Bhriguvanshi powers ONGC to title

A stellar show by Vishesh Bhriguvanshi helped ONGC (Dehradun) stop a spirited IOB (Chennai) in the men’s final of the Federation Cup basketball tournament here on Monday.

Bhriguvanshi (20 points, 9 rebounds) took over late in the third-quarter just as IOB (Chennai) was beginning to get into the groove. With IOB up 53-51, Bhriguvanshi converted two exceptional layups in transition, and from this point on, ONGC never lost faith.

The first 10 minutes, however, witnessed one-way traffic.

Troubled by Yadwinder Singh’s energetic defence, IOB stared at a huge 27-5 deficit at the end of the first-quarter, but staged a valiant comeback to narrow the lead to 31-26 at half-time.

After the restart, both teams ran neck-and-neck, before Bhriguvanshi carried ONGC to a fourth-straight Federation Cup title.

In the women’s section, an all-round show from Kerala took the side past Chhattisgarh. The results: Men: Final: ONGC (Dehradun) 73 (Vishesh Bhriguvanshi 20, Yadwinder Singh 17, Trideep Rai 15, Riyazuddin 14) bt IOB (Chennai) 57 (Pratham Singh 25, Aravind Annadurai 13). Third-place playoff: Army Red bt Vijaya Bank 76-66.

Women: Final: Kerala 80 (Stephy Nixon 26, P.S. Jeena 22, P.S. Neenumol 21) bt Chhattisgarh 71 (Poonam Chaturvedi 33, Sharanjeet Kaur 21, V. Riya 12). Third-place: playoff: Telangana bt Southeast Central Railways 65-56.

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