U-18 basketball: Bishop’s Kalyaninagar out-run, out-dribble, out-play Cross Over Club

It turned out to be a one-sided affair right from the first quarter, with Bishop’s girls dominating the game.

Playing with experience did wonders for Bishop’s School Kalyaninagar as they scored a 48-16 win over Cross Over Club in a league match at the 14th late Indirabai Joshi Memorial Under-18 Girikand Cup District Championship on Wednesday.

Players of Bishop’s School, Kalyaninagar (yellow) and Cross Over (black) in action during 14th Late Indirabai Joshi Memorial Under-18 Girikand Cup District Championship Basketball match at Deccan Gymkhana in Pune, India, on Wednesday, August 7. (Pratham Gokhale/HT Photo)

It turned out to be a one-sided affair right from the first quarter, with Bishop’s girls dominating the game.

“All the players from my team have represented the state in the past, but with Class 12 board exams all of them were not in for regular practice and it made the difference today. Bishop’s were a much fitter team than us. Fitness can be only achieved with regular practice,” said Arjun Kale, coach, Cross Over.

“Many of the players were getting tired and it does not happen if you have regular practice and fitness. Bishop’s completely outplayed us on fitness. They were very good at dribbling,” added Kale.

Swara Pathak – captain, Shivanjali Pandit, Jyotsana Bhutra and Riya Savant were the four key players who controlled the match for Bishop’s.

“Having senior players in the team helps, it keeps you motivated and whenever you need advice you can look to a senior member,” said Pathak.

For Bishop’s coach Edvin Irvin, dry courts were the major relief and he was happy with no rain interruptions.

“Dry courts make the difference. You can see the team playing with speed. We gave chances to all 12 players. All had a good game,” said Irvin.

Taking a comfortable lead of 36-10 in the third quarter, Bishop’s gifted a few baskets to Cross Over in the final quarter.

“Once we had good lead we gave a chance to young players on our team. We have under-12 players in our team so we wanted them to get match practice and they played well,” explained Bishop’s player Shivanjali Pandit, top scorer of the match.

Results

Bishop’s School, Kalyaninagar 48 (Shivanjali Pandit 16, Swara Pathak 8) bt Cross Over 16 (Khusi Sangvi 8, Zainab Habibuller 6) Half time: 32-6

Quarter-wise scoring:

First quarter: 10-2

Second quarter: 22-8

Third quarter: 36-10

Fourth quarter: 48-16

Quotes

Swara Pathak, Bishop’s School, Kalyaninagar.

Swara Pathak, Bishop’s School, Kalyaninagar

Both the halves were even for us. Our team has combination of senior and junior players.

Shivanjali Pandit, Bishop’s School, Kalyaninagar.

Most of the senior players on the team are playing together for the last three years and it helps us set up good coordination for game day.

Shivanjali Pandit, Bishop’s, HT’s player of the match

Siddhi Shinde, Cross Over captain

Siddhi Shinde, Cross Over

The match was tough for us. We have not been practicing regularly and it cost us.