Schools battle it out to win IMG league

LUDHIANA: The first IMG league of Punjab Basketball Association (PBA) organized for promoting the sport among city students kicked off at the Guru Nanak Dev Stadium on Friday. The league is being organized jointly by Basketball Federation of India (BFI) and PBA. PBA general secretary Teja Singh Dhaliwal said 12 boys’ and eight girls’ teams from various schools of Punjab are participating in the tournament. The organizers have announced cash prize of Rs 75,000 for champions, Rs 40,000 for first runner up and Rs 30,000 for second runner up in both categories, said Dhaliwal. He said the winning teams from this league will participate in the National School League to be held in November. The IMG league will conclude on October 1.He said the teams have talented players from various districts and the competition is stiff in the league.Dhaliwal highlighted one of the major drawbacks for development of basketball in the state saying the sport is not encouraged in schools in the state. “The schools here do not have any trainer for primary level students during the raw age when they develop an interest in basketball,” said Dhaliwal. Results: Boys: Nav Bharati School, Ludhiana beat SD Senior Secondary School, Malout by 74-44; Springdale School, Amritsar beat AS Senior Secondary School, Khanna by 49-23; AS Senior Secondary School, Khanna beat Blossom Convent School, Jagraon by 40-24; Nav Bharati School, Ludhiana beat Blossom Convent School, Jagraon by 57-12; Springdale School, Amritsar beat Government Senior Secondary School, Gidder Baha by 72-53; MPS, Patiala beat Blossom Convent, Jagraon by 48-04 Girls: Khalsa School beat Government Senior Secondary School by 42-26; GSS School, Amritsar beat GSS School, Kapurthala by 29-09; GSS School, Gurdaspur beat APJ School, Jalandhar by 38-31