Anil Datt
LUDHIANA, October 6
Reigning champions Chhattisgarh girls beat Punjab 76-48 on the fifth day of the 66th Junior National Basketball Championship here today.
The home team failed to match the speed, control and agility of Chhattisgarh as Vandana and Jonali Dutta sunk 17 baskets each for the winners. For Punjab, Gagandeep Kaur and Sandhya fought valiantly to salvage some pride, chipping in with 14 and 13 points, respectively.
Kerala girls, who had finished runners-up in Kochi last year, defeated Uttar Pradesh 68-42. The winners were trailing 17-20 at the end of the first quarter. The architects of their victory were Nimmy G and Anusha, who dropped in 15 and 10 baskets, respectively. In the boys’ section, Chandigarh beat Uttar Pradesh, Rajashtan outplayed MP and Kerala overpowered Haryana.
Basketball Junior Nationals
Girls
Karnataka bt Delhi 80-37
Chhattisgarh bt Punjab 76-48
Maha bt Haryana 90-65
Kerala bt UP 68-42
TN bt Rajasthan 63-39
HP bt J&K 54-34
Gujrat bt Goa 44-19
(Monday evening)
Chhattisgarh bt K’taka 93-73
Punjab bt MP 71-60
Boys
Kerala bt Haryana 77-63
Rajasthan bt MP 91-75
Chandigarh bt UP 78-53
HP bt Bihar 63-51
(Monday evening)
HP bt Goa 64-33
Bihar bt Puducherry 66-53