Western Railway & Southern Railway emerge Ramu Memorial champions

Press Release: With the scoreboard oscillating crazily between the two teams in the last two minutes, the pressure got to Shooting For Success, USA, whose players fumbled when it mattered most, enabling Western Railway pull off a deserving 84-81 win in the men’s final of the 27th Ramu Memorial Basketball Tournament, organized by the Indian Gymkhana at the court on Sunday.

Earlier, Southern Railway outplayed South East Central Railway 64-47 to lift the women’s title. Geethu Anna Jose and S Kokila shared the honours with 19 points each for the winners, while Renjini Peter scored 15. For the losers it was Bharti Netam with 24 and Anju Lakra, 16 who did the bulk of the scoring.

Western Railway won Rs 1 lakh, while SFS, USA will take home Rs 50,000. Southern Railway won Rs 50,000 for their efforts, while South East Central Railway had to be content with Rs 25,000.

After Western Railway ran away with the early lead of 22-17 in the first quarter, SFS settled down to a good rhythm with the fit again Charles Moore making his presence felt with his sharp shooting, which fetched him three three-pointer and a tally of 24 points. SFS went into half time with a 42-33 led which they extended to 62-58 at the end of the third quarter.

The inclusion of Jasjyot Singh in the last quarter made the difference in Western Railway’s fortunes as he scored four three-pointers and had a percentage of six from eight for field goals to help them keep abreast of SFS. Western Railway were trailing 79-81 with less than two minutes left when Yadwinder brought them level with a drive-in. They then put immense pressure on the SFS forwards under their basket to steal the ball and set up Dilawar Singh to score or a 83-81 lead with less than a minute to go. Gagandeep, with his percentage shooting from under the basket, was the high scorer for the winners with 30 points.

An uncharacteristic fumble by the experienced David Jones put paid to SFS’s chances and after Yadwinder had scored one from two free throws for the score to read 84-81, Jones then muffed an attempt for a three-pointer and time ran out for the teams from USA.

Scores:

Men’s final: Western Railway 84 (Gagandeep Singh 30, Yadwinder Singh 18, Jasjyot Singh 16) bt Shooting For Success, USA 81 (Charles Moore 24, Limar Wilson 20, Joey Shank 13).

Women’s final: Southern Railway 64 (Geethu Anna Jose, S Kokila 19 each, Renjini Peter 15) bt South East Central Railway 47 (Bharti Netam 24, Anju Lakra 16).

Best Player Awards: Limar Wilson (SFS) and S Kokila (Southern Railway).

Shooting For Success share high-flying exciting hoops in India

David “DJ” Jones was born in California and now spends his time working in San Antonio, Texas with his basketball camp/foundation, Shooting For Success (SFS). Funny then, that the city where he hears the crowds offering him the most home support these days is thousands of miles away from home... Mumbai.

With four years of participation in Mumbai’s Savio Cup, and this year, for the first time playing in the 2011 Ramu Memorial Basketball Tournament (RMBT), SFS have certainly made a name for themselves in Mumbai. The club has been the only consistent foreign side visiting India for basketball competitions in recent years, and their fan following has now reached near-cult status.

SFS’ connection with India began when their team manager, Tushar Patel, first the team over here. “We always have a great experience here, and that is why we keep coming back,” said DJ, who is the captain and coach of the side, as well as the coach back home for the SFS camp in Texas. “It is the great experience that makes us keep coming back – teams that don’t come here are missing out!”

SFS are a crowd-favourite in Mumbai, as they exhibit amazing above the rim athleticism, swarming defense, and some hot shooting rarely seen on courts in India. DJ, who has played at the professional level in the States for over a decade, says that Mumbai has been one of the places that has shown him the most love. They chant his name ‘DJ! DJ! DJ!’ every time he gets on court; they scream in delight whenever he beats a man off his quick dribble or drains one of his many reliable three-pointers. “The fans treat us well here, so we keep coming back!” he says.

Apart from their captain, the current SFS side playing at the RMBT in the Indian Gymkhana in Matunga feature the tall and athletic forward Terry Fields, who is one of the most exciting dunkers in the team and won the Savio Cup’s Slam Dunk Competition. DJ also mention point guard Limar, who is a fantastic point guard and tough defender.

Still, it’s not all ‘showtime’ from SFS – At the Savio Cup a few months ago, the Indian Railways side, led by Vishesh Bhriguvanshi, shocked SFS in an exciting finale. SFS have returned for Ramu Memorial with another strong squad, hoping to prove themselves again. “We want to get better each time and keep the fans on the edge of their seat with excitement,” said DJ, “The Savio Cup loss left a bad taste in our mouth but we are back here to win.”

With two wins in their first two games, it seems that Shooting For Success certainly mean business!

2011 Ramu Memorial Tournament starts in style; Holders IOB eke out close victory

Mumbai’s most-storied and oldest hoops competition, the All India Ramu Memorial Basketball Tournament (RMBT) at the Indian Gymkhana in Matunga, got off to an intriguing start on Sunday, April 10th as the holders IOB (Chennai) held on for an intense, close victory over the underdog Cochin Customs side. The hosts, Maharashtra, saw their Women’s team dominate South Western Railway for a comfortable 16 point victory.

The RMBT, which is now in its 27th edition, is being sponsored by United Phosphorus Limited (UPL). The tournament has a lot of history in the city of Mumbai, as it started off in the mid-1960s as a local, inner-city competition, and in the late 70s became the All India tournament that it is today. For a period of 13 years between 1993-2005, the tournament was discontinued, but it has gained momentum again since 2006 and has once again become an essential part of Mumbai’s hoops culture.

One of the men’s teams that has always been successful at Ramu have been the Indian Overseas Bank – Chennai (IOB), who have won it three times in the last five years, including last year’s edition. Featuring the likes of Hareesh Koroth, Abhilekh Paul, Mihir Pandey, and the legendary S. Robinson, this team rolled in with high expectations but had a surprisingly slow start against Kerala’s Cochin Customs side. In a tight game throughout where neither team could take a huge lead, IOB survived to win 64-63. Paul scored 23 for the winning side while Pandey added 20 to go with 10 rebounds. For Cochin, Eudrick Perreira (17) and S. Monish (16) were the high scorers.

The first game of the tournament was a rousing victory by home side, Maharashtra Women, against South Western Railway from Karnataka. Smruthi was at her unstoppable best for Maharashtra, scoring 31 points as her team got off to a strong start. They held on to a comfortable 13 point lead at the half and maintained a steady tempo for the rest of the game to win 72-56. Manisha Dange added 17 for Maharasthra, while Savitha had 20 for South Western Railway.

The last game of the night was an encounter pitting several Indian superstars against each other – Western Railway Men came out to the court to battle Punjab. Western Railway wanted to stamp their dominance early, as they held on to a 10 point lead after a defensively strong first quarter and kept the lead uptil halftime. Punjab made a comeback in the third, but in the end, their efforts weren't strong enough from stopping Western Raiwlay from racing away to a 71-65 victory. Gagan Deep Singh was the star of the show for the winning side, scoring 18 points and grabbing 15 rebounds. Jagdeep Singh, who was named 'Best Player' at the previous night's All Star Game, kept up his good form with 28 points and 8 rebounds for Punjab, but it wasn't enough to secure a victory.

Vinod Muthukumar, the tournament director, was encouraged by the start to the competition and was looking forward to more interest from the public over the next week. “This year of the RMBT will be a little different and we are hoping to add more excitement and fan interaction,” said Muthukumar, “The Men’s competition, for instance, will see the eight participating sides in two groups, and the best two teams from each group will then play in another round-robin pool. This way, the crowd will get to see more competitive games.”

The organisers of the tournament are also putting in an extra effort this year to reach out to the fans. The tournament will be shown live throughout on local Mumbai channel YOUSCOD 18. The Semi-Finals on 16th April and Finals on 17th April 2011 will be telecast live on Doordarshan and the Finals will be broadcast live on DD along with live running commentary on All India Radio's FM Gold.

Muthukumar added, “We are also using our website – ramumemorial.com – as well as our Facebook page, as essential tools to share photos, results, and news.”

This is also the first year that the US-based side Shooting for Success (SFS) will be taking part in the RMBT. SFS have been a crowd favourite at Mumbai because of their appearances at the Savio Cup. They are considered to be one of the favourites to lift the crown, along with IOB and ONGC.

27th All India Ramu Memorial Basketball Tournament to tip off in Mumbai

One of India’s most prestigious basketball championships, the All India Ramu Memorial Basketball Tournament (RMBT), will return in its 27th edition to the Indian Gymkhana in Matunga (Mumbai) from April 10-17th. The tournament will feature some of the best state and club teams and top Indian players from around the country in both the Men’s and the Women’s division.

An added attraction to the team list this year is the American-based club squad, Shooting for Success, who have been attending past basketball tournaments like the Savio Cup in Mumbai for several years now.

Eight men’s teams and four women’s teams will be taking part in RMBT 2011. Once again, the competition will feature a host of international / India stars including Sambhaji Kadam (Services), S. Robinson (IOB-Chennai), Trideep Rai (ONGC), Gagandeep Singh and Amit Parashar (Western Railway), and women’s superstar Geethu Anna Jose (Southern Railway) who has recently received a call-up for a tryout with two WNBA teams.

Participating teams are:

Men:

Western Railway

IOB (Tamil Nadu)

Services

ONGC (Uttarakhand)

Shooting for Success (USA)

Punjab

Maharashtra

Cochin Customs

Women:

Southern Railway

Maharashtra

South West Central Railway

Chhattisgarh

In the Mens’ section comprising of Eight Teams will be made into Two Groups each, top two teams from each group will play Semi-final Super League, and, again, the top two teams, in the Semi-Final Super League will play the finals. Group of 4 teams will play League & top 2 teams will qualify for Semi-Finals. & In the Women’s section it will be Round Robin Basis.

The men's winners will receive the glittering Ramu Memorial Trophy and a purse of Rs. 1 Lakh. The winning women's team will receive Rs. 50 Thousand and the Kapila Khandvala Shield.

In addition, there will be 'Player of the Tournament' awards in the Men's and Women's categories.

Like previous years, the tournament will be played on international standard Teraflex courts and will be held under floodlights in a specially erected stadium. This is being done to reduce injury to the players as well as enhance performances through uninhibited high-profile basketball. As in the past, entry is free for spectators and this is being done especially to promote basketball among students and youth.

The Semi-Finals on 16th April and Finals on 17th April 2011 will be telecast live on Doordarshan and, the Finals will be broadcast live on All India Radio's FM Gold, thru’ a live running commentary.

To add to the excitement, 'Predict the Winners', Slam Dunk and Three-Pointer contests for spectators will be held during the competition, where exciting vouchers and gifts will be distributed.

Ramu Memorial Basketball tournament had virtually become a household name, with people from all walks of life and all ages thronging the venue to witness and cheer top quality basketball being dished out by players of the likes of Haridutt, Mathew Satyababu, Hanuman Singh, Abbas Montassir, Ajmer Singh, Sajjan Singh, Khusiram, Ramkumar, the towering giant Sunil Kumar Panda, Shyamlal, Balkar Singh, C.N.Sharma, Vijayraghavan and host of others.

Check out the tournament's official website - RamuMemorial.com for more details, photographs, live scores, and much more!

Indian Railways and Southern Railway win Savio Cup 6

In an exciting finale to eight days of mesmerising basketball at the Don Bosco–Matunga in Mumbai, Southern Railway (Women) and Indian Railways (Men) pulled off impressive victories to hoist the sixth edition of the United Phosphorous Limited (UPL) All India Savio Cup on Sunday, January 30th. Southern Railway relied on the talents of legendary Geethu Anna Jose to help beat Chhattisgarh in the Women’s final, 76-66. In the Men’s game, National Champions Indian Railways rallied behind an explosive game by Vishesh Bhriguvanshi as they pulled an improbable 91-79 upset over the strong American side, Shooting For Success (SFS).

For his consistent dominance throughout the competition, Bhriguvanshi was named player of the tournament. Anju Lakra, the Chhattisgarh captain, took the honour in the Women’s division.

In a tournament that has been gathering momentum and fan-following over the past few years, the Savio Cup 6 featured six Men’s teams (Indian Railways, SFS, IOB Chennai, Services, Punjab, Maharashtra) and four Women’s teams (Southern Railway, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Karnataka) who played in a league system from January 23-29th, with the final held on January 30th.

Trailing at the end of the first quarter in the Women’s final, Geethu, Anitha P., Renjini Peter, and the rest of the Southern Railway squad began to turn the game around against Chhattisgarh. Geethu led the game with 29 points while Anitha and Peter added 16 each for Railway as they won by 10 points. For Chhattisgarh, star players Pushpa M (27) and Anju Lakra (20) shined in the final.

Undefeated thus far, American side SFS were strong favourites to win the Men’s final as they faced the Indian Railways side who had won the National Championship in New Delhi a few weeks ago. Instead, Railways kept the game close in a face-paced, back-and-forth match-up. Trailing by two at the end of the third quarter, Railways played their strongest basketball behind Vishesh 33), Yadiwinder Singh (20) and Gagandeep Singh (16) to stand as 91-79 winners. Terry Fields (29) was the high man for SFS.

The winning teams in both divisions were rewarded Rs. 50,000 and the runners-up with Rs. 25,000.

A dunk competition was also held on the penultimate day of the Savio Cup, which was won by Terry Fields of SFS. Amjyot Singh (Punjab) and Anwar Ferguson (SFS) finished second and third respectively.

Final Scores

Women: Southern Railway 76 (Geethu Anna Jose 29, Renjini Peter 16, Anitha P. 16) bt. Chhattisgarh 66 (Pushpa M. 27, Anju Lakra 20).

Men: Indian Railways 91 (Vishesh Bhriguvanshi 33, Yadiwinder Singh 20, Gagandeep Singh 16) bt. Shooting For Success 79 (Terry Fields 29, David Jones 13).

Best Players Awards

Women: Anju Lakra (Chhattisgarh).

Men: Vishesh Bhriguvanshi (Indian Railways).

6th UPL All India Savio Cup to tip off in Mumbai

Mumbai’s basketball lovers are in for a feast of high quality basketball, as India's leading male and female hoopsters - along with a team from the United States of America 'Shooting for Success' - will be vying for top honours in the 6th Edition of the UPL All India Savio Cup-Don Bosco Basketball Tournament, held from 23rd January 2011 to 30th January 2011. The tournament will be held at Don Bosco High School (Matunga) and will be sponsored by United Phosphorous Ltd and Co-sponsored by Indian Oil Corporation Ltd.

The tournament, which has become one of the leading basketball competitions in the country, will feature six teams in the Men’s and four teams in the Women’s divisions.

Father Bosco D’Mello, Organizing Secretary of the tournament said, “The Savio Cup is a brilliant effort of teamwork. Diehard fans of the sport of basketball (both young and not so young) coming together to give a boost to the game of basketball, both to popularize it and take it to great heights by bringing together the best players both of Indian origin and overseas. You have got to be there to live the experience."

Participating Teams

Men: Services, IOB Chennai, Indian Railways, Punjab, Maharashtra, Shooting for Success (San Antonio, Texas, USA).

Women: Southern Railway, South East Central Railway, Karnataka, Maharashtra.

Some of the star players featuring in the tournament will include Shambaji Kadam, Dilip Kumar, Vishesh Bruguvanshi, Talwinder Singh, Mihir Pandey, Jagdeep, Yadwinder Singh, Harish, Geetu Anna Jose, Anita Pauldurai, Bharati Netam, Anju Lakra, Shirin Limaye, Sneha Rajguru, Amrita Baskute, Seema Singh, and others.

A highlight of this year’s tournament is the special felicitation function planned for the Administrators, Referees, Players and Journalists of yesteryear who had made significant contributions to the game of Basketball.

The tournament's organisers are doing a vigorous job in promoting the event. Savio Cup updates can be found on its Facebook page, on Twitter, and the organisers will also be sending SMS updates to fans who wish to submit their number for information.

The men and women will play a round robin league, with the top two teams going on to play the final. The men’s winners stand to gain Rs. 1 lakh, while the runners-up teams will take home Rs. 50,000. The women’s winners will take home Rs. 50,000 with the runner-up teams standing to gain Rs. 25,000. There will be prizes for every match as well as for individual brilliance.

Also planned are a ‘dunking competition’ and a ‘three-point shooting competition’.

The matches will be played on the Terra Flex surface with the use of Electronic Scoreboards and 24-second devices, in specially erected stadium to seat approx. 2000 spectators.

Three matches are expected to be played every day and they will be officiated by International referees, from different states, including three from Maharashtra.