Chhattisgarh clinched both the boys and girls titles in the 63rd National junior basketball championship here on Wednesday.
In the boys final, Chhattisgarh edged out Punjab 63-61. Punjab raced to a 19-11 lead at the end of the first quarter.
However, Chhattisgarh, thanks to tight defending and sharp shooting, made it 34-32 at the halfway mark.
Holding nerve
The Chhattisgarh players, who led by five points going into the final session, held their nerve and scored at crucial moments to emerge victorious.
In the girls final, Chhattisgarh scripted an 89-73 win over Maharashtra. Chhattisgarh managed a four-point lead at the end of the closely-fought first quarter.
Big advantage
Its players penetrated the rival defence with ease in the second session and opened up a 14-point advantage (42-28) at halftime.
Chhattisgarh hoopsters continued to attack in the third quarter and enlarged the lead. Maharashtra girls tried to make a come back in the final session, but it was too late. Poonam Chaturvedi (24 points) starred for the winner.
In the third place matches, Madhya Pradesh boys defeated Kerala 62-48,while Kerala girls downed Tamil Nadu 71-34.
N. Ravichandran, chairman, TVH, Chennai, gave away the prizes.
The results: Boys: Final: Chhattisgarh 63 (Shyam Sunde 23, Ajay Pratap Singh 20) bt Punjab 61 (Loveneet Singh 30, Kushmeet Singh 13). Third place: Madhya Pradesh 62 (Amith 18) bt Kerala 48 (Sijumon 16). Semifinal: Punjab 77 (Palpreet Singh 22, Kushmeet Singh 15, Gauravdeep Singh 13) bt Kerala 40 (Sijumon 10).
Classification matches: 5th & 6th: Delhi 69 bt Karnataka 65; 7th & 8th: Tamil Nadu 66 bt Maharashtra 49; 9th & 10th: Rajasthan 89 bt Andhra Pradesh 56.
Girls: Final: Chhattisgarh 89 (Poonam Chaturvedi 24, Sharanjit Kaur 23, Sagrika Kaur 20) bt Maharashtra 73 (Shreen Limaye 17, Krithika Dividkar 17, Shruti Menon 15). Third place: Kerala 71 (Jeena 23) bt Tamil Nadu 34.
Classification matches: 5th & 6th: Uttar Pradesh bt Madhya Pradesh; 7th & 8th: Punjab 43 bt Delhi 25; 9th & 10th: Haryana 63 bt Odisha 44.
