In an exciting second semi-final of the All India Inter Zonal University Basketball Tournament, Mumbai University (MU) beat SRM University 86-76 to complete the line up for the finals.
Playing at their home, the match seemed heavily one sided as Mumbai University started attacking from the word go.
Brilliant with their long throws, the home team ended the first quarter with a scoreline of 27-19 and gave no breathing space to their opposition.
Jersey No 10, Nishant Arya, a guard for Mumbai, utilized his precise long throwing skills to extend the lead for the home team.
Aerial balls were definitely the strength of Mumbai and they exploited their opposition thoroughly.
In the second quarter, SRM did manage to stage a comeback but their lack of counter-attacking skills, or rather lack of accuracy resulted poorly for them.
Added to that, the visitors also missed out on a handful of free throws, resulting in further agony for their coach.
The quarter ended 48-33 in favour of Mumbai and it looked like they were heading for victory with a landslide scoreline.
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But the best was yet to arrive. The third quarter proved to the most entertaining of the lot as SRM staged a strong comeback.
There was a shift of momentum in the court as V Gopal and Shashank Trai of SRM combined well to bring them back into the game.
Both the teams started playing a very physical game which resulted in a lot of fouls being committed. At one point, Nishant of Mumbai fouled Gopal of SRM so bad that the latter’s coach almost lost his cool at the linesman.
The third quarter bridged the gap in the scoreline with SRM being just 5 points shy of Mumbai.
The final quarter started with a score line of 60-55, and in no time, SRM made it 60-59. Things started going right for them, and soon enough, the match headed for a nail-biting finish.
But luck had something else in store for the visitors as mid-way through the final quarter, they totally lost their momentum and handed a 10 point lead to Mumbai.
They missed quite a few of baskets while Mumbai converted whatever opportunity they got. Ultimately, much to the joy of the audience present, Mumbai University won the match.
They now meet Anna University in the finals of the All India Inter Zonal University Basketball Tournament tomorrow.
