A third quarter onslaught by defending champions Chennai Slam saw them notch up a comfortable 83-68 win over Hyderabad Sky on the second day of the UBA Professional Basketball League, at the Balewadi sports complex here on Friday.
Trailing 46-60 at the end of the second quarter, Chennai garnered 26 points compared to Hyderabad’s just nine points in the third quarter as they took to the court in the last quarter with 14 points ahead of their rivals. It was Vignesh, the striker, who did the trick of the holders, Chennai with his striking tactics as Chennai raced to eight points lead in the first five minutes of the third quarter.
“They were playing together after a long time, and there was no combination, and that was the reason for the first two quarters setback,” said the Chennai coach Ravi Kumar who was the coach of the side which won the championship last year.
“I would give the credit to the entire team, but if you want me to pick up one player it would be Vicky (Vignesh, as he is fondly called by his team mates).”
After Nigerian Edwin put them ahead in the second minute of play, Hyderabad were cruising as they were 17-16 at the end of the first 15 minutes of play.
“They did play well especially, Himanshu Jangra who was the point guard for the team,” said Ravi about their opponents who dominated the game.
Midway through the second quarter, Hyderabad were sitting pretty at 27-16 at one stage. As was Himanshu Jangra who did most of the damage to the Chennai basket. He accounted for 14 points as they had a slight edge over the rivals with two points at the half-way mark.
It was third session that saw the turnaround for the Chennai Slam, with Vignesh, the Southern Railways striker in the pick of action. “He was at his best and helped the team to make amends and take an upper hand,” said coach Ravi.
The scorecard read 60-46 when the last quarter began. Himanshu Jangra almost brought back Hyderabad into the game as they were just four points behind with five minutes for the final whistle. But, Chennai held on to the lead with Gopal picking up a few three pointers and sealing the match in their favour with a 83-68 final verdict.
First quarter: Chennai Slam 16 Hyderabad 17
Second quarter: Chennai Slam 34 Hyderabad Sky 37
Third quarter: Chennai Slam 75 Hyderabad Sky 60
Fourth quarter: Chennai Slam 83; Hyderabad Sky 68
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