Chennai Customs played well in the last two quarters to upstage Rail Coach Factory (Punjab) 62-49 in a men’s league match of the 48th all-India basketball tournament, for the PSG Trophy, at the PSG Tech courts here on Thursday.
It took some time for Customs to settle down and RCF cashed in on the opportunity to score at will. The story remained the same for most part of the second quarter too.
However, Customs’ B. Saravana Rajan (16) and C.V. Dinesh (15) did well towards the end of the second quarter. The duo showed good understanding and kept the scoreboard ticking as Customs had a two-point (32-30) lead at the lemon break.
The last two quarters belonged to Customs. It rolled its substitutes smartly, checked the free-flowing runs of its rivals, and drove in confidently for baskets. For the first time in the match, it excelled in both offensive and defensive rebounds.
With Customs in full flow, it came as no surprise when RCF pressed the panic button in the fourth. The Chennai side continued its good work and maintained a big margin over its rival.
Exciting encounter
In the 11th all-India tournament for the CRI Pumps Trophy, South Central Railway (Secunderabad) edged out a never-say-die South Eastern Central Railways 65-64.
Anusha Anto (22) and Jinci Joseph turned out to be the chief scorers for SCR while Seema Singh (29) played a stellar role for the losing side.
In another low-scoring encounter, Southern Railway (Chennai) outshone Raising Stars (Chennai) 38-16.
The results (league):
Men: Customs Chennai 62 (B. Saravana Rajan 16, C.V. Dinesh 15) bt RCF (Punjab) 49 (Bajinder Kumar 19).
Women: SCR (Secunderabad) 65 (Anusha Anto 22, Jinci Joseph 15) bt SECR (Bilaspur) 64 (Seema Singh 29); Southern Railway (Chennai) 38 (Apoorva 11, Soniya Joy 9) bt Raising Stars (Chennai) 16.
