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After the Chhattisgarh girls and Tamil Nadu boys booked a place in the semi-finals, the other teams in contention for a final spot battled it out yesterday evening. The third semifinal game was a clash of two south Indian basketball powerhouses, the Kerala and Karnataka girls. Both teams looked in top form entering then semi final and the game was expected to be a close contest.Both teams displayed their typical style of team play and ball rotation. Kerala had a better start to the game gaining a slim lead in the first quarter. But Karnataka surged in the second quarter to regain the lead.
The youngest player on the senior India team Bhandavya Mahesha led her team well. But her teammate Bhoomika outshone her in this game. She put up good all-round numbers with 21points, 9 rebounds and 3 steals with no turnovers.
The other big difference between the teams was their play on the inside. Karnataka scored 42 points from inside the paint area at a shooting percentage of 54%. Their post player Priyanka had a big double-double with 16points and 15 rebounds.For Kerala, their post player Mayukha top scored with 17 points. The middle quarters were difficult for the Kerala side as they conceded a big lead to Karnataka – up to 15 points in the middle of the third quarter. But the never-say-die Kerala side attempted a late comeback and even got the game within 1 point midway through the fourth quarter.
But Karnataka played a better game in the final minutes and managed to pull away for a 10-point victory. They will now face the defending champions Chhattisgarh girls in the final today afternoon.In the last semifinal of the day, home team Punjab boys took on an unbeaten Delhi side. The last time these two teams faced each other in the Junior Nationals was in the final of last year’s championship, which was won by Punjab.
Delhi were looking to exact revenge yesterday in front of a raucous Punjab crowd. In the first quarter, Delhi managed to keep the crowd quiet with a great start. Their go-to scorerSunil Kumar continued his top form into this game, and even put on a show for the crowd with a left handed dunk on the break in the first half.
But the scoring contribution from his teammates Rachit Singh and Vishal Kumar Gupta were lacking today. Punjab bounced back in the middle quarters, led by the outside shooting of their point guard Dilpreet.
Backup centre Swapnil Sharma was put into the game in the second quarter and immediately had an impact. He used his size to his advantage against the thinner Delhi centre Vishal, bullying his way inside the paint.
Punjab had a major rebounding advantage owing to their forwards Swapnil and Ajit Poonia, who both rebounded in double digits. Ajit had a huge 21 rebounds in the game, including 8 offensive boards, which was back-breaking for the Delhi team. Punjab’s small forward off the bench, Sahil, was efficient in his limited minutes, scoring 6 of 9 from the field with 15 points.
Punjab held on to the lead built in the middle periods and clinched an 85-74 victory to make it to the final for the second consecutive year. They will face Tamil Nadu later today evening in the final.The third place matches took place in the morning of the final day here in Ludhiana, Punjab. Kerala girls defeated the home team Punjab to clinch third place and Delhi boys beat Haryana to secure the bronze medal.Results from Day 7 after 6 pm
SEMIFINALS:
Girls:
Karnataka (Bhoomika P. 21, Bhandavya Mahesha 19, Priyanka P. 16) bt Kerala (Mayukha 17, Kavitha 13, Nivyaraj P.P. 9) 76-66 (18-21, 18-11, 23-17, 17-17) 85-74
Boys:
Punjab (Dilpreet 21, Swapnil Sharma 14, Jaipal Singh Mann 10) bt Delhi (Sunil Kumar 32, Erash Hooda 17, Sombir 12) 85-74 (13-20, 23-17, 19-19, 30-18)PLACEMENT MATCHES
Boys:
Classification for 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th place:
Kerala (Antony J. 11, Arjun M. 8, Aditya 7) bt Maharashtra (Sameer Qureshi 9) 38-20 (14-9, 13-8, 8-3, 3-0)
Rajasthan (Mohammad Ali 17, Khet 9) bt Chandigarh (Abhishek 9, Jatin 8) 43-32 (6-12, 13-10, 6-10, 18-0)
Results from morning session of Day 8
THIRD PLACE MATCHESGirls:
Delhi (Sunil Kumar 29, Rachit Singh 20, Vishal Kumar Gupta 17) bt Haryana (Naveen 18, Sonu Kumar 14) 92-69 (25-21, 25-12, 20-12, 22-24)
Boys:
Kerala (Kavitha 24, Aswathi 19, Vimmy 11) bt Punjab (Gagandeep Kaur 19, Somi Kumari 13) 91-54 (21-13, 17-19, 28-15, 25-7)
Final Fixtures for Today
Girls: Chhattisgarh v. Karnataka – 3 pm
Boys: Tamil Nadu v. Punjab – 4:30 pm
Guess the Lakers players!
