Shower of Baskets
Four, three, two, one…Shoot; the sudden silence amidst the crowd was so freaking loud, each pair of eyes in the stadium was on the round orange ball gliding through the air, and time seemed to have slowed down. Nano seconds before the whistle, the ball smoothly paved its way into the netted basket, breaking the silence with joyous screams from all directions of the stadium.
This was the scenario at the end of each quarter of the Finals between IB(Indian Bank) and JIT(Jeppiar College Of Technology) for the 2nd Golden Jubilee State level Basketball Tournament for Men for PSG Trophy held at PSG Tech Indoor Sports Complex on the Fifth of July this year.
The event was graced by the presence of Shri C.N.Ashok, Vice President, Coimbatore District Basketball Association. Dr R Rudramoorthy, Principal PSG College Of Technology and various other dignitaries along with many sport enthusiasts watched the match thoroughly enjoying the soul and spirit of the game.
This is what sports is all about; it helps a player to develop his physical health in addition to harnessing his life skills such as team spirit, focus etc… . On the other hand, the audience forget the world they are in- their busy tensed life- and enjoy the sport by being an abstract part of it.
For the knowledge of those who only know that basket ball is played with a ball; a glimpse into the sport: The game consists of four quarters, each 10 minutes long followed by a break. Two teams play against each other. Each team has five players in the ground during the match so that totals up to ten active players (there are as many as 15 players (including substitutes) per team). Two referees preside over the match viewing it with hawk eyes. Then there are shoots worth 1,2,3 points called 1 pointer, 2 pointer and 3 pointer… (Unlike our CGPA system, max is a 3 pointer).
Now that you are aware of the basics of basket ball, here's a sneak peek into the finals that proved to be an exhilarating experience, an unforgettable match with twists etched in each and every second of the game. If you had been among the audience then you would have been in a similar nail biting situation that I was in; both teams were neck to neck with scores, 17-20 at end of 1st quarter,36-34 at 2nd quarter,48-50 at 3rd quarter and 64-66 at the end of the game. I was wondering which team to side, the moment I decided one of the two, the other raced them; it was a pen on the water match. There were many unexpected twists which made the game a roller coaster ride for the full hour.
Adding more masala to the match, towards the end of the game with scores 64-65 and the clock ticking 8, IB took a basket from midline. As the ball touched the rim the whistle blew thrice, the whole stadium was standstill. It was a three pointer, the shoot was denied by the referee stating the fact that the player had not stepped across the midline and that the ball hit the basket after the whistle. After several rows, the game resumed, the two teams were given 8 seconds extra time. This time, the tensed IB team committed a foul hence giving JIT the gate pass to the nationals of PSG Trophy 2015.
Prizes were distributed by the chief guest to the first three positions. The third place worth a prize money Rs10,000 was bagged by ICF Chennai, followed by IB who received a prize amount of Rs15,000. The winning team took home Rs20,000 along with the key to the nationals of PSG Tech Trophy 2015.
