Bengaluru Beast beat Pune Peshwas 82-74 in a topsy turvy encounter on Day 5 of the UBA Pro Basketball League at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Stadium on Monday.
In a game which was a treat to basketball fans, the Beast slipped past Pune in the final quarter and handed them their second defeat of the tournament. Yashas and Kaife Azam Zia were the stars for the visitors with 17 points each.
Pune’s star man Narendar Grewal started things off for the Peshwas, but after that he was shunted throughout the game by a resolute Bengaluru defence. He scored only 15 points as his team were unable to thwart Bengaluru’s quick play.
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“We were trying to play quick basketball. That’s what we did throughout the game and it helped today,” said man of the match Yashas to Sportskeeda.
Both teams were excellent throughout the first half as the crowd witnessed some scintillating end to end action. There was no point in the game where one team led the other with 5 points or more.
Veteran player Ravi Kumar of the Peshwas was having a horrible time on courtside as he missed 4 continuous baskets. Kaife Azam of Jain University was the man pulling the strings for the Beast. He looked pumped from the beginning of the game and together with Somveer and Yashas, the Beast matched every Pune basket with their own.
The Beast, however, took a rare 5-point lead at the end of the first quarter with the score line reading 22-17. Nandu Mehta, Pune’s head coach, was livid at the players and he made sure he got his message across at the break.
Pune cut the lead in the second quarter thanks to an inspiring show by super sub Ajinkya Mane, who scored 9 points in less than 2 minutes to keep the game in the balance. With 5 minutes remaining in the first half, the game was tied at 31 each when Kaife’s quick fire double basket separated the two sides. That lead didn’t matter as the half ended 41-30 in Pune’s favour.
The game swung from one end to the other and the Pune crowd was stunned after Bengaluru went on an 11-point run in just 5 minutes to tie the score at 41-41.
Shinde started getting involved more and more in the game as the Pune were trying to take the game to a pacy Bengaluru outfit. The trio of Shinde, Ajinkya Mehta and Grewal were the ones behind Pune’s slow resurgence. With three minutes remaining in the quarter, Pune lead 49-43. The crowd were treated to a buzzer-time 3-pointer by Kaife, who made it 58-53 in favour of the visitors.
The opening minutes of the final quarter saw both the teams swap points, but with Bengaluru leading 62-58, Pune raised their game. With 5 minutes remaining in the match, the Peshwas, buoyed by a vociferous home support, turned the tables and took a 1-point lead (67-66).
However, that was the last stand by the home team and they faltered in the final 5 minutes as Bengaluru picked them apart with their quick passing and transition play. The took a five-point lead with 3 minutes remaining and finally they closed the game 82-74 with an impressive win over the Peshwas.
