Income Tax (Chennai) had to sweat to the very end to get past a fighting Indian Army (New Delhi) 75-71 in the final of the 57th PSG Trophy all-India basketball tournament for men at the PSG Tech courts here on Wednesday.
With five current India stars in its ranks, Income Tax looked a formidable side. But the first five minutes belonged to Indian Army which looked fired up for the occasion. The Chennai men waited for the right time to strike and, they did that in a brilliant fashion through their ever-reliable sharpshooter Arvind Muthukrishnan.
Aravind Annadurai and Ananthraj Eswaran showcased their strength as well with some great assists and splendid layups.
Buoyed by the packed crowd, the Army men shot back in style. Y.P. Abhishek, Siva Saktivel and Sahil took control of the boards and baskets flowed easy for the team. Only four points separated the teams (43-39) going into the third quarter.
The next two quarters saw the Income Tax men shoot from the outside. Indian Army had no answer to those big shots but tried as much to stay alive in the contest. With the scores at 59-53 and ten minutes left for the final hooter, it was anybody’s game given the stiff fight.
Indian Army further cut the lead and with two minutes on the clock went on to level scores at 67. But Income Tax held its nerves to clinch the cup much to the joy of its fans.
Earlier, Prashant Singh Rawat (23pts) guided Indian Bank (Chennai) to a 79-72 win over a fighting Indian Navy (Lonavala) for the third place.
The results: Final: Income Tax (Chennai) 75 (Aravind Annadurai 26, Arvind Muthukrishnan 22, Soorya Baskaran 11) bt Indian Army (New Delhi) 71 (Jeethandar Singh 13, Y.P. Abhishek 12, Siva Shaktivel 12, Gajendra Singh 10).
Third place: Indian Bank (Chennai) 79 (Prashant Singh Rawat 23, A. Surya 16, R. Hariram 12) bt Indian Navy (Lonavala) 72 (Rishab Mathur 15, Mandeep Singh 12).
