Khelo India 2019, Basketball: Punjab and Tamil Nadu eye three-gold medal finish

Pune, January 18: Punjab and Tamil Nadu made it to three finals each and will be out to claim bragging rights as the powerhouses of basketball in the Khelo India Youth Games 2019 tomorrow.

Punjab under-21 lads earned themselves the chance to avenge a defeat in the group stage by Tamil Nadu in the under-21 final. Punjab bounced back in great style to quell Kerala 72-48 while Tamil Nadu handed Maharashtra a 78-57 loss in the other semifinal.

In the girls under-21 semifinals, Tamil Nadu breezed past Uttar Pradesh 79-52 with Pushpa Senthilkumar (26) standing out. Karnataka took the last final slot of the day, quashing Kerala hopes with a 79-65 scoreline.

Earlier, in the boys under-17 semifinals, Arvinder Singh (25 points) led Punjab in edging out Kerala 84-81. Trailing 30-40 at the halfway stage, Kerala had Aaron Blessen (31) emerge as the top-scorer. Punjab take on Rajasthan who relatively had it easy against Haryana 67-56.

In the girl’s under-17 section, Punjab sent hosts Maharashtra packing 80-73. Punjab were powered by Harsimran Dhami (35 points), who emerged the top scorer of the day. Tamil Nadu booked their spot in the final at the expense of Kerala 70-64.

Kerala, who were the only State to make the last four stage in all four sections, disappointed by crashing out of all semifinals. Kerala’s hopes were dashed by Punjab boys in the under-21 and under-17 semifinals. In the girl’s section, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu played spoilsport in the under-21 and under-17 sections.

The results (semifinals)

Boys under-21: Punjab 72 (Kanwar Gurbaz Sandhu 18, Vinay Kumar 12) beat Kerala 48 (Akhil B 10, Grigo Verghese 8, Prem Prakash 8). Half-time: 35-21.

Tamil Nadu 78 (Hariram 21, Arvind Kumar 17, Sheldin Roshan 16) beat Maharashtra 57 (Sameer Qureshi 20). Half-time: 35-23

Girls under-21: Tamil Nadu 79 (Pushpa Senthilkumar 26, Ishwarya 17, Dharshini 14) beat Uttar Pradesh 52 (AL Ankrita Singh 17, Pooja Yadav 15). Half-time: 39-30

Karnataka 79 (Bhandavya M 31, Harshita B 16, Lopamudra K 12) beat Kerala 65 (Lithara KC 22, Sreekala R 20). Half-time: 41-26.

Boys under-17: Punjab 84 (Arvinder Singh 25, Rajan 16, Navkarman Singh 16, Mannetpreet 15, Eknoor Johal 10) beat Kerala 81 (Aaron Blessen 31, Pranav Prince 18, Jerome George 14). Half-time: 40-30.

Rajasthan 67 (Rajveer Bhati 16, Jitendra Sharma 12) beat Haryana 56 (Vikrant 16, Ashok 12, Sahil 12). Half-time: 39-27.

Girls under-17: Punjab 80 (Harsimran Dhami 35, Kanishka Dhir 17, Sapna 14) beat Maharashtra 73 (Siya Deodhar 24, Suzanne Pinto 10, Shruti Bhosale 10, Abha Lad 10). Half-time: 40-38.

Tamil Nadu 70 (Sathiya 18, Nikita 14, Shree Varshini 14, Steffie Agnes 14) beat Kerala 64 (Ann Mary Zachariah 25, Akshaya Philip 26). Half-time: 37-26.