Dimapur, 1 September (MTNews): In a show of sheer dominance, Reema led the All Blacks team to a victory against Orca to win the Dimapur leg of the Khelo India Asmita Women’s 3X3 Basketball League at the JV Foundation Basket Court at Signal Angami, Dimapur on Thursday.
On the final day, after the fifth round of the league matches, All Blacks (Kohima) topped the league standings, followed by TMB (Kohima), Orca (Kohima) and Elite B (Dimapur) as the 2nd, 3rd and 4th placed teams.
In the first semi- final match, All Blacks (Kohima) thrashed Elite B (Dimapur) 16 – 6 in regulation time. Ambidextrous baller Reena of All Blacks gave a scintillating display scoring 10 points. In an absorbing second semi-final match, Orca (Kohima) put up an all round display to defeat TMB (Kohima) 16 – 12. Kevi and Achet of Orca put up a dominant display to score 8 and 6 points respectively.
The third placed game was a tightly contested match with TMB (Kohima) overcoming a stiff challenge from the local team Elite B. Lele of TMB scored 6 points in an 11-9 victory over Elite B.
In the decisive final game, All Blacks put up a convincing display to defeat Orca by 10-5 in regulation time. All Black’s Reema gave a dominating performance, once again, scoring 5 points and leading her team to a deserving victory. After guiding her team to a spectacular win, she was rightfully adjudged the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the tournament and took with her a cash award of Rs 2000.
Champions All Blacks took away the winners prize of Rs 15000 with citations, whereas Runner-up Orca and 2nd Runner-up TMB took away cash prizes of Rs 7500 and Rs 2500 respectively along-with certificates. All the participating teams were also given certificates.
In his address, Competition Manager Yudang Ao while thanking the Khelo India, Sports Authority of India, Basketball Federation of India and Nagaland Basketball Association also said, “This league will go a long way to empower women in basketball. This is the platform for girls who are passionate about basketball, to show their skills, win laurels for the country and also build their career in sports. We must support this initiative by Khelo India, SAI and BFI.”
During the prize distribution, Mr Tiameren Amri, Technical Director of Dimapur District Basketball Association gave away the cash prizes and certificates to the teams.
The Asmita Women’s League is a program under Khelo India to promote sports among women in India. The Dimapur leg of 3×3 basketball tournament is part of a 50-cities program overseen by the Basketball Federation of India and its associate members across India.
