Team Herald
Bambolim: The second day of the 30th Federation Cup 2016 began with the women’s semi-finalists from the senior nationals, Telangana opening their account with their first win against Delhi.
Telangana came out with intent, getting off to a quick first quarter start 22 to 8. They used size to their advantage overpowering Delhi 57 to 37. Telangana scored 30 of their points from the inside, led by R. Ramya’s 11 points. The sizeable lead allowed Telangana to use their bench, as eight players got onto the scoreboard. P. Divya was consistent again with 9 points for Telangana. The inexperienced Delhi side fell to a 56-30 loss in their Group B opening game, while Telangana opened its account with their first win.
Kerala women started their campaign on an assertive note, with a comfortable victory over Chhattisgarh. This match was preceded by Indian Overseas Bank (IOB), Chennai cruising to their second straight win, this time over North Western Railway, Rajasthan.
The first men’s game of Day 2 was also a one-sided affair between Army Red and Kerala Police. Playing their opening game, Army used multiple offensive weapons to dominate Kerala. After establishing a 20-point lead in the first half, Army cruised through the rest of the game to register a 76-43 victory. Army had contributions from several players who were also on the Services team that won the senior nationals. Mayur Bhat led all scorers with 16 points while Jairam Jat had a double-double for the Army with 15 points and 13 rebounds. Manu Thomas was the Army’s enforcer in the paint, protecting the rim with 3 blocks and also pulling down 10 rebounds. Army also had 12 points coming from their bench, while Kerala had zero bench contribution in the game. This marks Kerala Police’s second loss in the tournament, leaving them on the verge of being knocked out.
IOB Chennai took on North-western Railways, Jaipur (NWR) in a Group B men’s clash. Both teams entered this game yet to be defeated after winning their opening games yesterday. This match followed the pattern of one-sided affairs through the day with IOB dominating from start to finish. IOB’s frontcourt proved too strong for NWR, who struggled to contain IOB’s big men in the paint. Veteran centre Vineeth Mathew had 10 points in the game while forward Abhilekh Paul scored a team-high 15 points.
