Noida, 4th June 2017: The prestigious 68th Junior National Basketball Championship tipped off today at the Shiv Nadar University in Gautam Budh Nagar district, Noida. The Championship is being organised by the Uttar Pradesh Basketball Association under the aegis of the Basketball Federation of India.
Last year’s winners, Karnataka women opened with a close 65-64 win over Kerala. Karnataka led early before Kerala stormed back in the second quarter to trail 36-38 at halftime. The teams kept going back and forth right till the final buzzer before the experienced Karnataka side pulled through with a nail biting one point win. Sanjana Ramesh of Karnataka top scored with 20 points, while Kerala forward Sreekala fought hard with 25 points in the losing effort.
In the Level 1 men’s matches so far, Maharashtra registered a surprisingly easy 81-64 win over Delhi. The second quarter largely sealed the fate of the game, as Maharashtra outscored their opponents 24-6.
In lower Level 2 action, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal women too started off with confident victories. In men’s Level 2, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand won their respective matches.
Results till 2 pm
Men:
Level 1
Group B
- Maharashtra (Faisal 20, Yash 17, Danish 16) bt Delhi (Manik Hooda 20, Aditya 16, Nitish 13) 81-64 [25-22, 24-06, 21-16, 11-20]
Level 2
Group D
- Gujarat (Harsh 28, Kuldeep 18, Krishnapal 7) bt West Bengal (Alok 22, Gopal 14, Saddam 13) 74-65 [17-13, 24-15, 17-21, 16-16]
- Uttar Pradesh (Akshay Sharma 19, Prasun Mishra 15, Bhagyansh Gulati 13) bt Jharkhand (Rahul Kumar 10, Ajhar 6) 67-25 [12-7, 24-13, 20-5, 11-0]
Group C
- Himachal Pradesh (Jatin 37, Gurkaran 23, Namneet 12) bt Jammu & Kashmir (Gourav Rajwal 14, Rohit Kumar 14, Sumit Kumar 14) 81-57 [15-20, 23-13, 26-14, 17-10]
Group E
- Uttarakhand (Riyanshu 33, Arhant 16, Uday Rathi 10) bt Tripura (Sachin 20, Mohit 14) 90-42 [22-16, 23-5, 26-9, 19-12]
Women:
Level 1
Group A
- Karnataka (Sanjana Ramesh 20, Snigddha 14, Aastha Vartak 12) bt Kerala (Sreekala R 25, Jayalaxmi 15) 65-64 [21-13, 17-23, 13-12, 14-18]
Level 2
Group C
- Madhya Pradesh (Shruti 26, Isha Chouhan 19) bt Jharkhand (Riya Dokaina 11) 66-23 [21-6, 23-3, 13-4, 10-10]
Group E
- West Bengal (Parohita G 17) bt Goa (Neeharika 13) 55-24 [15-10, 20-0, 12-5, 8-9]
About the 68th Junior National Basketball Championship 2017
The 68th Junior National Basketball Championship for Men and Women is being held at Shiv Nadar University in Gautam Budh Nagar District, Noida, Uttar Pradesh from 4th to 11th June 2017. The Championship features 25 men’s teams and 24 women’s teams in the U18 age group, from various Indian States and Union territories, and is being played in a league cum knockout format. Tamil Nadu boys and Karnataka girls are the defending champions from the previous edition held in Puducherry in May 2016.
The teams are grouped into two levels – Level 1 features the top 10 teams from the previous championship divided into two groups of five teams each (Group A and B), while Level 2 features the remaining teams divided into four groups (Group C, D, E, F).
In the league stages, all the teams play each of the other teams in their group once. The top three teams from each of the groups in Level 1 advance directly to the quarterfinals, while the fourth placed teams play pre-quarterfinal games against the top two teams from Level 2.
Over the years, this Championship has provided a platform for the country’s best players in the U18 category to showcase their talents. This allows selectors to identify and shortlist the most promising players and coaches to parachute into national team training camps with an eye towards participation in international events.
About Basketball Federation of India
The Basketball Federation of India or BFI is the governing and controlling body of basketball in India, and is responsible for the development and promotion of the sport at all levels. BFI has been involved in conducting camps, clinics, events, and training sessions at its academies for the development of basketball. BFI came into being in 1935 and took complete control over Indian basketball in 1950. Prior to that time, the Indian Olympic Association handled the conduct of Indian basketball championships. Since 1950, the BFI has been conducting various such championships, from the grassroots to senior team participation in international tournaments. In addition, the BFI has been responsible for the establishment of strong sub-junior and junior level programs. The BFI has to its credit produced several international players of repute, among them 17 have been bestowed with the honour of Arjuna Awards. Earlier in June 2015, 19-year-old Satnam Singh Bhamara made history by becoming the first Indian national to be drafted by an NBA team, when he was selected by the Dallas Mavericks. More information at www.basketballfederationindia.org
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