KOCHI:
Thiruvananthapuram women and Ernakulam men successfully defended their titles in the 68th Senior State Basketball Championship at the Regional Sports Center here on Sunday.
In the women's final, Thiruvananthapuram, primarily consisting of KSEB players, overcame Palakkad 50-43. Aneesha Cleetus led the scoring for Thiruvananthapuram with 12 points and 17 rebounds, while Sreekala contributed 10 points and 9 rebounds. Palakkad, mainly represented by the Kerala Police team players, put in a collective effort with Aiswarya Sabu, Jaylakshmi, Chippy Mathew, and Joma Jejo scoring nine points each, but their efforts went in vain.
The men's final saw host Ernakulam face a setback due to the absence of their current international players, Vaisak K Manoj and Shanazil Muhammed, who were both ruled out after suffering injuries. However, that didn't affect their performance as they edged past Thiruvananthapuram 70-65 in a closely contested final.
Ernakulam were leading 35-32 at half-time, and they kept up the momentum in the third and final quarters. Antony Johnson was their standout performer with 23 points, including 2 three-pointers and 10 rebounds. He was well supported by his Kerala Police teammate Shiras Muhammed, who scored 15 points.
For Thiruvananthapuram, Sejin Mathew put on an impressive display of dunking, scoring 26 points, including 4 three-pointers and 11 rebounds.
Earlier, Kottayam teams won both the bronze medal matches as their women's team beat Alappuzha 63-57, while the men defeated Thrissur 67-52. Jinu Devasia and Irin Elsa John, both from Kottayam, received the inaugural Bobit Mathew Memorial award for the most promising male and female player, respectively.
The PS Viswappan Gold Medal, given to the players with the best performances in the year, was awarded to Aneesha Cleetus of Thiruvananthapuram and Shiras Muhammed of Ernakulam.
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