Hyderabad: Secunderabad YMCA rode on performances from Harsha (28) and Gali Samuel (24) to defeat G9 76-64 in the final to clinch the men’s title at the 4th Samuel Vasanth Kumar Memorial Basketball tournament.
YMCA with a well-balanced side played to a plan with Nathan Abraham concentrating more on defence and collection of defensive rebounds as they had to keep the southpaw Dinesh, Shravan and Gowtham in check. Harsha and Gali Samuel were to lead the attack as per the plan of the team and they delivered when it mattered.
YMCA were always ahead but G9 kept up the pressure right through. The rotation of the ball on the D top, playing a waiting game to get the openings proved to be the ultimate deciding factor in YMCAs win.
Nathan Abraham of YMCA was adjudged as MVP while Shravan Kumar of G9 was awarded the Promising Player in the men section.
Results: Men final: Secunderabad YMCA 76(Harsha 28, Gali Samuel 24, Nathan Abraham 15) bt G9 64 (Gowtham 18, Dinesh 14, Vinay Kothari 13).