Coimbatore District Basketball Association (CDBA) organized the 59th Nachimuthu Gounder Cup for Men and 23rd CRI Pumps Trophy for Women in the city recently.
In the men’s finals Indian Army defeated Indian Navy to win the championship, while South Central Railway team defeated Kerala State Electricity Board to emerge as the champions in the women’s finals.
The five-day All India Basketball Tournament for men and women, organised by the Coimbatore District Basketball Association, began on May 27. In the men’s section, teams representing Indian Air Force New Delhi, Indian Army New Delhi, Indian Navy Lonavala, Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) Thiruvananthapuram, Bank of Baroda Bengaluru, Indian Overseas Bank Chennai, Kerala Police Thiruvananthapuram and Coimbatore District Basketball Association (CDBA) Coimbatore participated.
In the women’s section, South Central Railway Secunderabad, South Western Railway Hubballi, Southern Railway Chennai, ICF Chennai, Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) Thiruvananthapuram, Central Railway Mumbai, Kerala Police Thiruvananthapuram and Coimbatore District Basketball Association (CDBA) Coimbatore teams participated.
League matches were conducted till May 29 and the semi-finals were held on May 30. Indian Navy and Indian Army advanced to the men’s final, while Kerala State Electricity Board and South Central Railway entered the women’s final after winning their respective semi-final matches.
Men’s Finals
In the men’s final held on Sunday, the Indian Army team won the match by 95 / 77 points. In the women’s final, the South Central Railway team emerged victorious with a score of 64 / 67. The Indian Army team, which won the men’s title, received a cash prize of Rs.1 lakh along with the Nachimuthu Gounder Trophy. The runners-up Indian Navy team received Rs.50,000 and the Dr. N. Mahalingam Trophy. The player Raghul Kumar from Indian Army team was adjudged the Best Player of the tournament.
Women’s Finals
In the women’s category, the South Central Railway team received Rs.1 lakh and the CRI Pumps Trophy for winning the title, while the KSEB team received Rs.50,000 and the runners-up trophy. The player Ms. Harshitha K. B from South Central Railway team received the Best Woman Player award.
Minister honors Winners
Tamil Nadu Basketball Association Vice-President, Coimbatore District Basketball Association President and CRI Pumps Managing Director G. Selvaraj presided over the finals held on Sunday. Sakthi Group Chairman Manickam participated as the guest of honour.Tamil Nadu Minister for Public Works and Sports Development and Basketball Federation of India President Aadhav Arjuna took part as the Chief Guest and distributed prizes to the winning teams.
