Date:02/11/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/11/02/stories/2006110202512100.htm

Sport - Basketball

Chhattisgarh, Delhi in final

Jamshedpur : Chhattisgarh and Delhi set up the summit clash after upsetting Western Railway and Kerala respectively in women's semifinals of the 22nd Federation Cup basketball tournament at J.R.D. Tata Sports Complex here on Wednesday.

Chhattisgarh beat Western Railway 66-45.

In the other match, Delhi toppled last year's finalist Kerala 79-66 to move into the final.

WR struggles

Defending champion Western Railway had to struggle to steal points as Chhattisgarh dominated the match with accurate netting and surged ahead to lead the first quarter 38-21.

International Lincy Joseph and Sheeza Mathew of Western Railway started mounting pressure on the rival citadel and stole some quick points to reduce the margin.

However, its moves were proved short-lived as Chhattisgarh cagers Anju Lakra (15) and Bharti Netam (14) retaliated to maintain the lead.

Kerala goes down

In the other semifinal encounter a formidable Kerala went down fighting to Delhi.

Delhi, led by Asha Hegde, started on a confident note and led the first quarter 22-13 with brilliant pass game and accurate shooting.

However, Kerala women gained rhythm in the second quarter to reduce the margin.

At one stage, Kerala came tantalisingly closer to equalise the score (40-41) after a superb three pointer by Seena Joseph.

But, Delhi bounced back to dominate the fourth quarter and wrap up the match with a 13-point lead. — PTI