PUNE GIRLS SHINE IN MAHARASHTRA'S SILVER MEDAL TRIUMPH

          It has been 1 month since the u-18 junior national championship was inaugurated in Puducherry.On this occasion,I have written a special article dedicated to the silver medal triumph of the Maharashtra girls u-18 team.This article may have come late but I sincerely apologize for the delay which has been caused due to various personal and professional reasons and which shouldn't be taken as an excuse.Moving forward,I hope that you like my work and I'd be grateful if you render your valuable inputs,suggestions or criticism by commenting in the comments section....!


INTRODUCTION: In the last article,I had mentioned how the Maharashtra u-18 girls team,consisting of 7 Pune girls,was all set to rock the u-18 nationals to be held in Puducherry.And when the tournament concluded,they made sure that they returned home with silverware,making up for the disappointing loss of the boys campaign.All it took was 1 year to turnaround the fortunes of a team which had won just 2 matches out of six in the previous edition of the tournament.But it can't be discounted that this time the team composition was more balanced with five international players in the mix.Nevertheless,a win is still a win but it's unfortunate for the players to fall on the final hurdle.One step more and these girls would have achieved something historic for the state.

THE CAMPAIGN:The campaign started on a confident note when Maharashtra beat Punjab by a good 20 points in the opening match of the group stage.However,the road to the finals wasn't all smooth and the team hit a major roadblock immediately when they faced last year's winners Kerala.Maharashtra trailed from minute 1 and eventually lost by a heavy 24 points.The team showed character and rose from the initial jitters to beat the inconsistent Karnataka side by a good 20 points to bring the campaign back on track.In the last match of the group stage,Maharashtra faced Uttar Pradesh and unleashed their fury on the opponents to beat them 81-47,thus entering the knock-outs with three wins in the group stages.

           What followed next was sheer misery for Maharashtra's opponents.They literally destroyed Madhya Pradesh in the knock-out and the margin was something M.P. would like to forget.The final score read 78-38 which meant that Maharashtra had entered the semi-finals on the back of two superlative wins.It also meant that the team was two steps away from that historic gold.Standing in the way was Tamil Nadu,which was undefeated throughout the tournament.It was an encounter where one couldn't predict which way the match would go.Lead changed hands at the end of every quarter and in all 11 times in total.It became 45-45 at the end of the third quarter.Five minutes into the fourth,Maharashtra was down 51-47 and the odds were in favour of T.N. but a series of brilliant defensive plays and counter-attack on the run covered the deficit for Maharashtra and eventually they clinched the nail-biting thriller 57-55 to meet Chattisgarh in the finals.

                 Playing Chattisgarh was a psychological difficulty for various reasons.For once,they had beaten Kerala,the only team that Maharashtra lost to.Second,Chattisgarh was the only team that had scored over 100 points in a single match.But there was an interesting analogy as well.Both the finalists had lost one match previously.Chattisgarh had lost against Tamil Nadu whom Maharshtra defeated in the semi-finals while Maharashtra had lost against Kerala whom Chattisgarh defeated in the semi-finals.

                The match started smoothly for Maharashtra and there wasn't much to choose between the two sides in the first quarter.However the next five minutes was where Maharashtra lost the plot scoring just a single basket and conceding 12 points.Chattisgarh managed to maintain that lead and by the end of the third,the lead grew to 18 points.Just when everyone had counted Maharashtra out of the contest,there was a late surge by the players scoring 15 points in the first five minutes of  the fourth.However the deficit was still huge and in the end Chattisgarh grabbed the title 89-73.
THE ARCHITECTS:While some may think that I'm biased in favour of Pune players because of my constant praise on them and because of no mention of other players,I would like to clarify that such isn't the case.Being a true basketball fan and writer,I would see to it that due credit is given to the persons concerned.The starting five on all occasions were Pune players.The top seven scorers for Maharashtra were the seven Pune girls.Apart from these,Sarah Vora of Dahanu played a good hand for Maharashtra.
                The top scorer for Maharashtra was Sneha Rajguru totalling a 100 points,followed by Sruthi Menon scoring 82 points and Krittika Divadkar who caged in with 72 points in the entire tournament.*Captain Shireen Limaye and Ishwari Pingle supported well scoring 55 and 45 points respectively.**Shireen and Sneha were instrumental in the rebounding department grabbing 75 and 63 rebounds respectively.Gouri Ahir and Namasvi Ajmera also chipped in with useful contributions.
(*The above statistic does not include Mah vs Karnataka game as it was not made available by the BFI.
**Same as above)
                    Another name one shouldn't forget is that of the coach Lalit Nahata,a man with tremendous experience and whose expertise and tactics led Maharashtra to the silver medal.Three of these seven have already played under him at the school level since childhood and the rest also are well acquainted with his style of coaching as they are Maharashtra regulars.(please click on "read more" to read the end-part of the article)

THE SILVER -MEDALLIST MAHARASHTRA TEAM

PUNE GIRLS CROWD MAH. U-18 TEAM

               It is a known fact that Pune has led the state in producing players who have represented the country regularly in the past few years in the girls section.So before the final list of players was declared for the Maharashtra girls team for the upcoming U-18 nationals,it was anybody's guess that a major chunk of the team would be from the city.And now that the list is officially declared,it doesn't come as a surprise that a staggering seven players from Pune have made the cut into the state team.While this trend was similar for boys,this time unfortunately only one lad has made the cut into the state boys team.
              The 63rd Junior National Basketball Championship for Boys & Girls, India's top competition of the best under-18 talent from all across the nation, has been set to take place in the South Indian union territory of Puducherry from May 23-30, 2012. Organised by the Basketball Federation of India (BFI), the Junior Nationals are being held only 11 days after the conclusion of the Sub-Junior Nationals this year in Goa.
                The BFI has announced that the tournament will be held at the Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium in Puducherry. Players born on or after January 1, 1994 are eligible to participate.  
          
              Of these seven girls,five have already represented the Indian team earlier.The team is captained by Shireen Limaye of PYC Hindu Gymkhana.Other Pune players in the squad are Sneha Rajguru,Sruthi Menon,Gouri Ahir( all Sardar Dastur),Krittika Divadkar,Namasvi Ajmera( both St.Mary's) and Ishwari Pingle of St.Joseph's.Except Gouri and Namasvi,all have played for India.The lone Pune player in the boys team is Yash Ponde of Deccan Gymkhana.

              Last year's Junior Nationals were held in Delhi in July: Tamil Nadu (Boys) and Kerala (Girls) were crowned champions. However,this time,the Maharashtra girls wouldn't settle for anything less than the gold medal.

           

SNEHA RAJGURU

SRUTHI MENON

KRITTIKA DIVADKAR

NAMASVI AJMERA

GOURI AHIR

SHIREEN LIMAYE( CAPT.)

ISHWARI PINGLE

YASH PONDE

DECCAN GYMKHANA (part 1)

         When it comes to basketball in Pune, Deccan Gymkhana needs no introduction. Situated in the hub of the city,the Deccan Gymkhana Sports Complex houses the basketball courts known to every player in the city. Since the gymkhana was established in the year 1906,promotion of sports and nurturing sportspersons has been a continuous endeavour throughout its illustrious sports history.Located in the heart of Pune, Deccan Gymkhana extends across an area of 14 acres,perhaps the only place where one can find such a variety of sports played under one roof.
          The Gymkhana boasts of four synthetic courts with floodlights and seating space for the spectators.It has been venue to numerous tournaments since years. The PDBA conducts its tournaments for the u-13,u-16,u-18 and open age groups on this venue.Another event of magnitude organised here is the FIREBALL which is the premier inter-college tournament of the city conducted by the LEO club.                                
            

hawk-eye view

a snap during FIREBALL

             And it isn't just a venue for basketball tournaments.The name deccan actually induces fear in  the minds of opponents.Such is the legacy created by some of the players who have spent a major chunk of their playing career on these courts.Amongst them is the current senior team of Deccan,quite often referred to as the dream team of Pune,who have been playing together for years and have hardly ever lost a match in the state.These players also form the Maharashtra senior team thus bringing glory and raising high the name of the city in the state in the field of basketball.It is said that being accompanied by quality people improves one's quality.And why not....for this has been seen in the current crop of Deccan Gymkhana youngsters who have won the district junior championship for two years in a row now.Although the boys have been almost invincible,it may take some time for the girls teams to establish their supremacy in the city.

                  There is no dearth of talent and opportunities and with such an amazing history of the club,one shouldn't worry about its future too.Watch out this space for the success stories and in-depth achievements about this club in the upcoming part "DECCAN GYMKHANA- PART 2".

Pune Basketball League

THE CONCEPT: started this year,the pune basketball league (PBL) promises to be one of the most anticipated leagues in pune in the near future. Organised by the modern past association (MPA),the oldest active basketball club in the city, the PBL has successfully been conducted for the u-13 and u-16 age groups and there are plans to conduct the league for u-18 and open categories as well.This concept will occupy the whole year and thus the over-enthusiastic basketball fans of the city won't have much to complain about.

THE ORGANISERS: The league is sponsored by local organisations and headed by Mr.Chaitanya Dixit,who is well supported by the MPA volunteers including Harshal Javeri,Kanhaiya Ashtekar,Rugved Nirgudkar,Tanvi Shevade and Karan Kothadiya amongst others.

THE VENUE: The modern high school basketball court,with floodlights and huge seating area for spectators,provides the perfect atmosphere for fans and audience alike. And with the DJ playing international hits,the aura gets truly electric.

AUTHOR'S TAKE: In all, I would rate this league a 4 out of 5.This league is here to stay...!!!

hey all bballers in pune.....finally after days of research on blogging i'v created this blog for all f us...ur support will be thoroughly appreciated......i'll try to put as much info. abt d tournaments and events as possible.....ur criticism will be much welcomed to improve this blog....thank you...!!!