, 56% shooting) was a consistent threat, while powerhorse Jiji Jose suddenly got into the zone. She was everywhere, asking for the ball, shooting and rebounding like a woman possessed. Four successive baskets from her gave Central the lead at 38-37.
Western, meanwhile, could just not recover from Ivy's departure. A number of hasty attempts from outside was their immediate response. Captain Bindu Mathew was off colour, managing just one point from five attempts and four free throws. Ball-handler Shanti Saldanha, who rolled the ball well, had no baskets from nine shies, contributing a great deal to Western's 25% conversion (Central averaged a more respectable 43%).
The undefeated Central team will now play South-Central Railway, Secunderabad in the final league match tomorrow. The latter's preparation received a setback when Northern Railway, Punjab floored them 64-49 this morning.
Results
Men's league: South-Central Railway, Secunderabad 84(Vishal Kumar 36, G Ravi Kumar 16, V Rajesh 14, D Babu 12) bt Bombay South-East 65 (Imran Ansari 19, Mansoor Shaikh 18, Shahzad Shaikh 12) HT 49-33 Best player: Vishal Kumar; Western Railway, Ajmer 82 (Ram Kumar 36, Arjun Singh 27) bt ONGC, Dehradun 56 (Anup Minz 15, Suresh Kumar 12) HT 40-42; Best player: Suresh Kumar
Women's league: Northern Railway 64 (Loveraj Bhullar 24 (6x3), Prabhjot Gill 16, Parminder Kaur 14, Suma Mehani 10) bt South-Central Railway 49 (UP Laiji 12, MA Sisely 11, Yamuna Philip 13) HT 31-33 Best player: Loveraj Bhullar; Northern Railway 62 (Loveraj Bhullar 23 (5x3), Prabhjot Gill 14) bt Delhi 48 (Mandeep Kaur 20, Nishitha Chaudhari 13 (3x3), Shivani Gupta 11) HT 26-27 Best player: Loveraj Bhullar; Central Railway 57 (Jiji Jose 16, Jeo Jose 27) bt Western Railway 47 (Meena Singh 16, Deepali Shah 16, Ivy Cherian 11) HT 25-31 Best player: Shinymol Jacob
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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