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U-18 district basketball: Pass and shoot is the mantra for playing on wet courts in Pune
It turned out to be slow-paced game between Bishop’s School, Kalyaninagar and Deccan Gymkhana ‘C’, which saw the Bishop’s girls winning it 26-9. Both the teams were not running much around the court to avoid injury.
Wet courts took the limelight at the Deccan Gymkhana basketball courts during the ongoing 14th Late Indirabai Joshi Memorial Under-18 Girikand Cup District Basketball Championship on Saturday.
It turned out to be slow-paced game between Bishop’s School, Kalyaninagar and Deccan Gymkhana ‘C’, which saw the Bishop’s girls winning it 26-9. Since the start of the game, both the teams were not running much around the court and were focussing on passing the ball.
“We cannot run on wet courts as we will get injured, so the best option is to pass the ball and shoot. We were following the same technique since the start of the game,” said Swara Pathak captain of Bishop’s School.
‘Do not play fast, play slow’ – was the message given to Bishop’s girls constantly during the match by the coach and substitute players.
“I did not want my players to get injured. The courts were slippery and so running, was not an option for players,” explained Edvin Irvin, coach of Bishop’s School.
Deccan ‘C’ failed to create an impression in any department during the game. The second quarter saw a little fight for survival, where they managed a few quick baskets, however on the whole, it was the other team’s show.
“Most of the girls are under-14 and they are new to the game. I just wanted to give them practice and that’s why I made them play the tournament. We have two more teams A and B which have top players from our clubs,” said Prasad Yeravdekar, Deccan Gymkhana C coach.
“Once the court is wet, it makes an impact on your movement and you cannot play with speed. Ball also slips from your hand, so it becomes very difficult for teams,” added Yeravdekar.
With the half time score reading 12-7 in favour of Bishop’s, nothing was different in the second half as Bishop’s girls kept scoring easy baskets. Such was their dominance that they managed to score 14 points while Deccan Gymkhana only managed two points in the third and fourth quarter respectively.
“Team coordination was perfect and we made a couple of mistakes, but it did have an impact on our game. The team played well,” added Pathak.
Result:
Bishop’s School, Kalyaninagar 26 bt Deccan Gymkhana C 9 Half time: 12-7
Quarter wise score: (Read as Bishop’s vs Deccan Gymkhana)
First quarter: 9-2
Second quarter: 12-7
Third quarter: 18-9
Fourth quarter: 26-9
