Dubai: The first edition of the Nucaf Tellichery Beatrice Basketball League, being contested by a large number of teams and approved by Dubai Basketball Association, took off with some exciting contests.
Hosts Nucaf Beatrice club enthralled the large number of basketball supporters who turned up at the Salah Al Deen Sports Hall, Mamzar by recording a thrilling victory over Wolfpack 67-54. Hosts’ women’s team Beatrice Mystics too scored a 36-42 win against Almas Eagles.
After the tournament was inaugurated by C.T.K. Nazir, a cricketer and sports promoter, former players-turned-coaches like T. Ali, Vijayakumar and Rajan Job were honoured for their contribution to this sport.
Wolfpack geared up with a perfect three-pointer from Kenneth on the 15th second mark and with Joseph John taking the charge, they had an initial lead but Beatrice, recovering from a slow start, took the lead (15 -13) in the first period itself with their key player Aaron using the speed of Hanan and Ishan. Both teams played at their best as the first half finished a very close 21–18 in favor of Beatrice club.
Wolfpack ran out of options as the home team used their advantage of height in the second half. The powerful trio of Aaron, Satyajit and Sidharth showed some excellent moves to give Beatrice club a deserving victory.
In the women’s match, Eagles took a quick lead of 15-6, Beatrice Mystics soon made it 26-22 in their favour at the end of the first half. The third period saw an equal contest with scores level at 33 – 33. A layup shot by the experienced Teena Joseph and a three-pointer by Susan Joseph in the last minute ensured a thumping victory for Beatrice Mystics.
This tournament is being contested by 30 teams with competitions in four categories - Men, Women, Under-19 and Under-13. Pond Parkers will meet Homeplus Gardens Eagles and Wolfpack will meet City Fives on Thursday. School division matches will start from October 3.
