Karnataka cruise, Haryana edge Delhi & Uttar Pradesh boys & girls book their semis berths

Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh girls scored contrasting victories on way to the semifinals of the 51st Sub-Junior National Basketball Championship even as action intensified on Day 6 as teams battled through a high-stakes knockout round at the Maris Stella Indoor Court in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, on Friday.

Uttar Pradesh edge Telangana girls 51-44 even as the stage is set for the pre-quarters

In the girls’ quarterfinals, Karnataka put on a stellar performance to defeat Kerala 62-49, powered by Aarushi Anand’s brilliant 17-point performance, and will now take on the winners of the Delhi and Maharashtra matchup in the semifinals.

Karnataka put on a stellar performance to defeat Kerala 62-49, powered by Aarushi Anand’s brilliant 17-point performance in the 51st Sub-Junior National Basketball Championship at the Maris Stella Indoor Court in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, on Friday

Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh secured a hard-fought 68-57 victory over Madhya Pradesh behind a spectacular 21-point game from Tejasvi Karhana to book their semifinal ticket, where they will meet the winners of the Tamil Nadu and West Bengal clash.

The boys’ category featured equally high-octane drama. In the first quarterfinal, Uttar Pradesh dominated Karnataka with a 65-40 win to safely advance, heavily anchored by Shabd Kumar’s 21 points. They await the winners of the Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra quarterfinal in the next round.

In a thrilling second encounter, Haryana managed to scrape past Delhi 70-65 in a down-to-the-wire finish thanks to Keshav Kaushik’s crucial 17 points, setting up a semifinal showdown against the winners of the Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh match.

Earlier in the day, the morning pre-quarterfinals set the tone for the knockouts. In the girls’ category, West Bengal edged past Odisha 57-51, while Delhi comfortably drubbed Punjab 75-41.

Mehar Preet of Uttar Pradesh scores against Madhya Pradesh in their quarterfinal match

In the boys’ pre-quarter matches, Madhya Pradesh put on a strong offensive display to defeat Kerala 71-51, and Chhattisgarh registered a blowout 74-14 victory over Punjab.

Results (Quarterfinal): Boys: Uttar Pradesh 65 (Shabd Kumar 21, Sameer Singh 19) beat Karnataka 40 (Taksha Jha 13); Haryana 70 (Keshav Kaushik 17, Haesh Rathee 15, Nikhil 14, Deb Ratjhee 11) beat Delhi 65 (Jishan Malik 17, Vineet 11, Karthik 10, Arnab Sharma 10).

Girls: Karnataka 62 (Aarushi Anand 17, Dhanya Shree Anand 12) beat Kerala 49 (Anna Elsa George 21, Ananya Aneesh 10); Uttar Pradesh 68 (Tejasvi Karhana 21, Angel Malik 15) beat Madhya Pradesh 57 (Monika Dhakad 13, Eram Khan 11).

Pre-quarterfinals: Boys: Madhya Pradesh 71 (Sumit Gujar 16, Anil Khanchi 14, Pranjai Sharma 11, Aksh Choudhary 11, Sameer 10) beat Kerala 51 (Harinand P Nair 12); Chhattisgarh 74 (Shivam Yadav 18, Namo Narayan Malala 16) beat Punjab 14.

Girls: West Bengal 57 (Ekta Mahato 16, Bulbuli Hembram 11) beat Odisha 51 (Iingyasha Jayasree 12); Delhi 75 (Chhavi Singh 22, Nyra Khosla 16) beat Punjab 41 (Amreen Dhindsa 16, Samreen Kaur 11).