Titans to lock horns with YMCA Secunderabad in final of BM John Vinayasager basketball

Titans will take on hosts YMCA Secunderabad in the final of the BM John Vinayasager Basketball Tournament at YMCA Secunderabad on Saturday.

The four best and strongest teams were left in the fray for the last four clash. And what one got out of the semifinal matches was more than what one expected. It turned out to be a no-holds barred contests as the teams put up their best foot forward in an attempt to earn a final berth.

Titans, YMCA Secunderabad and Nizam Basketball Academy storm into semifinals

There was not much to separate Titans from GHMC Sanathnagar. Both teams put up a solid show as they ran close to each other, and it was just one point that made the difference – it turned out to be a photo finish. Titans pulled off a thrilling 70-69 victory to earn their right to fight for the trophy.

In the other semifinal, hosts YMCA too were stretched before they claimed a 70-66 win over Nizam Basketball Academy.

Titans edge out GHMC Sanathnagar by one point

It was a showdown of 3-point shooting with Titans and Sanathnagar boasting of accurate 3-point shooters in their ranks. If it was Chris and Surya for Titans then it was Sudershan and Nikhil for GHMC Sanathnagar.  Titan’s Chris and Surya scored three 3-pointers while Sudershan and Nikhil scored five 3-pointers between them as GHMC Sanathnagar took the first quarter 25-19.

In the second quarter, both teams tightened their noose around the 3-point shooters, though Chris managed to tank two 3-pointers of the 15 points added to the tally of Titans. GHMC, on the other hand, used the towering heights of Jasim, Tejendra and Bharath to score from the paint while taking a comfortable 48-34 lead at half time. It was a morale-boosting 14-point lead.

GHMC Sanathnagar’s Nikhil is airbone as he attempts a shot against Titans in the semifinals of the BM Vinayasager Basketball Tournament at YMCA Secunderabad on Friday night

After change of ends, Titans switched to tight man-to-man marking and restricted GHMC Sanathnagar to just seven points. They, in turn, played a fast-paced game to score 22 points through Vignesh, Surya and Kunal and wipe off the half-time 14-point deficit. By the end of the third quarter, Titan had gained a one-point lead (56-55).

In the see-saw fourth quarter, both teams pressed the accelerator. GHMC’s Sudershan and Tejendra combined well to score 14 points, but Nandit scored five successive points for Titans as they edged to a 70-69 victory.

YMCA Secunderabad hold on to early advantage against Nizam

The other semifinal too followed a similar trajectory though YMCA Secunderabad held onto the lead to win the match. YMCA’s Nathan scored two 3-pointers and combined well with Samuel to score a massive 27 points between them to take the first quarter 27-13.

In the second quarter, Ashish and Rakesh joined the scoring spree to further add 18 points. Nizam was able to score 13 & 11 points respectively in first and second quarters, but YMCA Secunderabad were comfortably placed 45-24 at half-time, a lead of 21 points.

After the lemon break, Nizam tightened their defense restricting YMCA to just 12 points and in turn scored 20 points with Aravind doing bulk of the scoring to bridge the deficit to just 13 points as YMCA Secunderabad lead 57-44.

In the last quarter too, Nizam continued in the same rhythm, however the lead was too huge to bridge, and YMCA Secunderabad held onto a 70-66 win.

The tournament is being conducted by YMCA Secunderabad Alumni at YMCA Secunderabad in honour of B M John Vinayasager, former international hoopster with a decorative career in basketball.

Results (semifinals): YMCA Secunderabad 70 (Nathan 26, Samuel 10, Ashish 10, Rakesh 10) beat Nizam BA 66 (Aravind 24, Majid 16, Balaji 8, Charan 7). Half-time 45-24. Titans 70 (Vignesh 23, Chris 13, Nandit 11, Kunal 10) beat GHMC Sanathnagar 69 (Sudershan 22, Tejendra 17, Nikhil 9, Jasin 8) Half-time 48-34.