Punjab boys, girls log victories in basketball tourney

Hosts Punjab recorded authentic victories in the boys and girls sections during the ongoing 75th Junior National Basketball Championship for Boys and Girls being organised by the Punjab Basketball Association under the auspices of Basketball Federation of India at Guru Nanak Stadium here on Thursday.

Punjab boys drubbed Andhra Pradesh 60-19 to register their second win in a row, while their counterparts (girls), in a ding-dong battle, outnumbered Maharashtra 73-60 after leading 30-26 at the end of the second quarter. Last evening, Punjab girls overwhelmed Telangana 71-28.

In other matches, in the girls’ section, Haryana gave a tough time to Gujarat’s players before losing 54-64. Gujarat had recorded a stunning win Karnataka, while powerhouse Tamil Nadu defeated Rajasthan 89-82 and Chhattisgarh overpowered Delhi 65-58, Puducherry outplayed Jharkhand 65-25, Kerala logged in an easy 42-12 win against Goa, Himachal Pradesh beat West Bengal 42-24 and Odisha fought it tooth and nail to get the better of Meghalaya 72-68.

In the boys’ group, Karnataka outclassed Uttarakhand 77-48, the current champions Rajasthan scored an easy 74-36 win over Andhra Pradesh, Assam beat Arunachal Pradesh 66-34, Delhi beat Chhattisgarh 67-40, Gujarat defeated Puducherry 70-37, Jharkhand pipped Tripura 67-38, Mizoram outnumbered Goa 84-69, Himachal Pradesh outplayed Sikkim 64-26, West Bengal beat Manipur 48-38, and Telangana trounced Andaman and Nicobar 72-24.