ONGC keep hopes alive

ONGC were at their best again against defending champions Railways winning 81-62 in the men’s league in the 5th Savio Cup at Don Bosco high school basketball courts in Matunga on Friday.

ONGC’s win has left the men’s draw interestingly poised with Services comfortably through to the finals after their three round robin league wins. Riyaz Uddin and Trideep Rai who have been the top scorers for ONGC during the entire tournament continued their good form. Riyaz scored 23 points while Trideep netted 16.

ONGC centre Murli Krishna, the tallest player on the court, pulled off some excellent defending by cutting off a lot of the aerial balls meant for Yadwinder Singh. Not only did he effectively block railways’ attacks but he also scored 13 points. Railways did not manage to find their rhythm and kept missing shots on basket through out which hurt them.

In the women’s match Chattisgarh thrashed Maharashtra 84-69 in what was a rehearsal to the final which is to be played between them on Sunday. M Pushpa was on target again, scoring 22 points for Chattisgarh while Manisha Dange’s valiant 32 went in vain.

The state team will have to step up their defence and offence if they stand a chance to win.

Results: Men’s: ONGC 81 (Riyazuddin 23, Trideep Rai 16, Murli Krishnan 13) bt Railways 62 (Arjun Singh 19, Prakash Mishra 18)
Women: Chattisgarth 84 (M. Pushpa 22, Seema Singh 19, Anju Lakra 14, Aakansha Singh 11) bt Maharashtra 69 (Manisha Dange 32, Jeo
Blessaw 10).