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Thiruvananthapuram qualifies

KOTTAYAM: Defending champion, Thiruvnanathapuram women became the first team to qualify for the semifinals of the 53rd State senior basketball championships at the Nehru stadium here on Thursday. Thiruvananthapuram defeated Kozhikode 23-7 to top group A and gained automatic qualification into the last four stage.

Kollam and Kannur topped group C and D respectively to qualify for the quarterfinals.Quarterfinalists were spotted in the men’s section with Ernakulam, Thiruvananthapuram and Kasaragod making grade from group A. Pathanamthitta, Malappuram and Thrissur qualified from group B while Kannur and Alappuzha topped group C and D respectively to make the grade.

In one of the better-contested ties in the men’s section, Ernakulam subdued a fighting Malappuram 93-86 in a pool ’A’ match. An upset looked on cards as Ernakulam trailed Malappuram 41-54 at the end of half-time.

A remarkable feature of Malappuram’s play during its period of ascendancy was its outside shooting and the high percentage of three pointers it scored. But Ernakulam was effective in screening the Malappuram sharp shooters in the second half and didn’t allow them room to freeze their arms from close.

There was a marked improvement in Ernakulam’s rebound collection and the side put pressure on its rival with fast breaks. Manoj again had a profitable outing as he scored bulk of his team’s points. Malappuram wilted under pressure and surrendered its advantage.

Ernakulam went from strength to strength to score a narrow win.

The results: Men: Group A: Ernakulam 93 (Manoj 31, Abhilash 12, Subash Shenoy 11) bt Malappuram 86 (Ratheesh 31, Gopalakrishnan 21, Sharath 10, Sabu 10); Thiruvananthapuram 66 (Shankar 30, Subin 10) bt Idukki 41 (Jithin 17, Albin 11). Group B: Thrissur 78 (Bibin Chacko 20, Eudric Pereira 18, Amal James 18, Aby 12) bt Malappuram 73 (Sibin 21, Deepumon 21, Dinu 18); Malappuram 73 (Shyju 22, Deepumon 19, Bobin Mathew 14, Subin 14) bt Kozhikode 68 (Bonet Mathew 22, Sujesh 15, Sajeev 12). Group C: Kottayam 29 (Nirmal K.Mathews 10) bt Kollam 13.Group D: Kannur 93 (Ashin Xavier 32, Siju Joseph 23, Sooryaraj 15) bt Palakkad 81 (John P.Vincent 23, Sreejith 17).

Women: Group A: Thiruvananthapuram bt Kozhikode 23-7. Group C: Kollam 68 (Veena Ravi Mathew 20, P. Smija 13) bt Pathanamthitta 33 (Lissy Mathew 13). — Principal Correspondent

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