Punjab score double over Delhi; Rajasthan defeat AP in Extra Time

The last day of the group matches at the 28th Youth National Basketball Championship for Boys & Girls in Nagpur offered some heart-breaking drama and excitement until the last minutes. In crucial games to decide the seeding for the knockout rounds, Punjab scored a double win as both their boys and their girls beat Delhi. Elsewhere 40 minutes weren’t enough to separate Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh, and Rajasthan finally won the game in extra time.

Holding on to a slim two point lead in the last 16 seconds of their game against Delhi Boys, Punjab’s Khushmeet Singh went on a heroic stretch, scoring six consecutive points on a two-pointer and a four-point play to give his side an insurmountable lead. After an intense fourth quarter between these two resilient sides, Khushmeet’s heroics were a fitting finale to this breathtaking game.

The crowd was on their feet for all of the fourth quarter between two resilient sides. With the scored tied at the end of the third on 48, each point and each possession became crucial. Emotions soared and fell with each big jump shot and each careless turnover, and the score oscillated between the two teams. In the end, Punjab survived to win their third game out of four, 68-60. Khushmit Singh led the way with 30 points and 9 rebounds. Loveneet Singh added 25. For Delhi, Pradeep Kumar led with 18 points.

In another close boys’ game, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh stepped toe-to-toe in a high-scoring game. Both teams played clinical offense and stayed close at halftime. The second half was more of the same, and by the end of the regulation period, the two teams were still tied on 84. Rajasthan made the clutch plays in the extra period to win by 4, 93-89. Manjot had a game-high 36 for Rajasthan while Harsha (22) and J. Harish (20) were the high scorers for AP.

Earlier, Punjab Girls also enjoyed success against the girls from Delhi. In what was supposed to be a tight contest, Punjab sustained a slight lead at halftime and then put the clamps down on Delhi in the third quarter. Nirmal Kaur of Punjab was unstoppable, scoring 33 points to lead her side to a 66-48 win.

It was another good day for Haryana, as their girls faced Uttarakhand early on Monday morning and used their sped to completely outperform their northern opponents. Uttarakhand never managed to score more than 4 points in any quarter, while on the other hand, Haryana’s offense was unstoppable, as they destroyed Uttarakhand to notch a 90-12 victory. Rimpy (21) and Monika (18) led the way for Haryana.

Scores

Boys

Punjab (Khusmeet Singh 30, Loveneet Singh 25) bt. Delhi (Pradeep Singh 18, Nardender Singh 14, Akhil 10) 68-60 (14-16, 10-15, 21-16, 23-13).Kerala (Sreerag N Nair 28, Ajit Kumar 10) bt. Himachal Pradesh (Rohit Chauhan 16, Udaykaran S Khatra 12) 94-52 (27-12, 24-18, 24-14, 19-8).Rajasthan (Manjot 36) bt. Andhra Pradesh (Harsha 22, J. Harish 20, Srinath 13) 93-89 (25-18, 18-27, 18-16, 23-23, ET: 9-5).Tamil Nadu (Karthik 26, Vimal 25, Aravind 17) bt. Karnataka (Jeethender 33, Jotish 21, Melver Lobo 17) 88-80 (24-15, 28-17, 14-21, 22-27).Chattisgarh (Akash 18, Tarendra 18) bt. Uttarakhand 65-40 (16-8, 14-10, 16-16, 19-6).Orissa (SK Imtiyaz 12, Juwakim Iarra 10, Bikash Behera 10) bt. Goa (Jesus F 10) 78-26 (30-2, 12-7, 14-2, 27-15).Gujarat bt. Chandigarh, 34-14 (5-2, 12-6, 11-2, 6-4).

Girls

Punjab (Nirmal Kaur 33, Kulwinder Singh 14) bt. Delhi (Aastha 14) 66-48 (17-14, 20-17, 16-7, 13-10)Chandigarh (Roopam Attre 13, Preeti 13) bt. Jharkhand (Jwari 14) 45-23 (11-8, 11-2, 13-9, 10-4)Kerala (Prami 23, Poojamol 20, Nishi 13) bt. Karnataka (Praneetha 12, Aishwarya 11) 82-47 (13-11, 14-13, 19-17, 26-6).Haryana (Rimpy 21, Monika 18, Bharti 13, Anju 10 ) bt. Uttarakhand, 90-12 (20-4, 31-2, 18-2, 21-4).Andhra Pradesh (P Manisha 14, C. Mrunalini Reddy 12) bt. Jammu and Kashmir 94-14(30-0, 18-4, 16-4, 30-6).Gujarat (Nirva Shah 15) bt. Orissa (Anita Das 13, Ratashree Swain 10) 48-44 (14-12, 11-8, 8-11, 15-13).Himachal Pradesh (Munisha Sisodia12, Akshi Guleria 12, Sunidhi 11) bt. Goa(Hannah Abreo 10)41-23 (17-2, 11-6, 6-4, 7-11).