Earlier, Western Railway women also suffered a crushing 52-66 defeat at the hands of Southern. Southern looked ordinary in the first half but made their opponents look plastic in the second, as they powered to a clinical win.

The men's final was the dramatic climax to the tournament. With the crowd rooting for Western, especially Ram Kumar, their power forward, South-Central turned the heat on the favourites just in the nick of time.

The cause for Western's defeat lay in cockiness. Their body language suggested they had already crowned themselves winners. But South-Central were not one to swoon at reputations.

Western lay too much emphasis onthe pivots -- Ashok Kumar and Rajendra Singh. Then they had Ram Kumar. But South-Central stunned them into disbelief by denying them their bread-and-butter strategy -- passes to the pivots -- by brilliant blocks on Ashok and Rajendra.

Then they converted this advantage into baskets by being quick in transition. Vishal Kumar, their pivot, scored a number of baskets during this period. From a deficit, South-Central went into half time with a nine-point lead (47-38).

Western were woken up from their reverie, and they now knew they had a game on their hands. They went in for a half-court press. A combination of factors -- Ram Kumar's rediscovered shooting form and numerous fumbles by South-Central in offence -- gave Western the advantage. But South-Central never let the lead slip away.

At 70-73 in favour of Western, Babu, the maverick, took over. He scored the next 12 points. With little over a minute left, South-Central were down 78-81. Then they played for time. They utilised the shot clock well andscored just in time (80-81).

The incredible final minute was filled with drama. Western won possession twice, and lost it twice. With 45 seconds to go, South-Central won possession a dream five times, as they pressed forward. With four seconds remaining on the game clock, Babu stepped on the restricting circle and nailed a jumper, sending Western into a frenzy for the ball. They even shot in an effort to beat the clock, but just after the final whistle had gone.

The women's final was not as dramatic but it had its moments. From the outset, Western looked sharp as Shanti Saldanha (8 assists, 2 steals and one rebound) spread passes with the passion of a messiah spreading the good word. She had an incredible six assists in the early period as Western held a slender lead.

Then Southern began chipping away at Western's peparations. Though pivot, Jeena Zacharia, was virtually a passenger in the first half, they kept her going. They were helped by Western pivot Ivy Cherian's (six rebounds, one steal, oneassist) indifferent performance. Cherian was fumbling throughout the game.

South also cut off Western's supply channel -- Shanti. BS Shyla shadowed her well and reined in the passes. Western's Sheeba Maggon (3 rebounds, one steal), a good all round player that she is, was not at her best. That worked to Southern's favour as it allowed M Meenalatha greater freedom on court. Meenalatha had eight rebounds, one steal and one block besides the 16 points she scored.

Southern introduced Prasanna Jayashankar for a brief while in the second half, and that helped them gain ascendency. But the match-winning effort came from Bindu Koroth who scored 13 points in one stretch.

RESULTS (FINAL)

Men: South-Central 82 (D Babu 31, Vishal Kumar 18) bt Western 81 (Ram Kumar 13, Ashok Kumar 26, Rajendra Singh 29) HT 47-38.

Women: Southern 66 (Durga Devi 10, Bindu Koroth 15, M Meenalatha 16, BS Shyla 10, Renjini Jose 9) bt Western 52 (Ivy Cherian 24, Meena Singh 18).