The Hindu : Sport / Basketball : Punjab boys, Chhattisgarh girls make finals

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Jun 13, 2004

Sport

Sport - Basketball

Punjab boys, Chhattisgarh girls make finals

By Our Special Correspondent

CHITTOOR, JUNE 12. Reigning champions Punjab boys and Chhattisgarh girls entered the finals of the Nutrine Maha Lacto junior National basketball championships at the District Sports Authority Stadium courts, Masonic Grounds here on Saturday.

The northern side maintained a near stranglehold through out. Even guarding its own citadel seemed an uphill task for Tamil Nadu. With no less than six pivots needing to jump just knee-high to touch the hoop, Punjab held sway right through. Its bench strength was an embarrassment of riches that refurbished the attack each time the energies of the playing five flagged.

Water-tight man-to-man marking made the Punjab semi-circle a tough one to breach. To add insult to injury, the southern side was not high on luck either, many of its basket-bound attempts finding the ring but not the net.

A heavy downpour disrupted the girls' match between Chhattisgarh and Karnataka. That however had little impact on the proceedings dominated largely by the holder. It's wealth of experience held it in good stead, superiority of its the all-round game accentuated by its remarkable accuracy in the low-post area.

Aakansha's close vigil on Karnataka skipper Rashmi neutralised the pivot completely, thus clipping the wings of the southern side's campaign. The ball left the Karnataka half less often, prolonging its misery. On the few forays it made, its attacking patterns seemed pretty predictable.

Andhra Pradesh boys were leading 21-15 in the other boys semifinals, when another cloudburst called a halt to the action.

The eight-day meet is co-sponsored by Amara Raja Batteries.

The results (semifinals):

Boys: Punjab 82 (Yadwinder 19, Mandeep 11, Vijay 10, Jagdeep 10) bt TN 41 (Kannan 15, Arun 10).

Girls: Chhattisgarh 70 (Mridula 18, Pushpa 12, Bharthi 10) bt Karnataka 45 (Sonam 15, Rajeshwari 10).

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