Kerala boys stumble against Chandigarh 66-82

In a clash at the 74th Junior National Basketball Championships hosted in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, the Kerala Junior Men's team faced a setback against Chandigarh, falling short with a final score of 66-82. This tournament sees participation from a total of twenty-seven men's teams and twenty-four women's teams over a span of seven days.

Chandigarh, the semi-finalists in the previous championships, dominated the first half of the game, securing a commanding lead of 43 points to Kerala's 26. Although Kerala showed resilience in the third quarter, outscoring Chandigarh with 23 points against their 18, it wasn't enough to overturn Chandigarh's initial advantage. With a comfortable lead from the first half, Chandigarh secured their first victory in the league round.

Himanshu Huda led the scoring for Chandigarh with an impressive 28 points, receiving strong support from Gaurav Kumar Singh, who contributed 14 points along with 11 rebounds.

On the Kerala side, Sankar M. Vinay emerged as the top scorer with 18 points, also making significant contributions with 8 assists and 7 rebounds. Joby Jeevan followed closely with 14 points and 6 rebounds, while Joby Jins added 11 points and grabbed 7 rebounds.

In another Junior Men’s league match, last year’s second runners-up, Tamil Nadu, showcased their dominance with a resounding victory over Odisha, triumphing with a scoreline of 106-48.

Meanwhile, in the women's division matches, Tamil Nadu secured a convincing win against Karnataka with a score of 92-58, while Maharashtra emerged victorious over Gujarat with a scoreline of 49-37.

Courtesy - Vijay Kumar, Starting Five