Dribbling & Scoring by Players Thrills Fans at Basketball Tourney hosted by St Aloysius HS
Dribbling & Scoring by Players Thrills All at the Mysuru Division Level Departmental Basketball Tourney comprising of eight districts hosted by St Aloysius High School-Mangaluru in association with and under the guidance and supervision of DK Zilla Panchayat, Dept of Public Instructions, DDPI, BEO of Mangalore North Division, held from 9 October to 11 October at St Aloysius Gonzaga Ground, Mangaluru.
“I can accept failure, everyone fails at something. But I can’t accept not trying; I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed; Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships. Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships. Never say never, because limits, like fears, are often just an illusion.” – American Basketball Legend Michael Jordan
Mangaluru: When it comes to the game of Basketball, there is lot to be excited about- and for a person like me who has watched Michael Jordan, (a American basketball Legend, who has unparalleled accomplishments including 6 NBA championships, 5-time Most Valuable Player, 6-time Finals Most Valuable Player, 10-time All-NBA First Team, NBA Rookie of the Year, 2-time Olympic Gold Medal Winner, and a NCAA National Championship, just to name a few) at the United Centre -Chicago, the Home of “Chicago Bulls” quite a few times, and earned lots of fond memories, and locally watching the boys and girls play here at the Basketball Court on the St Aloysius Gonzaga ground, during the Mysuru Division Basketball Tournament 2018, I can say that these youngsters do have the Determination, Strength, Charisma, Strategy, Tactics, Cleverness and much more just like Michael Jordan, except that he is an International Icon.
Superb Performance and Superb Game played by these nearly 300 plus students from schools of eight districts comprising of 32 teams vying for the coveted trophies, during the Mysuru Division Level Departmental Basketball Tournament 2018 for Boys and Girls under 14, and Boys and Girls under 17, hosted by St Aloysius High School-Mangaluru in association with and under the guidance and supervision of DK Zilla Panchayat, Dept of Public Instructions, DDPI, BEO of Mangalore North Division, held from 9 October to 11 October at St Aloysius Gonzaga Ground, Mangaluru. The finale of the nail-biting game ended on Thursday, 11 October at 1 pm.
During the three days tournament, spectators were excited by crazy individual skill and athleticism; dunks, blocks, crossovers, acrobatic shot-making, no-look passes behind the back, and so forth. This is what firsts meets the eye, especially among casual and younger fans who are looking to be entertained. Then there was the cerebral side of things; everything from roster construction to set inbound plays. Strategy and tactics. Creativity. Clever plays. Playing to your own strengths while attacking the opponent’s weaknesses. Team play – giving up a good look for a teammate with an even better look- and this basketball game showed-off some individual skills of the players to make the game, the thing of beauty – “the beautiful game”.
The inauguration of the tournament was held on 9 October at 6 pm, and MCC Mayor Bhasker K Moily was the chief guest, joined by other guests of honor namely Fr Dionysius Vas SJ- Rector of St Aloysius Institutions; Y Shivaramayya – Assistant Director Administration-Dept of Public Instructions, Ms Asha Nayak- Physical Education Superintendent-BEO; Fr Gerald Furtado SJ- Headmaster, St Aloysius High School, Mangaluru, among many others. In his inaugural address Mayor Bhasker said, “Sports is an important form of exercise, and Basketball is a game of speed strength and skills. It’s nice to see a bunch of players from 8 districts have come to Mangaluru for this tournament. And basketball is a team sport which gives every teammate satisfaction when someone scores, and will enthrall the spectators also. Wish you all a pleasant stay in Mangaluru, and best of luck in the tournament”.
The 32 teams from eight districts that participated in this tournament were from- Mysuru, Kodagu, Dakshina Kannada, Chamaraja Nagara, Udupi, Chikamagaluru, Hassan and Mandya. The categories of the tournament were Boys and Girls under 14; and Boys and Girls under 17. Experienced and professional referees were at the helm of the tournament, and they all did a good job, as per the organizers. The winners in the tournament in the Under 17 (Boys) were Dakshina Kannada (with all players from St Aloysius High School) and Runners Up bagged by Mandya District. In the Under 17 (Girls), the winners were Mandya District, and Runners Up bagged by Mysuru District. In the Under 14 (Boys) winners were Mandya, and Runners Up were Chikamagaluru; In the Under 14 (Girls)-winners were Mandya, while Runners Up bagged by Kodagu district.
The valedictory of the tournament was held on 11 October at around 1 pm, where Fr Dionysius Vas SJ was the chief guest, while guests of honor were – Ms Asha Nayak- Physical Education Superintendent-BEO; Fr Gerald Furtado SJ- Headmaster, St Aloysius High School, Mangaluru, among others. In her speech, Ms Asha Nayak said, “Apart from education, students should also involve themselves in sports, and I am happy to see large number of participants here for this tournament, who are all filled with enthusiasm and sportsmanship spirit. Sports is a very good form of exercise and keeps your body fit and healthy. While you are all doing good in your studies, always make it a point to add co-curricular and sports activities to your hobbies. Wish you best of luck and success in your academic and sports career”.
Also addressing the gathering, Fr Dionysius Vas SJ said, “You all have achieved what you were looking for in this tournament. Winning is not important, but participation is. Even though some of you didn’t win, but still you are all winners, because you came forward, fought and tried your best to be on top, but not everyone can win. Remember that the key to success is failure. In a basketball game which is a fast paced game, You have to expect things of yourself before you can do them. Basketball is like math. In math, there are multiple methods to solving a problem. In basketball, there is a lot of ways to get to the basket. That is why basketball is so exciting. Hope you all had an exciting game during this tournament. Best of luck in your future endeavours”.
Fr Gerald Furtado SJ welcomed the gathering, while St Aloysius High School teachers- Lancy D’souza and Ms Felcy Lobo compered the programme. After the prize distribution a bunch of group photos were taken, including a few selfies, which the present generation is addicted to? It was a thrilling and exciting ending to this 3-day Basketball Tournament, where everyone went home happy with a belly-full of sumptuous vegetarian lunch.
In conclusion, in my perspective, Yes, the game of basketball is an exciting sport because of the obnoxious sidelines. It starts, and the first thing to hear is the roar of the fans, yelling from both sides of the court. Fierce rivals face off and cheer for their team. Each crazed fan chanting along, hoping it will help their team win the victory. But above all, the one to listen for is the coach. One of the coaches screams for their team to hustle back on defense. While the other screeches for their team to swing the ball and look for an open pass. The players here the roar of the crowd and the screams of the coaches; but in the moment of the game, all the noise blends together and fades out into nothing. And this tournament saw all this fun and thrill. Kudos to all the young players who gave a sensational fight to bag the trophies.
Ending this report with a thought-provoking quote of Basketball legend Michael Jordan to inspire the players of the Teams which lost, ” “I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed. I can accept failure, everyone fails at something. But I can’t accept not trying. If you quit once it becomes a habit. Never quit! Always turn a negative situation into a positive situation. Winning isn’t always championships. Failure is acceptable. but not trying is a whole different ballpark. To learn to succeed, you must first learn to fail.”