UBA: Hyderabad draws first blood against the Beast

An aggressive performance by the southern team Hyderabad Sky bagged them the opening match against Bengaluru Beast by 84-75 at the UBA Pro Basketball League 2016 here at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex/Balewadi Sports Complex, Pune on Friday.

The atmosphere for the inaugural game was set a jam-packed stadium, decibel level reaching the sky and the player’s enthusiasm roaring to win the opening match.

The season two winner Delhi Capitals gave us a sneak peak of how enthralling the next season would be. And the match between the two southern giants was no less than a war.

Mahesh assured his team Hyderabad a win with a cushion of nine points. Hyderabad’s Joginder Singh emerged as the highest scorer with 24 points. Manu Thomas’ 11 blocks and a total of 14 points, with Singh’s heroic performance were the highlights of the match. Thomas won the player of the match.

Initially before the half time (40-43) what seemed to be a neck-to-neck game, was later taken charge by the Hyderabad team. Hyderabad’s newcomer, the 6 foot 9, Thomas was in the drivers seat with brilliant blocks and a couple of three pointers.

Kaif Zia like a good captain looked quite cool all through the game but failed to encash in his strength. Having scored a total of just six points, Zia looked quite disappointed after the match.

The second half of the game was completely dominated by the Hyderabad giving very less change to their opponents to take over the game. Just before fourth quarter, while the score was 77-76, led by Bengaluru, Hyderabad’s Dinesh Mishra stole the game with a three pointer from the perimeter. Courtesy, Mishra’s heroic shot after overcoming the Bengaluru’s defence, Hyderabad was leading 79-76.

All through the game, the point that stood out was the Hyderabad’s counter attack. Bengaluru’s Loveneet Singh made the most of the game by scoring a total of 25 points, but his hard work went in vain.

Result: Hyderabad Sky (Joginder Singh 24 points, Manu Thomas 14 points, Patil Ganesh 13 points) bt Bengaluru Beast (Loveneet Singh 24 points, Raghuram 10 points, Yashas 10 points) 83-75 (24-21, 19-19, 19-23, 22-12)