Excelsior Sports Correspondent
JAMMU, Dec 25: The final of the senior State Basketball Championship turned out to be a cliffhanger, with STC successfully defending the title for the third consecutive year and beating Jammu and Kashmir police 65-62.
It was a ding dong battle between the two teams from the very beginning, with lead changing sides frequently. Both teams matched basket by basket till the breather, but in the third quarter, policemen surged ahead, gaining nine points lead. The STC team changed defensive tactics in the fourth quarter, which earned them three turnovers, two of which were converted with a bonus, giving STC a slender lead. Ouster of veteran Harpreet Singh, with less than four minutes gave STC another advantage, which helped them to hold on to slender lead till the end. Iqbal Singh and Harpreet were the mainstay of Policemen’s performance which fell short of a title victory.
For the winners, Jaskirat, Shubham, Amanjot and Ranbir pulled up their game in the final quarter to see their team to another title win. The final match was officiated by Shaktish Chopra, Manoj Kumar and Rajesh Bandral. In women section also, STC emerged victorious, beating Jammu district.
Secretary J&K State Sports Council, Waheed-ur-Rehman Parra was the chief guest on the occasion, who assured all help to the State Basketball Association to augment their efforts to promote the game in the state.
Prominent among those present on the occasion included Haji Abdul Qayoom, Chief Sports Officer, J&KSSC, VK Sharma I/C STC Jammu, Satish Gupta, Manager Indoor complex MA Stadium, officer bearers of the JKBA, parents and sports enthusiasts in large number.
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