Mixed luck for Nagpur boys in State basketball

NAGPUR: With their focus mainly on the post play, Nagpur boys tried many defensive moves and held their nerves to keep Mumbai North at a distance and post a thrilling two-point 56-54 win in Over Time to bring home a bronze medal in the Maharashtra State Youth Basketball Championship. The five-day long tournament concluded at the Meenatai Thakre Indoor Stadium in Nashik on Sunday.
While city boys — after going down fighting in a thrill-a-minute semifinal clash to Mumbai South East — finished third in the state tourney, Nagpur girls failed to gain momentum in the knockout stage and placed fourth.
In an exciting third-place encounter, Nagpur boys rallied splendidly to bring parity (49-49) against Mumbai North at the end of regulation period and later posted a narrow win. The quarter-wise progress for Nagpur read 6-16, 18-12, 11-19, 14-2. City boys kept their cool in the five-minute period to win in Over Time 7-5 and better their last year’s record with a third place finish.
It was, however, a heartbreak defeat for Nagpur in the semifinal played in the morning session. A day after notching up a nail-biting two-point win against hosts Nashik, city boys failed to show consistency in shooting and flattered only to deceive against Mumbai South East allowing the later to register a come-from-behind 58-54 victory in Over Time after both the teams netted 50 points apiece at the end of regulation time.
The concluding day, however, brought disappointment for Nagpur girls. Having failed to score some easy baskets, city girls were humbled by Mumbai North 36-64 in the semis. They also lost their third place outing against Thane by as many as 36 points (59-23) to finish fourth. With their entry into the semis on Saturday, city girls bettered their previous record of a quarterfinal exit and will be back home with their heads held high.
For the record, the state meet was won by Pune girls and Mumbai South West boys.
RESULTS
Third Place (Boys): Nagpur (Yash Gainkar 13, Mukund Chari 10, Karan Pande 8, Abhiram Tapas 7) bt Mumbai North (Tavish Shrivastava 26, Ayuum Halvai 11) 56-54 in Over Time (6-16, 18-12, 11-19, 14-2, OT 7-5). Girls: Thane (Meha 13, Darshana D 11) bt Nagpur (Siya Deodhar 8, Shreya Dandekar 4, Sneha Tembhre 4) 59-23 (13-4, 11-3, 15-7, 20-9).
Semifinals (Boys): Mumbai South East (Miraj Shiekh 25, Fauzaan 10) bt Nagpur (Yash Gainkar 19, Shubham Lanjewar 16, Mukund Chari 10, Karan Pande 6) 58-54 in Over Time (12-14, 8-7, 20-13, 10-16, OT 8-4). Girls: Mumbai North (Ananya Vohra 12, Vidhya Vairagade 11, Prapti Shetty 10) bt Nagpur (Rasika Pande 12, Siddha Deshmukh 6, Rutuja Rotkar 4, Rucha Aurangabadkar 4, Pritha Mukherjee 4) 64-36 (18-7, 17-8, 16-11, 13-10).