Indian Bank wins in 59th PSG Trophy All India Basketball Tourney

The PSG Sports Club, which has been conducting the Men’s All India Basketball Tournament in Coimbatore for the past 58 years, organised the 59th edition this year. The tournament commenced on August 23 and concluded yesterday (August 27) at the PSG Engineering College Indoor Stadium.
The five-day event, held with the approval of the Basketball Federation of India and under the code of the Tamil Nadu Basketball Association, featured eight leading men’s teams. These were divided into two groups, with the first three days played in a round-robin format followed by knockout rounds on the last two days.
In Group A, Chennai - Indian Bank, Bengaluru - Bank of Baroda, New Delhi - Indian Air Force, and Coimbatore - Rajalakshmi HSA competed. Group B featured New Delhi - Indian Army, Chennai - Indian Overseas Bank, Lonavala - Indian Navy, and Tiruvananthapuram - Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB).
The final match, held at 6.00 p.m. yesterday, saw Chennai - Indian Bank take on Thiruvananthapuram - Kerala State Electricity Board. Indian Bank 68 (Bala Dhaneshwar 26, Pranav Prince 14) bt KSEB 50 (Jishnu G Nair 10, Aaron Vargese Bleson 10, Sejin Mathew 9).
Earlier, in the playoff for 3rd and 4th place held at 4.30 p.m., Lonavala - Indian Air Force faced Chennai - Indian Overseas Bank. Indian Air Force 81 (Joginder 18, Sahil 16) bt Indian Overseas Bank 73 (Lokendra Singh 26, Vishvak G R 16).
The champion team Indian Bank received the PSG Trophy and a cash prize of ₹1,00,000.00 while the runner-up team KSEB was awarded ₹75,000 and a trophy. The third-placed team Indian Air Force took home ₹50,000 and a trophy, and the fourth-placed team Indian Overseas Bank- received ₹25,000 along with a trophy. The best sportsman award, carrying a prize of ₹10,000, was presented to Mr. Bala of the Indian Bank team.
Coimbatore District Collector, Mr. Pawankumar G. Giriyappanavar, was the chief guest at the valedictory function and distributed prizes to the winners. PSG Institutions Managing Trustee, Mr. L. Gopalakrishnan, and Coimbatore District Basketball Association President and Managing Director of C.R.I. Pumps, Mr. G. Selvaraj, were also present.