Date:12/06/2004 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2004/06/12/stories/2004061203341800.htm

Sport - Basketball

Andhra `towers' over Mizoram

By Our Special Correspondent

CHITTOOR, JUNE 11. Andhra Pradesh boys `towered' over Mizoram 76-58 in the quarterfinals of the Nutrine Maha Lacto junior National basketball tournament at the District Sports Authority Stadium, Masonic Grounds here on Friday.

The height advantage was exploited to the hilt by the home team but it had to contend with the crunching pace of the visitor, whose end-line press and steals tested it considerably.

The Mizo forwards began with drive-in shooting that enabled their side lead for a while. When that route was sealed, with the opponent shoring up its defence, switching from man-to-man to zone, the north-eastern side resorted to outside shooting, with a fair amount of success. That couldn't be enhanced, for its ball possession was limited.

Where AP scored was in rebound collection, especially due to its tall pivot Sandeep Yadav. The outstretched arms of its forwards intercepted the ball well, stopping it from doing damage. Mizoram's superiority was indeed short-lived, as the host equalised at 15 and stepped up the pace, never looking back thereafter. The ball handling by Raghuveer and Venkatesh was splendid, ensuring a steady stream of passes to the frontline.

The results: Boys: Quarterfinals: Punjab 77 (Talwinderjit 20, Jagdeep 18, Mandeep 15, Yadwinder 14) bt Chattisgarh 61 (Srawan 24, S.T. Murli 12, Kamal 10); AP 76 (Thirupathi 24, Venkatesh 21, Irfan 18, Sandeep 11) bt Mizoram 58 (John 13, Vanlaligm 13, Lalkimkima 11); Delhi 75 (Prabhjot 18, Gagandeep 18, Sanjay 13) bt Karnataka 43 (Darsaan 11); TN 65 (Mohd. Ali 24, Arun 20) bt Maharashtra 36 (Qureshi 10).

Pre-quarterfinals: Karnataka 75 (Kaushal 26, Siddarth 18) bt Kerala 65 (Prince David 24, Anoop 20); Tamil Nadu 61 (Arun 25, Kannan 19) bt Chandigarh 56 (Akshayjeet 15, Sathwinderjit 10).

Girls: Quarterfinals: Chattisgarh 81 (Kawaljeet 16, Mridula 10, Parvit 10, Navneet 10, Bharti 10) bt Bengal 29 (Poushali 14); Karnataka 59 (Deepa 12, Rashmi 18) bt Maharashtra 40 (Aarti 9); Punjab 54 (Aashna 18, Saloni 12, Rajanpal 12) bt MP 53 (Ritu 22, Prerna 11); Tamil Nadu 45 (Amala 13, Dhanalakshmi 12) bt Kerala 39 (Cuckoo Anna 12).

Pre-quarterfinals: Bengal 38 (Poushali 12, Priyanka 11) bt Chandigarh 29 (Gurjeet 17); MP 38 (Kirandeep 11, Supreet 10) bt Delhi 23 (Raspreet 9); Tamil Nadu 40 bt UP 23; Karnataka 69 (Deepa 14, Rashmi 12, Sonam 11) bt AP 47 (B. Sandhya 18, G. Seetha 16).