YMCA were made to toil hard before emerging a 77-64 winner over Mahendra Hills Basketball Club in the GM Sampath Kumar Annual League Basketball Championship at the YMCA Secunderabad on Thursday evening.
In what was a well-contested match, YMCA had a narrow three-point lead (28-25) at half-time.
The match went neck-and-neck with Aadvik and Saketh chipping in with drive-in baskets for YMCA Hyderabad, who scored 13 points in the first quarter. On the other hand, Rishi and Dileep did the bulk of the scoring for Mahendra Hills with a three-pointer from Ken making all the difference. Mahendra Hills took a slender one-point lead (14-13) by the end of the first quarter.
South Central Railway run over G9; Mahendra Hills ease past Stadium Club 38-17
YMCA changed their strategy in the second quarter. They tightened their defense to restrict Mahendra Hills scoring. Mahendra Hills could score only 11 points with Ken and Daniel contributing a 3-pointer each. Aadvik of YMCA stole the show with 10 points from the paint as YMCA scored 15 points to take a three-point lead going into the break. They led 28-25 at half time.
After change of ends, there was not much difference between both the teams as both scored 18 points each to keep it still a 3-point margin (46-43) at end of the third quarter.
In the last quarter, playing a fast-paced game, Tanay and Tagore of Mahendra Hills BC combined well to score 21 points. However, Aadvik, Krish and Saket were chipping in with baskets at regular intervals for YMCA, who scored 31 points including four 3-pointers. YMCA managed to keep Mahendra Hills scoring in check and won the match 77-64.
In another match, Young Men Guild scored a comfortable 58-27 win over Stadium Club after leading 24-13 at half-time.
Results: YMCA Hyderabad 77 (Aadvik 35; Krish 19; Saket 14) beat Mahendra Hills BC 64 (Tanay 19; Tagore 14; Daniel 9; Rishi 8) Half-time: 28-25.
Young Men Guild 58 (Ravinder 19; Vishal 15; Harsha 12) beat Stadium Club 27 (Abhishek 9; Mohit 8) Half-time: 24-13.
