The Navy basketball team took the title at Bangladesh Basketball Federation’s recent tournament, hosted on March 27 in order to commemorate the country’s declaration of independence.
The five-day long tournament was inaugurated with the Navy basketball team playing against Flame Boys, followed by the match between The Army basketball team and Bakshibazaar. Out of the 12 participating teams, BGB (defense), Navy (defense), Army (defense) and Dhumketu (civil) qualified to the semi-finals.
Among the other participants were Bakshibazaar (civil), Rangers (civil), Flame Boyz (civil), Wraiths (civil), Hornets (civil), Air Force (defense), Police (defense) and BKSP (government).
Dhumketu, the only civilian team to make it to the semis, awed the audience by bringing down the Army basketball team to a near defeat in the semis. “We just couldn’t give up that easily, and had to give all we’ve got,” said Amit Joseph Costa, the captain of Dhumketu basketball team and former national team basketball player, “What really boosted our spirits was the support of our followers from the gallery.”
After 40 minutes of battle between the two teams, the army successfully recovered from the edge they were pushed into and won by only a single point. “The Navy basketball team, which is without doubt one of the toughest teams in Bangladesh, was once defeated by Dhumketu about 12 years back. The Army basketball team is considered as the only worthy competitor for the Navy and in the past decade, no civilian team could even come close to a victory against the two of them. Even though we have lost the match, we do not consider ourselves defeated. And hopefully we will put it all back together and bring a better game at the upcoming tournaments,” said Amit in regard to the performance.
The Navy, on the other hand faced the BGB basketball team in the semi-finals and won, qualifying themselves to the finals (held on March 31), where they faced the Army basketball team. The two well-formed and closely matched sides (considered rivals) displayed a stunning performance on the court. The competition grew quarter after quarter as they hustled to be titled as the champions. The gallery shook with the roaring of the crowd all throughout the game. With a fierce conclusion, the Navy won the cup 70-58 on the score line, adding the latest to their shelf. M K Biswas was the highest scorer with a contribution of 26 baskets to his team.
“I’m finally relieved! We knew we had to bring our A-game this year since the competition was high, so we really pushed our limits during the drills,” said Rashed, the captain of the Navy basketball team and also the national basketball team. “I’ve been associated with basketball since 1998, and all throughout my career I tried to make a significant difference to my team. So far, with the help of my fellow team mates, I’ve succeeded in doing so. Now my aim is to pass on my knowledge to the next batch of players we have and prepare them.”
The trophies to the champions (Navy) and runners-up (Army) were handed out to their respective captains of the two teams by the president of BBF. And the players joined in a small celebratory cheer after receiving their individual medals.
