Uttarakhand survive Railways scare

NEW DELHI: Amritpal Singh gelled well with Riyazuddin, the two sharing 41 points, as holders Uttrakhand escaped to victory against former champions Indian Railways on Day 1 of the 64th Senior National Basketball Championship at the Thayagraj Stadium on Wednesday.
While Railways men, the winners of three consecutive nationals, put up an inspired performance making Uttrakhand huff and puff to 68-62 victory, the experienced Railways women’s team opened its campaign with a comfortable 68-40 win over West Bengal.
Though Railways men started on a positive note, scoring baskets in quick succession in the first five minutes, Uttarakhand's defensive strategy helped the holders take a marginal two-point lead at the breather.
After the change of ends, Railways coach Ram Kumar initiated an aggressive plan with full court marking. The attacking strategy not only helped Railways minimize the lead but also allowed them to gain a handy six-point advantage after the third period.
Inconsistent shooting in the dying stage proved costly for Railways as the experienced Uttarakhand utilized their lanky guards Amritpal and Yadwinder Singh to dominate the last period 29-17 and snatch a six-point (68-62) victory.
With 25 points and 22 rebounds, Amritpal recorded his first double-double while seasoned shooting guard Riyazuddin played a pivotal role with 16 points and 7 rebounds.
Eyeing 12th straight crown, Railways women cruised against West Bengal. The quarter-wise progress for the champs read 25-16, 12-11, 13-9, 18-4.
In the inaugural game, Chhattisgarh men defeated hosts Delhi 69-46 breaking the hearts of hundreds of local supporters. For the winners, Ajay Pratap and Kiranpal Singh netted 24 points each.
Results:
Men: Chhattisgarh (Ajay Pratap Singh 24, Kiranpal Singh 24) bt Delhi (Pravin Dovan 14) 69-46 (16-18, 23-10, 13-10, 17-8); Uttarakhand (Amritpal Singh 25, Riyazuddin 16) bt Indian Railways (Gagandeep Singh 20, Prakesh Mishra 10) 68-62 (15-15, 13-11, 11-19, 29-17); Punjab (Ranbir Singh 15, Amripal Singh 14) bt Andhra Pradesh (GV Reddy 13) 92-44 (27-4, 27-22, 21-10, 17-8); Services (Gopal Ram 17, S M Settu 16) bt Rajasthan (Prashant Singh 22) 101-57 (19-17, 31-9, 26-14, 25-17)
Women: Indian Railways (Anju Lakra 13, Manisha Dange 12, Krishnan Radha 12, S Kokila 12) bt West Bengal (S Oraon 11) 68-40 (25-16, 12-11, 13-9, 18-4); Andhra Pradesh (E Joyti 30, M Gayathri 22) bt Himachal Pradesh (Balwinder 30) 75-60 (13-19, 15-16, 20-15, 25-10); Punjab (Nagma Mirza 16, Kirandeep Kaur 15) bt Madhya Pradesh (Jhilik Roy 24, Sakshi Pandey 15) 79-59 (23-12, 18-13, 17-12, 21-22); Tamil Nadu (Appoorva Muralinath 26) bt Maharashtra (Sony Saji 6) 63-20 (22-2, 18-5, 11-7, 12-6); Bihar (G Satya Saraswati 31) bt Assam (Laxmi Kumari 14) 51-50 (14-13, 8-14, 9-7, 20-16).