National basketball championship: TN stun champs, on course for QF

[1]

Tamil Nadu’s prospects of making it to the quarterfinals of the 62nd senior national basketball championship brightened after they punched above their weight to stun defending champions Indian Railways 82-69 in a Group B match here at the Nehru Indoor Stadium on Saturday.

The hosts’ second successive win means they are on course to top the pool with two matches remaining in the league stage — both against minnows (Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh).

The final scoreline might suggest a convincing win for Tamil Nadu, but the home team had to fight their way back from a 15-28 deficit.

Pratham Singh top-scored for TN with 21 points, but it was Praveen Kumar who turned the match around. Praveen, who replaced main playmaker Vinoth Kumar, controlled the flow of passes with elan and he also made full use of the opportunities whenever the defence opened up.

Veteran Mihir Pandey struggled to find his rhythm in the first half, but his failure didn’t hurt TN much. Sidheek Razzak got off the bench to score 10 vital points and Abhilek Paul came up with baskets at crucial junctures.

Gagandeep provided the lone spark for Indian Railways, scoring 25 points. In the absence of Yadwinder and Vishesh, who played instrumental roles in Railways’ three-in-row triumph, senior player Gagan had too much burder on his shoulders.

Tamil Nadu women also posted their second victory when they edged Kerala 68-64 in a thriller. Meenalatha (13) and M. Appoorva (13) did the star turn for the home team.

TN had a 12-point lead in the first half, but Kerala launched a spirited comeback to restore parity at the end of the third quarter. An array of free-throw opportunities went down the drain for Kerala as TN tightened their grip with a minute to go.

Uttarakhand men finally began their campaign with a dominant win over Chhattisgarh 87-52 in a Group A match.

Forward Trideep Rai did the bulk of the scoring for the 2004 champions with 34 points, while old warhorse Mohit Bhandari chipped in with 20. The way Trideep rifled in three pointers was a sight to behold, while Bhandari caught the eye with his drive-ins, weaving past the defenders to reach the rim.

Much was expected from Chhattisgarh who had made it complicated for 24-time champions Services in their previous match, but the experience of Uttarakhand proved too much for the spirited youngsters from central India.