Kerala men taste victory

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It was sweet revenge for the Customs and Central Excise Kerala team to win the Mahindra NBA Challenge National Championship drubbing AOC Karnataka 75-53 at the Thyagraj Stadium in New Delhi.

“We had an unexpected exit in the Federation Cup held in Kochi in the last season. Though four of our key players were injured, the players managed well,” says Sunny Thomas, the coach and former international.

Defeating Punjab Police, the Federation Cup winners, was one of the most memorable moments in the tourney, he says. “It was a great win for us.

They are one of the strongest departmental teams in the country and defeating them was awesome.

The players got a morale boost after the win and then they were simply unstoppable,” said Sunny Thomas.

This is one of the major tournaments we are taking part in, in the season. Until now, we have won all the three tourneys we participated in.

This would be good exposure for the players for the upcoming Inter-Customs sports meet to be held in Bengaluru,” he said.

The Indian internationals Eudric Pereira and Manoj R were at their best in the tourney. Besides, Basil and Monish were also impressive for the Customs in the final.

“One of our major concerns was injuries. Four of the players were injured and we were left with only six players to play.

Everyone contributed impressively by switching positions according to the need of the moment. We played a good team game and we won the championship,” he said.

The team will arrive on Friday from New Delhi and will receive a reception from their colleagues in Kochi.

In the women’s senior category final, Kerala State Electricity Board, Kerala were defeated by Delhi Cagers 45-58 in a thriller.

THE RESULTS

FINALS:

Men: Kerala 75 (R. Manoj 18 Monish 17, Basil 15, Eudric Pereira 11) bt Karnataka 53 (Ajmal 22, Ateef12, Jaya Rengan 10)

Women: Delhi Cagers Unit 58 (Prashanti Singh 22, Vinati Hooda 12) bt K S EB Kerala 45 (Roshy 16, Stephy 11).