Mizoram boys, TN girls emerge champions

KOLKATA: The young sportspersons from Mizoram are having a commendable time indeed. After Saidan Secondary School from the state won the Subroto Cup in the sub-junior boys' category last month, the boys' team from the state has emerged champions in the 46th Sub-Junior National Basketball Championship on Monday.

The Mizoram boys' team won the final after they beat Punjab 51-46 in a closely-contested tie at Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium & Indoor Complex at Barabati Stadium in Cuttack. For the team from the northeast, Emmanuel top scored with 17 points as Punjab just fell short.

The final saw a see-saw battle between the two teams as neither of them allowed the other to run away with the match. While Punjab led 13-12 after the first quarter, Mizoram fought back and made it 22-21 at the end of the second quarter. In the third quarter, Punjab took the lead again as the score read 35-34.

But in the end, Mizoram had the last laugh as they dominated in the last quarter scoring 17 points compared to Punjab's 11 to lift the trophy.

Meanwhile, late on Sunday evening, Mizoram defeated Maharashtra 91-65 in a one-sided encounter to make it to the final. Punjab, on the other hand, beat Haryana 61-53.

In the girls' category, Tamil Nadu were crowned champions after they beat Maharashtra 85-67 in the summit clash. In the first quarter there was not much to choose between the two teams as the score read 18-18. But Tamil Nadu took a slender lead at the end of the second quarter and started dominating from third quarter onwards. In the end Tamil Nadu won the match with ease as Antheya Daisy scored 31 points.

In the bronze-medal matches, the Karnataka girls' team defeated Delhi 56-34 while Maharashtra boys scrapped past Haryana 75-73.

Results (Finals):

Boys: Mizoram 51 beat Punjab 46;
Girls: Tamil Nadu 85 beat Maharashtra 67;

Third-place match:
Boys: Maharashtra 75 beat Haryana 73;
Girls: Karnataka 56 beat Delhi 34