Basketball
G9 gun down Loyola Academy, Sanathnagar PG overcome Good Training Academy
G9 suffered a rare blip on the radar in the second quarter but they had enough ammunition at their disposal to come through the contest without much ado. In a keenly contest game, G9 scored an 84-62 win over Loyola Academy in the 6th Samuel Vasanth Kumar Memorial Basketball Tournament at the YMCA Secunderabad on Thursday evening.
G9, who were runners-up in this tournament once, dominated from the start of the whistle. Shravan was at his best as he used his height to good effect from the paint area. He scored a dozen of G9’s 22 in the first quarter. Loyola were slow off the blocks but warmed up by the end of the first quarter. They scored 13 points to prevent G9 from walking over them. G9 led 22-13 at the end of the first quarter.
Sravan of G9 going for a layup shot against Loyola Academy during their match in the 6th Samuel Vasanth Kumar Memorial Basketball Tournament at the YMCA Secunderabad on Thursday. Pics: Mohd Hadi
In the next quarter, Loyola made a significant change in their modus operandi. Loyola hoopsters switched to man-to-man marking which slowed down G9’s scoring considerably. Riyaz and Vivek combined well to bridge the gap to three points (30-33). However, a 3-pointer from Sameer saw G9 close the first half at 40-34.
After the break, G9 changed their strategy and played a fast game. As a result, Satya and Jaswanth were able to get many steals. G9 scored 29 points during this period through the efforts of Chandu, Sravan and Sameer. Caught unawares by G9’s strategy, a baffled Loyola could score only 15 points. At the close of the 3rd quarter, G9 were comfortably leading 69-49.
In the last quarter, Loyola tried hard to recover but the gap was too big to plug. They scored through Vivek and Lohith, but it was too little and too late to reverse the result. G9 romped into the next round with an 84-62 verdict in their favour.
Aftab (red) of G9 and Vivek (blue) of Loyola Academy vie for a rebound. Pics: Mohd Hadi
In a late-night match on Wednesday, Sanathnagar Playground were stretched to the brink by Good Training Academy before they came through 59-51.
Sanathnagar made a rousing start to their campaign and found the basket at will in the first two quarters. They led 30-12 at the break as Good Training Academy took time to find their feet on the court.
After the break, Good Training Academy gave Sanathnagar PG a run for their money. While Sanathnagar could get 29 in the second half, Good Training Academy bagged 39 points, but the first half deficit was too big for them to overcome. Rajasekhar scored 30 points for Good Training Academy, while Tejendra scored 25 for Sanathnagar.
A Loyola Academy hoopster attempts a basket as his rivals look on. Pics: Mohd Hadi
The tournament is conducted by Sports Writers Association of Telangana (SWAT) under the aegis of The Hyderabad District Basketball Association.
Results: G9 84 (Sravan 28, Chandu 16, Sameer 16, Aftaab 11) beat Loyola Academy 62 (Vivek 22, Riyaz 12, Ashish 11, Lohith 9). HT: 40-34.
Wednesday night match: Sanathnagar PG 59 (Tejendra 25, Akhil 9, Pruthvi 8) beat Good Training Academy 51 (Rajasekhar 30, Ravinder 10). HT: 30-12.
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