KOCHI (Kerala), Monday, 17 th October 2022: Round 1 of the inaugural edition of the 5x5 Men’s Indian National Basketball League (INBL) tipped off yesterday at the Regional Sports Centre in Kochi.
INBL is a national level developmental league that will be played over three preliminary rounds, starting with Kochi, and followed by Jaipur and Pune. The finale round will be held in Bengaluru in January 2023.
There are six teams in the first season: Chennai Heat, Delhi Dribblers, Mumbai Titans, Bengaluru Kings, Kochi Tigers and Chandigarh Warriors.
Each team comprises players predominantly from the parent State, but also includes select national camp-level talent from other States.
Hometown Kochi survive Chandigarh scare
While the first two games were straightforward affairs, with Chennai and Mumbai winning by double digits margins over Delhi and Bengaluru respectively, the third and final match-up between hometown Kochi Tigers and Chandigarh Warriors was an entertaining back-and-forth contest.
In a game that saw 15 lead changes and 6 tied scores, Kochi eventually prevailed 81-75. For Kochi, 20-year-old power forward Vaisakh K Manoj recorded 25 points and 12 rebounds. He was joined in the double double column by Mizoram point guard Lalrina Renthlei, while captain Sejin Mathew chipped in with 20 points. Meanwhile, for Chandigarh, former NBA G-League draftee Palpreet Singh Brar registered a double double of his own in the losing effort.
INBL 5x5 Season 1 Round 1 {Kochi} Results (16-10-22)
1. Chennai Heat (P Baladhaneshwar 25 pts & 6 stls, B Soorya 15 rebs & 14 pts, A Surya 21 pts, Muin Bek Hafeez 12 pts) bt Delhi Dribblers (Rishabh Mathur 14 pts & 13 reb, Gaurav Chandel 13 pts) 85-70 [21-21, 17-22, 29-11, 18-16]
2. Mumbai Titans (Sameer Qureshi 16 pts & 10 reb, Sahaj Patel 16 pts, Sayyed Mohd Yousuf 14 pts) bt Bengaluru Kings (Abhishek Gowda 16 pts, Anil Kumar 11 pts) 88-70 [21-16, 23-22, 26-13, 18-19]
3. Kochi Tigers (Vaishakh K Manoj 25 pts & 12 reb, Lalrina Renthlei 18 pts & 10 reb, Sejin Mathew 20 pts) bt Chandigarh Warriors (Palpreet Singh Brar 12 reb & 10 pts, Sahil 15 pts, Kanwar Gurbaz Singh Sandhu 12 pts) 81-75 [24-26, 22-15, 17-17, 18-17]