In a thrilling finish, the Pune Peshwas levelled their best-of-three series with the Chennai Slam after emerging 73-71 winners in the UBA Pro Basketball League semifinal Game 2 played at Hyderabad on Tuesday.
After losing in Game 1, it was evident that Pune understood the gravity of the situation as they surged to a 6-0 lead early on while Chennai were slow to get going. Gaurav Ohlan was instrumental in the first quarter for Pune, scoring at ease along with help from star man and Indian international Narender Grewal and Edwin Irwin. Edwin was a helpful presence under the basket winning rebounds and passing the ball around well, while Siddhanth Shinde scored the first triple of the game for Pune.
For Chennai, Cammy Carmel led from the front whereas yesterday's Player of the Match Agu took time to get into his stride; but he matched Shinde with a three pointer of his own. Pune ended the quarter leading 21-16.
Gaurav was once again in the thick of things in the second quarter, downing a couple of baskets and leading the charge as Pune extended the lead further. Agu and Gopal kept up the chase for Chennai, but it was to be Pune's quarter once again. They looked confident, quite unlike their insipid show in Game 1. Edwin scored four points and saw his side reach halftime with a ten point lead (40-30).
When the third quarter began, Chennai turned the tables. Veteran Gopal brought out his A-game; he had been given an extra dose of energy at halftime. He scored 10 points before the midway point in the quarter, becoming a nightmare for the Peshwas. Cammy Carmel was around as well, helping keep the momentum which had built up.
Just when it seemed like Chennai would take off with the game, Narender Grewal rose to the occasion. He pulled his side back to the lead with a couple of impressive jumpers. Agu tried to lift Chennai spirits, scoring with an acrobatic layup before missing a buzzer beater. In the end, Pune had survived the Chennai onslaught and managed to keep the lead (54-49).
Edwin and Gaurav looked to maintain Pune's dominance early in the fourth quarter but Agu was not giving up just yet. The Nigerian point guard was firing on all cylinders again sinking no less than three Stephen Curry-esque triples to send the crowd into raptures. But for everything that Agu threw at Pune, Narender Grewal had an answer. He was carrying the Pune team once again in a breathless and end-to-end battle.
At the timeout at 04:05, the score was 67-67. Cammy downed a triple and Arjun GK came on for Chennai to score with a nice layup. Edwin's layup for Pune was just as good and the teams went into the final minute tied at 71-71.
In an intense final minute, Agu missed two free throws and then suddenly, the Pune bench erupted after Narender downed a superb layup with only one second remaining on the clock. Agu attempted a buzzer beater that would have won the game but Pune would live on to get a breathtaking 73-71 win.
Pune Peshwas (Narender Grewal 26 pts, Gaurav Ohlan 20 pts, Edwin Irwin 18 pts 9 rbs) bt Chennai Slam (Chukwunanu Agu 25 pts 4 asts 7 rbs, Gopal 17 pts 13 rbs, Cammy Carmel 13 pts 4 asts) 73-71 (21-16, 19-14, 14-19, 19-22)
