Ramkumar powers W Rly win

August 3: A Burst of brilliant shooting in the second session by internatiomnal Ramkumar (42 pts) steered Western Railway to an emphatic 75-60 win after a close score of 32-27 in the first half over Vijaya Bank in a Pool B encounter of the the men’s National Invitation Basketball Championship here on Thursday.

Steered by Ramkumar, the best shooter in the country, Western Railway shook off a 34-35 deficit early in the second half through junior international Surjit Singh. They forced a 39-37, 46-37 lead and increased it to a decisive 60-44. Ramkumar harassed the bank defence to no end by shooting sharp three pointers too.

The bankmen, fighting with shooters Stalin, basavaraj, Murali Mohan and Austin, had the Railway shooters in check in the first half. They levelled 12-12, led 17-16, and drew level 21-21, 23-23. But in the second session, Basavaraj missed some good passes. For Western Railway, Ashok Kumar shot 12 pts.

This was the first league match for both the teams.