In a neck to neck battle, Anna University (AU) scraped past University of Madras (UM) 85-77 to go through to the finals of the All India Inter-Zonal University Basketball Tournament organized by Universal Basketball Alliance India Pvt. Limited.
It was Muim Bek of Anna University who charged his team to victory with consecutive 3 pointers in the final quarter of the game. The match had a very energetic start as Anna University, wearing yellow, downed the first ball within the initial few seconds while the team from the same city, University of Madras pulled one back in no time. And this tug of war continued all throughout the match, except the last quater.
University of Madras displayed impressive air game in the first quarter. Though they conceded the first basket, they regained their thrust well to end the quarter with a 24-23 lead. The difference could have been higher, but their inability to stop the Anna University’s swift counter attacks cost them a lot. In an all-offensive play, lead by the man wearing the No. 10 jersey, G A Anto, the UM team failed to crawl back which led to the loss of momentum for them in the latter half of the quarter.
The same story was repeated again in the second quarter where the team in blue (UM) started on the front foot and managed a very healthy lead. And this was, in fact, in the absence of their key player, G A Anto, who was replaced by Justim Raj. Anna University, by this time, managed most of their scores through free throws, largely because UM fumbled inside the arch, having failed to crawl back. And just like the first 10 minutes, UM again failed to capitalize on the momentum and ended up giving away their healthy lead. The quarter ended 36-41, a slight increase in the lead for the team in blue.
The third quarter however resulted in to be fragile for the Madras University as AU stepped up their quality. Muim Bek, a state player for Tamil Nadu, who was relatively unnoticed in the first two quarters, took the bull by its horns and led his team to a healthy 5-point lead (65-60). All the initial momentum which University of Madras had, was now transferred to the yellow end.
In the final 10 minutes, Anna University’s star man, Bek, started with back to back three-pointers to put some pressure on the opposition. At this point, Madras heavily relied on their No 10, Anto who tried pulling things with his precise attacks. But, things fell apart in the final stage for the Blue brigade and the match, ultimately, ended 85-77 in favour of Anna University.
University of Madras was no match for Anna University in the final five minutes of the game as repeated time outs by the UM coach failed to inspire his team. Anna University now await the result of the second semi-final to see who they will face in the final, scheduled to take place tomorrow.
