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Under-16 basketball: Baskets galore as Maharashtra Mandal stomp SSBA A-team
Quick passes, brilliant solo skill, ability to quickly regroup, run back to defend and constant change play summarises Maharashtra Mandal’s gameplay
Only the final whistle could put an end to Maharashtra Mandal’s scoring spree as they outmatched Saskatchewan School Boards Association (SSBA) A - team, 39-17 in the second knock out match of the Sanjay Mahadeo Nimhan Memorial under-16 district basketball championship held at Deccan Gymkhana on Wednesday.
Maharashtra Mandal booked their spot in the pre-quarterfinals.
SSBA tasted their opponent’s overpowering attack in the first few minutes as couple of their attempts to defend resulted in reckless fouls and free throws.
Maharashtra Mandal kept netting the ball the entire half making it 25-7.
Quick passes, brilliant solo skill and constant change of play summarised their gameplay. Maharashtra Mandal’s ability to quickly regroup and run back to defend gave SSBA little or no breathing space.
In the second half Maharashtra Mandal loosened up a bit giving SSBA more time on the ball but their incomplete passes deprived them of their last straw.
The one-sided scoreline after the third quarter, 36-11 pretty much sealed the game.
Badal Rawat, player of the match
“I could step up for my team today only because the ball was brilliantly fed to me by the teammates Amrish Solanki and Siddharth Singh. I’ve been playing the game with them from the past two years, we read each others game.”
Rahul Singh, manager of Maharashtra Mandal
“I’ve been blessed to get a team like this under my leadership after many years. Most of my players come from Armed forces background. Discipline, respect and hard work are the three driving forces I try to engrave in my players.”
Pranav Jagtap, manager of SSBA ‘A’
“More than the opponents quality of game, the setback for us was our lack of skill to convert our shots and inability to make complete passes.”
