Sport - Basketball

Thrilling win for Thrissur

THALSSERY: Thiruvananthapuram and Thrissur moved into the men’s semifinals of the Sea Star 52nd senior basketball championship in contrasting styles at the Municipal Stadium here on Friday. While Thiruvananthapuram dictated the pace — which was pretty slow — in its 65-45 win against Kasaragod, Thrissur scored a thrilling 88-79 victory over Idukki.

Earlier, Thrissur’s women’s team also made it to the last four, with a comfortable 76-39 win against reigning champion Kottayam, which has fielded a considerably weaker side compared to the one that won the title a year ago.

The Thrissur-Idukki contest was expected to be quite tight. It has been the most fiercely contested match of the tournament so far. Just two points separated the two teams in the first quarter and four in the second.

Thrissur always had an edge because it had Eudrick Periera, the tallest player on the court by a few inches, and he made a significant difference. He not only scored 31 points, but did well with the rebounds as well.

After trailing for most of the third and final quarter, Idukki’s late surge made the match exciting in the final stages.

In the women’s quarterfinals, pivots Ligi Peter and K.R. Neethu were in great nick as Thrissur women took control against Kottayam.

The results (quarterfinals):

Men: Thiruvananthapuram 65 (Bobit Mathew 16, R. Manoj 12) bt Kasaragod 45 (C.V. Ratheesh 22, P. Shibu 14). Thrissur 88 (Eudrick Pereira 31, Geo John 17, Bibin Chacko 12, Alex Charlie 10) bt Idukki 79 ( E.S. Deebumon 29, Nirmal K. Mathew 18, Bobin Mathew 17).

Women: Thrissur 76 (Ligi Peter 18, Greesha Varghese 16, K.R. Neethu 11) bt Kottayam 39 (Lizy Mathew 14).

Preliminary league: Men: Pool ‘B’:

Pathanamthitta 64 (K.R. Nikhil 13, Albin Baby 10) bt Kozhikode 34 (S. Sajeev 11, Robin James 10). Idukki 91 ( E.S. Deebumon 31, Anu Mohandas 17, Bobin Mathew 16, Nirmal K. Mathew 11) bt Kannur 67 (S. Sabu Kumar 19, Ajeeth Sujanan 17, K. Mahesh 10).

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