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Bengaluru, 24th August 2018: The 5th edition of the Mulki Sunder Ram Shetty All India Basketball Tournament, organized by Vijaya Bank, entered day three today at the Beagles Indoor Basketball Stadium, Malleswaram.
From Group B, Income Tax and Vijaya Bank are through to the semifinals as the top two teams respectively.
In Group A, I.C.F Chennai secured a semifinal spot eliminating the Karnataka state team who lost both their league stage games. In the process, ICF joined Indian Navy, which had already topped Group A yesterday.
ICF beat Karnataka State Team 74-65
The first game of the last day of the league stage turned out to be a very close encounter between the Karnataka State team who lost their first league stage game on Day-2 desperately needed a victory to stay in the tournament but were eliminated by the previous edition runners-up I.C.F Chennai.
Karnataka started the game strong with a 3 point shot from guard Akhil who later went on to score another 3 pointer in the first two minutes of the game itself. Later in the first quarter, I.C.F managed to contain the young Karnataka team with some great defense and their premier score P. Vijay worked his magic in the paint giving them a 6 point lead to close the 1st quarter.
The 2nd quarter saw Karnataka’s Abhishek regaining his form from the previous game as he scored 14 of his game-high 18 points in this quarter itself including 2 three-pointers and bringing his team back in the lead to close the first half as Karnataka led I.C.F 38-37.
The 3rd quarter started with both the teams going hard at each other driving to the ring on every opportunity available. G.A. Anto Bethle of I.C.F got the better of his defender on several occasions early in the 3rd quarter and helped them regain the lead. Meanwhile, Balwan Hooda started heating up for Karnataka as he followed his layup with a 4 point play while getting fouled on a three-point shot and they ended the quarter trailing 50-56.
The 4th quarter saw Balwan Hooda do it all for Karnataka trying to get them back in the game but a great collective effort from I.C.F on both the offensive and defensive end helped them build on their lead and win the game 74-65.
Final Score: I.C.F. Chennai 74 (P. Vijay 19 pts, G.A. Anto Bethle 18 pts) beat Karnataka State Team 65 (Abhishek 18 pts, Balwan 15 pts) [14-20, 24-17, 12-19, 15-18]
Income Tax beat Vijaya Bank 77-73
The second game of the day was one of the most awaited matchups of the tournament as the hosts Vijaya Bank took on the much-experienced Income Team. Although both the teams secured their place in the semifinals, they still gave the fans the most entertaining match of the tournament so far.
The 1st quarter of the game saw a great matchup between the Anil Kumar from Vijaya Bank and G Sivabalan of Income Tax as they both went back and forth at each other on fast breaks. Later in the quarter Arvind Arumugam of Vijaya Bank took control of the game as he scored consecutive baskets in the post to close the quarter leading 19-10.
The 2nd quarter didn’t start as expected for the hosts as one of their premiere scorer Karthik had to sit out the game due to a knee injury because of a collision with his own teammate while trying to secure an offensive rebound. Income Tax continued their scoring run with the help of their star point guard Akilan Pari whereas center Jeevanantham Pandi held the opponents back with his great shot blocking ability.
Hosts Vijaya Bank started the 3rd quarter with a dominant performance on the post by their center Harish M. who was got the better of his defender Jeevanantham Pandi as he was able to convert his shots while taking the foul. Later in the quarter Income Tax forward Ravikumar displayed some good mid-range shooting along with Akilan Pari, they finished the quarter with long three-pointer from Sivabalan leading Vijaya Bank 63-49.
Income Tax started the quarter continuing their scoring streak with G Sivabalan scoring a couple of baskets. Hosts Vijaya Bank called for a timeout 2 minutes after the quarter and came back as a much better defensive side as they managed to contain their opponents for a while and Arvind Arumugam continued to crash the offensive board for them converting them into vital points. But, in the end, Sivabalan scored a clutch 3 pointer with 2 minutes remaining and Akilan Pari had a steal which he converted in the final 30 seconds of the game and winning 77-73.
Final Score: Income Tax 77 (Jeevanantham Pandi 26 pts, Siva Balan 23 pts, Akilan Pari 15 pts) beat Vijaya Bank 73 (Harish M 22 pts, Arvind Arumugam 21 pts) [19-10,11-26, 19-27, 24-14]
Late evening results from Day 2 (23/8/17)
Indian Navy beat Karnataka State Team 84-52
The final game of day 2 was a matchup between Group A teams Indian Navy (Lonavala) and the Karnataka State team. Indian Navy already had one victory under its belt and they amazed the crowds with their athleticism and speed whereas the Karnataka team who were playing the first game of the tournament looked very determined and had great support from the crowd as well.
The game tipped off with some high energy action from both the teams. Karnataka team, which had a comparatively younger core, matched up to the speed of their opponents’ game and kept the scores leveled throughout the first and second quarter. The duo of Vivek Goti and Indian team guard Mahipal Singh facilitated the majority of the offense for the Navy team but they did not seem to have a defensive plan to stop the explosive guard Abhishek from Karnataka as he single-handedly kept the scoring alive for his team and finished the first half leading 33-32.
The second half of the game saw the momentum shift completely towards Indian Navy as they had an amazing 10-0 run to start the 3rd quarter. The Karnataka team struggled a lot offensively in the 3rd quarter where they were forced to take a lot of difficult shots by the Navy defense which helped Indian Navy take a 26 point lead by the end of the 3rd quarter.
Karnataka started the 4th quarter with a lot of determination to cut the lead short and get back into the game but all their efforts were denied by Navy team guard Gurvinder Singh Billa who came off the bench and took it upon himself to close the game for his team. Billa scored the last 14 points for his team which included four shots from the three-point range and thus managed to secure the victory beating Karnataka 84-52.
Indian Navy 84 (Mahipal Singh 30 pts, Vivek 23 pts) beat Karnataka 52 (Abhishek 28 pts, Balwan Hooda 9 pts) [16-17, 16-16, 32-05, 20-14]
