The day 2 of the 4th SABA Championship 2915

The day 2 of the 4th South Asian Basketball Association (SABA) Championship 2015 that is underway at the Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru.

We are also attaching two action photos and the boxscores from the two evening matches.

Do carry this news in your esteemed publication. Thank you for your support to India basketball.

Kindly note that tomorrow, 5th July is the last day of this championship. The three morning matches will be held from 8:00 am onwards and the afternoon session matches will start at 4:00 pm and 5:30 pm.

[Gopalakrishnan R] Bengaluru, 4th July 2015: In decisive matches on day 2, Nepal surprised the more favoured Bangladesh side to record their second straight win in the 4th South Asian Basketball Association (SABA) Championship 2015 that is underway at the Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru. However, later in the evening, the same side suffered a reversal of fortunes, losing to Maldives 68-72.

Hosts India remained unbeaten waltzing past their third straight opponents Bhutan. The tiny Himalayan nation had to counter to India superior size, strength and agility. There were moments of delight when Bhutan players showed off their ball handling skills, most notably an ankle breaker that had India captain & forward Rikin Pethani on the floor. But India will be more than happy to have sealed this win, especially with the return to form of “Mr Big Shot” Joginder Singh Saharan, who recorded a triple double of 12 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists.

The other undefeated team in the tournament, Sri Lanka, struggled in the first half against Bangladesh, before winning 80-63. “We had lost to Bangladesh by 2-3 points in the last edition, but we are confident of beating them today,” Sri Lanka Head Coach Panduka Ranasinghe had predicted before the match. However, Bangladesh’s aggression at the start of the match put them on the backfoot. Bangladesh’s duo of Mithunkumar Biswas and Mithun Sarkan came good yet again, but were effectively countered by Sri Lanka’s young guard Praneeth Udumalagala. Udumalagala is a budding colleage player in the US, and his confidence shined through in his 26 point performance. Earlier this morning, Sri Lanka had eased past Maldives 92-66.

Standings (at the end of days 1 & 2)

	Team (W-L)	Points Scored	Points Conceded	Differential
1.	India (3-0)	122+119+90	39+52+37	+203
2.	Sri Lanka (3-0)	92+100+80	66+57+63	+86
3.	Maldives (2-1)	65+66+72	76+92+68	-33
4.	Nepal (2-2)	72+87+37+68	58+54+90+72	-10
5.	Bangladesh (1-3)	76+54+74+63	122+65+87+80	-87
6.	Bhutan (0-3)	58+57+52	72+119+100	-124

Results from 4th July 2015

Evening

1)      Sri Lanka (Praneeth Udumalagala 26, Thimothi Thineshkanth 21, Sudesh Ahamed 10 pts & 11 rbs) bt Bangladesh(Mithunkumar Biswas 20 pts & 13 rbs, Mithun Sarkan 18 pts) 80-63 [20-21, 15-14, 23-16, 22-12]

2)      Maldives (Ibrahim Rashwaan 20 pts & 11 pts, Ahmed Zabeer 10 pts & 10 rbs) btNepal (Sadish Pradhan 26 pts) 72-68[18-19, 18-15, 18-8, 18-26]

Morning

1)      Sri Lanka (Praneeth Udumalagala 28 pts & 9 rbs, Chamath Dhanawansa 11 pts & 5 assists, Roshan Fernando 11 pts) btMaldives (Ahmed Aushan 16) 92-66 [19-12, 17-17, 25-22, 31-15]

2)      Nepal (Sadish Pradhan 17 pts, Ashin Shrestha 14 pts & 8 rbs, Bikram Joshi 12 rbs) bt Bangladesh (Mithun Kumas Biswas 24 pts, Mithun Sarkan 22 pts & 11 rbs, Md. Tareq Aziz 16 pts) 87-74 [15-16,21-19,23-22,27-23]

3)      India (Joginder Singh Saharan 12 pts, 11 rbs, 10 assists; Gurinder Singh Gill 20 pts, Arvind 19 pts & 10 rbs) bt Bhutan(Rinchen Dorji 14 pts, Karma Singye 8 pts & 11 rbs)119-52 [39-6, 20-20, 33-16, 26-10]

About the 4th SABA Championship 2015

The 4th South Asian Basketball Association (SABA) Championship 2015 is being played from 3rd to 5th July at the Kanteerava Indoor Stadium in India’s IT city of Bengaluru. The three day will conclude on the 5th, and is being played on a round robin league format. Six South Asian teams— defending champions & hosts India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan and the island nations of Sri Lanka and Maldives are in the fray. The team with the best record at the end of this championship after five matches will progress from the South Asian region to the 2015 FIBA Asia Championship scheduled for 23rdSeptember to 3rd October in Changsha (China).

The Indian men’s team is being coached by Prasad Rama Linga, managed by Gautam Ganguly and captained by Rikin Pethani.

About the Basketball Federation of India

The Basketball Federation of India or BFI is the governing and controlling body of basketball in India, and is responsible for the development and promotion of the sport at all levels. BFI has been involved in conducting camps, clinics, events, and training sessions at its academies for the development of basketball. BFI came into being in 1935 and took complete control over Indian basketball in 1950. Prior to that time, the Indian Olympic Association handled the conduct of Indian basketball championships. Since 1950, the BFI has been conducting various such championships, from the grassroots to senior team participation in international tournaments. In addition, the BFI has been responsible for the establishment of strong sub-junior and junior level programs. The BFI has to its credit produced several international players of repute, among them 17 have been bestowed with the honor of Arjuna Award. In June 2015, Punjab basketball player Satnam Singh became the first Indian national to get drafted by an NBA team. More information at www.indiabasketball.org

JULY 5, 2015 LEAVE A COMMENT EDIT

27TH MANGO FESTIVAL BEGINS AT DILLI HAAT JANAKPURI-DAY 2

“Celebration of ‘Aam’ draws huge crowd!”

4th July, 2014

Showcasing over hundreds of uncommon as well as commercially popular varieties, the 27th Mango Festival entered the 2nd day today. The festival organized by Delhi Tourism in association with Govt. of Delhi, was inaugurated yesterday by Sh. Arvind Kejriwal, Hon’ble Chief Minister, Govt. of Delhi, in the august presence of Sh. Manish Sisodia, Hon’ble Deputy Chief Minister, Govt. of Delhi andSh. Kapil Mishra, Hon’ble Minister for Law, Tourism, Art, Culture & Languages and Water, Govt. of Delhi. Sh. Z. U. Siddiqui, MD & CEO, Delhi Tourism and Sh. Ravi Dadhich, GM, Delhi Tourism were also present on the occasion.

The main highlight of the evening was the Mango Eating Competition for Womenheld at the venue in which the participants were given 3 kgs. of mangoes to consume within 3 minutes. It drew a large participation from women folks present at the festival and infused the crowd with thrill and excitement. In the competition Ms. Anita Chaudhary won the first prize eating 1 kg & 240 gms mango pulp. The second prize was won by Ms. Sunita Biswas eating 1 kg & 030  gms. of mango pulp. The third prize was won by Ms. Kusum eating 858 gms. of mango pulp. Cash prizes worth Rs. 3000/-, Rs. 2000/- and Rs. 1000/- were won by winners respectively.

Dilli Haat, Janakpuri is the venue for the three day event. Mango growers and horticulturists are exhibiting the best of their farm offerings during the 27th Mango festival. From traditional delicacies like the Husnara or the Kesar to the exotic imports the festival is showcasing myriad varieties of mangoes. There were other attractions during the day like the Magic Show, Mango Quiz, Mango Slogan Writing and cultural performances by Hindi Academy.

In order to provide an enriching experience to the visitors, Delhi Tourism organized a live demonstration of cartoons on Mango by a renowned artist – Irfan, which was a crowd pulling highlight at the festival.

The visitors were caught by surprise and awe by seeing mangoes camouflaged as Banana, Guava, Watermelon and Papaya but still retaining the intrinsic taste of a mango. Apart from the unique and traditional varieties of mangoes on display, there is sale of fresh mangoes and mango based products like pickles, chutney, juice, jelly, aam-papad and jam.

An equally exciting day awaits the Delhites tomorrow with the Mango Eating Competition for Men, magic shows, mango quiz and prize distribution of the winners of various competitive categories. There is a cultural programme by Punjabi Academy on the concluding day.

Sudhir Sobti
Ch. Manager (PR & Pub.)
98104-22633