Media need Both Thesage or NGOorganisation
Media with handful of person who has little ethical standing shall find difficult to muster media at large to garner support. There has to be person of long ethical and moral standing with sage like appearance who shed words of wisdom and does not appear to be talking partisan, sidewalks or frag-mental of nepotism.
Media who thinks are unable to work without grants of advertisement or fudged funds shall be always in these sights of plights. However SC agrees to give urgent hearing tomorrow to a plea seeking action against those involved in the violence at Patiala House court complex New Delhi.
More case of these nature are in sight as the organisation and parties banking from ideation is now sliding towards or are governed not on wisdom but on wish and ambition of MAN.
Journalists preparing a memorandum for the Chief Justice of India, asking for immediate action against those responsible for the attack on the students and the media outside the Delhi court yesterday.
Supreme Court agrees to hear the PIL on the Patiala house court violence tomorrow after Senior Advocate Indira Jaising mentions the matter.
Meanwhile, police have stopped the journalists from approaching the SC, citing security reasons.
Police Commissioner BS Bassi says JNUSU leader Kanhaiyya was present at the spot and on the basis of that evidence he was arrested. “There are allegations and counter allegations,” Bassi said when asked if BJP MLA OP Sharma would be detained.
Final Medal Tally: SouthAsianGames2016
‘UBA Pro Basketball League Season 2’
A bigger & better ‘UBA Pro Basketball League Season 2’ is here
- The two phase event to be held at Pune & Hyderabad
- Olympic medallist boxer MC Mary Kom and actor Suniel Shetty to grace the opening ceremony on 18th February as chief guests
Pune, February 16th, 2016: The Season 2 of the UBA Pro Basketball League, India’s first professional basketball event, is all set to be held between February 18th and April 3rd. The two phase event is to be held at Pune’s Balewadi Stadium and Hyderabad’ Gachibowli Stadium. The League will be LIVE telecasted on Ten network channels – Ten Sports / Ten Action / Ten HD.
With the objective of promoting basketball among the sports lovers, the United Basketball Alliance India (P) Ltd., has initiated a professional league that provides the young and experienced players, a platform to express themselves on the court.
The Pro Basketball League comprises eight professional teams from different cities of India, which compete over the course of two months emerge as the Champions of the Season 2.
Speaking about the League, Todd Mack, Managing Director, United Basketball Alliance India (P) Ltd., said, “Pro Basketball League is the platform, much needed for basketball players in India, who aspire to make it big in the sport. UBA provides these young players, an opportunity to test their skills at a professional level. Additionally, the best players from the League get an opportunity to train outside India, and rub shoulders with some of the big names of the sport, from around the world.”
Noted Bollywood actor Suniel Shetty and five time World Amateur Boxing champion Mary Kom will grace the opening ceremony to be held on February 18th at the Pune’s Balewadi Stadium. Basketball Federation of India is extending its support to this event, and former international player, Norman Isaac of BFI, will be the Technical Commissioner of the League.
UBA has partnered with Emmy Award winning broadcaster Paul Crane who has covered sports at the highest levels in the United States for over three decades, to present the Pro Basketball League 2016. Steve Graham, executive producer of the League, has been involved with six past Olympic Games, international triathlons, auto racing and international volleyball games in his career.
| UBA Pro Basketball League 2016 Season 2 | ||||
| Date | Time | Match | Venue | LIVE/Deferred |
| Phase-1 | ||||
| Feb 18 | 16:30 | Punjab Steelers vs Delhi Capitals | Pune | Ten Action/HD |
| Feb 18 | 19:00 | Mumbai Challengers vs Haryana Gold | Pune | Ten Action/HD |
| Feb 19 | 16:30 | Chennai Slam vs Hyderabad Sky | Pune | Ten Action |
| Feb 19 | 19:00 | Bengaluru Beast vs Pune Peshwas | Pune | Ten Action/HD |
| Feb 20 | 16:30 | Delhi Capitals vs Haryana Gold | Pune | Ten Sports/HD |
| Feb 20 | 19:00 | Punjab Steelers vs Mumbai Challengers | Pune | Ten Action |
| Feb 21 | 16:30 | Chennai Slam vs Bengaluru Beast | Pune | Ten Sports |
| Feb 21 | 19:00 | Hyderabad Sky vs Pune Peshwas | Pune | Ten Action |
| Feb 22 | 16:30 | Punjab Steelers vs Chennai Slam | Pune | Ten Action |
| Feb 22 | 19:00 | Delhi Capitals vs Hyderabad Sky | Pune | Ten Action |
| Feb 24 | 16:30 | Mumbai Challengers vs Bengaluru Beast | Pune | Ten Action |
| Feb 24 | 19:00 | Pune Peshwas vs Haryana Gold | Pune | Ten Sports/HD |
| Feb 25 | 16:30 | Hyderabad Gold vs Punjab Steelers | Pune | Ten Action/HD |
| Feb 25 | 19:00 | Delhi Capitals vs Mumbai Challengers | Pune | Ten Action/HD |
| Feb 26 | 16:30 | Chennai Slam vs Pune Peshwas | Pune | Ten Action/HD |
| Feb 26 | 19:00 | Hyderabad Sky vs Bengaluru Beast | Pune | Ten Sports/HD |
| Feb 27 | 16:30 | Punjab Steelers vs Delhi Capitals | Pune | HD/Ten Action |
| Feb 27 | 19:00 | Mumbai Challengers vs Haryana Gold | Pune | Ten Action |
| Feb 28 | 16:30 | Chennai Slam vs Hyderabad Sky | Pune | Ten Action/HD |
| Feb 28 | 19:00 | Bengaluru Beast | Pune | Ten Action/HD |
| Phase-2 | ||||
| Mar 23 | 16:30 | Hyderabad Gold vs Delhi Capitals | Hyderabad | |
| Mar 23 | 19:00 | Mumbai Challengers vs Punjab Steelers | Hyderabad | |
| Mar 24 | 16:30 | Pune Peshwas vs Hyderabad Sky | Hyderabad | |
| Mar 24 | 19:00 | Chennai Slam vs Bengaluru Beast | Hyderabad | |
| Mar 25 | 16:30 | Punjab Steelers vs Haryana Gold | Hyderabad | |
| Mar 25 | 19:00 | Delhi Capitals vs Mumbai Challengers | Hyderabad | |
| Mar 26 | 16:30 | Chennai Slam vs Pune Peshwas | Hyderabad | |
| Mar 26 | 19:00 | Hyderabad Sky vs Bengaluru Beast | Hyderabad | |
| Play-offs | ||||
| Mar 27 | 16:30 | North (2nd place) vs North (3rdplace) | Hyderabad | |
| Mar 27 | 19:00 | South (2nd place) vs South (3rdplace) | Hyderabad | |
| Semi-finals (Best of 3 Games) | ||||
| Mar 28 | 16:30 | South (1st place) vs South (2nd vs 3rd) | Hyderabad | |
| Mar 28 | 19:00 | North (1st place) vs North (2nd vs 3rd) | Hyderabad | |
| Mar 29 | 16:30 | South (1st place) vs South (2nd vs 3rd) | Hyderabad | |
| Mar 29 | 19:30 | North (1st place) vs North (2nd vs 3rd) | Hyderabad | |
| Mar 30 | 16:30 | South (1st place) vs South (2nd vs 3rd) | Hyderabad | Only if necessary |
| Mar 30 | 19:00 | North (1st place) vs North (2nd vs 3rd) | Hyderabad | Only if necessary |
| Championship finals (Best of 3 Games) | ||||
| Apr 1 | 19:00 | Winner North vs Winner South | Hyderabad | |
| Apr 2 | 19:00 | Winner North vs Winner South | Hyderabad | |
| Apr 3 | 19:00 | Winner North vs Winner South | Hyderabad | Only if necessary |
Franchise teams- Breakdown
Division: South
- RAGHURAM
- JAIPAL SINGH MAAN
- KAIFE AZAM ZIA
- KARAN HAROLD JOSHUA
- CHETAN SURESH
- HRISHIKESH NAIDU
- YASHAS
- SANJAY RAJ
- YADVINDER SINGH JAJ
- AKINJEET
- MANJEET
- VISU PALANI
- PRASANNA JAYASANKAR- COACH
- PUNEESH SURESH- COACH
Helmed by the highly respected Prasanna Jayasankar, a former India women’s captain, and Puneeth Suresh, a hugely successful varsity coach from Jain University, Bengaluru; Bengaluru Beast seem to have the perfect balance of international experience and local trust factor in the coaching department.
A squad with immense talent, Beast will need to find the resolve to better their result in season 1, where failed to qualify to the knockout rounds.
Key to their fortunes will be the performance of talented leaper Kaife Zia, who will be eager to show how his foreign UBA training last year has made him a better player this time around.
League Stages W-L Record from Season 1: 3-3
Last Result: 59-67 loss to Chennai Slam in league stages
Division: South
- RAVI KUMAR
- AJINKYA MEHTA
- AJINKYA MANE
- SIDDHANTH SHINDE
- KARNE MEHTA
- ARJUN MEHTA
- EDWIN IRWIN
- YOGESH BAHIRAME
- GAURAV OHLAN
- PARVESH R
- DEEPAK P
- NARENDAR GREWAL
- NANDU MEHTA- COACH
Talk about proving predictions wrong. If last year, the Peshwas surprised everybody by reaching the finals despite the absence of any ‘star’ names, this year, the Nandu Mehta coached side will look to go one better and win it all. Notably, this year, the side will be bolstered by the presence of current India international, Narender Grewal. The “one handed shooter” can be expected to play a pivotal role in the side that also features other prominent internationals such as local Pune lad Siddhanth Shinde (senior India) and Gaurav Ohlan (junior India).
League Stages W-L Record from Season 1: 3-3
Last Result: 49-81 loss to Chennai Slam in finals
Division: South
- RAM KUMAR
- AGU SHERIFF CHUWUNANU
- CAMMY CARMEL
- ADITYA BISWAS
- VIGNESH
- “VIKKI” VIGNESH
- ARJUN G K
- ASUTOSH
- E B JOS
- GOPAL
- BOPANNA
- LONGI
- RAVI KUMAR- COACH
- YASHWANT- COACH
Coming to the defending champions themselves. While both Bengaluru and Pune had Chennai to blame for ending their run last year, the “Slammers” themselves will be looking to ‘repeat’ as winners. This is a team that knows how to play together, and well. Seamless on both ends of the floor, and with a deep bench, Slam is a fine representation of the systemic culture of basketball in Tamil Nadu. They are selfless, composed and adept at controlling the tempo of the game. In short, Slam is a champion side with a target on its back. The challenge for them will be to fend off the remaining sides and stay on top of the hill for another year running.
League Stages W-L Record from Season 1: 4-2
Last Result: 81-49 win over Pune Peshwas in finals
Division: South
- JOGINDER SINGH
- L SUJITH REDDY
- VIJAY KUMAR
- GARNISH PATIL
- SHIV KUMAR
- MONISH WILSON
- AMIT BISHLA
- HIMANSHU JHANGDA
- RAHUL S
- MAHESH
- KUMAR V
- EDWIN
- NIHAL YADAV
- SRINATH- COACH
- ANTONY ISSAC- COACH
*ONE PLAYER IS STANDBY
Rounding off the teams from the South is the Hyderabad Sky. Like Chennai, in terms of playing style, Sky is another classic representation of their city. The Sky players are “street” ballers, willing to fight hard and be aggressive. But last year, performing in front of their home crowd, tensions got the better of them as they fell to a tough 1 point loss to the Peshwas. Will the temperamental centre Sujith Reddy manage to maintain his composure? Can Hyderabad go from the streets to the Sky? Only time will tell…
League Stages W-L Record from Season 1: 2-4
Last Result: 69-70 loss to Pune Peshwas in league stages
Division: North
- VIKAS KUMAR
- BIRENDER
- ABISEKH
- SUSHANT
- AKASH BHASIN
- JASKARAN
- ASHIV JAIN
- TUSHAR
- SHUBAM
- SANJEEV KUMAR
- ROHIT GULIA
- RAJAT
- SHIBA MAGGON- COACH
- PUNEET- COACH
Tipping off our analysis of north division teams is Haryana Gold. With a 5-1 win loss record and +65 point differential after last year’s league stages, Gold entered the semis with the best record among all teams. That’s when they found their marauding ways rudely stopped by the upstart Pune Peshwas. In season 2, Gold will see many personnel changes. In the coaching sector, renowned women’s coach Shiba Maggon, who hails from Karnal, Haryana, has her task cut out. She will look to provide that much needed strategic push, especially in the knockout stages, assuming of course the team progresses from what promises to be a very tough north division.
League Stages W-L Record from Season 1: 5-1
Last Result: 80-81 loss to Pune Peshwas in the semifinals
Division: North
- YUDVHIR SINGH
- ARSHDEEP SINGH
- RAJ ADDITYA
- AYUSH SHARMA
- SUNIL
- SATYAJEET
- AJAY SINGH
- SMITHIN
- RAMESH
- AJAY P
- SACHIN
- VINAY KAUSHIK
- MUKESH BISHNOI- COACH
- BASHA- COACH
Delhi started off slow last year before reeling off wins in the concluding league stages. Unfortunately they couldn’t qualify for the semis. But they had made their point clear to all teams, that this is a side on the rise. Coached by ex-University star Mukesh Bishnoi, Delhi Capitals has great upside, coming from a city with a vibrant college hoops culture. But pro basketball is a different ball game altogether, and the Capitals will need to show that its young players have found the mental and physical resilience to go toe to toe with the big boys. The inspired move of adding senior India small forward Vinay Kaushik, himself a Delhi University (DU) alum, will go a long way in countering this limitation.
League Stages W-L Record from Season 1: 3-3
Last Result: 100-73 win over Mumbai Challengers in the league stages
Division: North
- DILDAR SINGH
- LUMENDRA SAHE
- KARAN PAL SINGH
- JAGDEEP BAINS
- GAGANDEEP SINGH
- RANBIR SINGH
- SURENDER
- NIKHIL
- RAVINDER
- RAVENDRA D
- RAJ
- PRUDHVI
- PC ANTONY- COACH
- SANDEEP BOSE- COACH
They say form is temporary, and class is permanent. In the case of Mumbai, both form and class were missing in the first season. But just like how the proverbial phoenix rises from the ashes, this completely revamped Mumbai Challengers is a far cry from the disparate elements of last year. Led by former India star Jagdeep Singh Bains, who incidentally is still only 29, the Challengers are guaranteed to fare better in season two. After all, India’s “maximum” city deserves a team with maximum potential. Besides Bains, the side will see the return of last season’s scoring machine Karan Pal Singh, who, surrounded with the right ingredients, can prove to be the difference maker yet again. Other names worth mentioning are former India shooting guard Ranbir Singh, and Punjab’s seasoned centre Gagandeep Singh. The coaching staff will be led by former India junior coach PC Antony from Kerala. With a squad of such proven credentials, anything short of a maiden finals appearance will be considered a disappointment.
League Stages W-L Record from Season 1: 1-5
Last Result: 73-100 loss to Delhi Capitals in the league stages
Division: North
- GURVINDER “GARRY” GILL
- SARTAJ SINGH SANDHU
- Kuldeep TITA SINGH
- PULKIT SOOD
- KAUSHAL
- MANOJ R
- SANDEEP AHLAWAT
- ABHIJITH
- KESHAV
- SAGAR J
- RAJESH
- AMRIT PAL SINGH
- SUNNY THOMAS- COACH
- SRINIVAS- COACH
Who cannot love Punjab! The land of five rivers keeps churning out one athletic baller after another. Size. Strength. Speed. Resilience. Punjab has it all. Season 1 saw them finishing in the final four, with Ravi Bhardwaj named tournament MVP. Bhardwaj won’t return this year however, and in his absence small forward Sartaj Sandhu will look to take on the leadership mantle. Returning to the side is arguably the most promising player of the tournament, Gurvinder “Garry” Gill. The 20 year old, approx 6ft 7 inch power forward, is already on the senior Indian men’s team, and boy oh boy, can’t we wait to see his trademark two handed throwdowns. Mess with #PunjabPower at your own risk! Probably the most unpredictable franchise this year, all bets are off when it comes to this Northern team helmed by a coach from down south.
League Stages W-L Record from Season 1: 4-2
Last Result: 77-92 loss to Chennai Slam in the semis
Mukesh Kumar back with a vengeance; Shoots opening round 64 for sole lead
Mane, Shubhankar share second place with unfancied Sisodia
Eagleton – The Golf Resort, Bengaluru, February 16, 2016: Old warhorse Mukesh Kumar of Mhow, who missed the cut at the PGTI’s season-opener at Kochi last week, came back with a vengeance on day one of the PGTI Players Championship presented by Eagleton – The Golf Resort as he snatched the lead with a determined bogey-free eight-under-64.
Bengaluru’s Udayan Mane capitalized on the familiar conditions at his home course to grab a share of second place at seven-under-65 along with Gurgaon’s Shubhankar Sharma and unfancied Shivendra Singh Sisodia of Delhi.
Local favourite Chikkarangappa produced a 67 to be within striking distance of the lead in tied fifth along with Delhi’s Kapil Kumar on a day that witnessed 51 under-par scores.
Veteran Mukesh Kumar, who finished second in the Rolex Ranking 2015, hardly misses a cut in professional golf, but even when he does so, he has a reputation of coming back stronger in the next event. The 50-year-old missed the cut in Hyderabad last year and then went on to win the following week in Kochi.
Mukesh would look to repeat the feat this time as well. He suffered an injury to his left hand during the first round in Kochi which led to him missing the cut. But he has once again got off to a good start in the following event, an ominous sign for his fellow competitors.
“I would’ve been in contention last week had my hand not rammed into a tree while swinging in the first round. I’ve now recovered from the injury and will look to make up for last week,” said a resolute Mukesh.
Mukesh, who last won the TATA Open just two months back, made three birdies till the turn but then added another five in the second half to shoot his best-ever score at Eagleton. He landed it within three feet of the flag on four occasions for tap-in birdies.
Mukesh added, “This is my best score at Eagleton and therefore quite a satisfying round. I was consistently landing it close and even narrowly missed an eagle from 10 feet on the seventh. I also missed two easy birdie putts from three feet. I think the winning score could go to 20 to 22 under this week.”
Udayan Mane, the 2015 PGTI Emerging Player of the Year, was one-under through three holes at his home course, before he came up with six birdies on seven holes from the 13th to the first thanks to some brilliant hitting and a couple of long putts.
“I played equally well on the front-nine and back-nine, but I didn’t score well on the front-nine. The wind was swirling today and was there in patches not throughout the round.
“Last week’s event on the Asian Tour was a learning experience. After the highs of last year, I missed the cut in Bangladesh before coming here. That was a signal for me to pull up my socks. I’ll look to rip apart the course again in round two,” said a confident Mane.
Shubhankar Sharma, one of the pre-tournament favourites, mixed eight birdies with a lone bogey in his round. Shubhankar’s round featured three long birdie putts and some quality chip-putts.
Sharma, who secured third place at the Asian Tour event last week, said, “I kept the errors out of my game today and even the bogey came as a result of a bad bounce. I made some tricky putts and recovered well after hitting it over the green on a couple of occasions.”
Shivendra Singh Sisodia, who was the joint first round leader last week, produced an eagle, six birdies and a bogey to be in a three-way tie for second position. The 26-year-old who came through the Qualifying School this year, has been the surprise package of the season so far, having posted a tied 23rd finish in the opening event.
Chikkarangappa occupied tied fifth place with Kapil Kumar. Chikka was two-under through 14 holes before his hat-trick of birdies on the 15, 16 and 17 where he landed it within seven feet on all three occasions.
The Bengaluru duo of C Muniyappa and amateur Rahul Ravi were among the 12 golfers bunched together in tied seventh at four-under-68.
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