Hyderabad: The United Basketball Alliance (UBA) Pro Basketball League Season 2 saw the second round of semifinals action, at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium. North division toppers Delhi Capitals kept their campaign alive with a win over Mumbai Challengers.
The Mumbai Challengers had drawn first blood in their semifinal series against the Delhi Capitals. The team with the best league stage record, Delhi Capitals, entered today’s game on the back foot after losing the opening game of the series yesterday. Hoping for two off days before the finals, Mumbai Challengers were eager to close out the series today. Ranbir Singh picked up from where he left off in Game 1, opening his team’s scoring with a strong drive.
But his 3-point shooting was below par, which hurt Mumbai’s offense. Mumbai centre Gagandeep Singh kept his numbers up with early points in the paint and from the freethrow line. For Delhi, forward Smithin Setu put up the initial points, cleaning up after his teammates in the paint. Delhi point guard Sachin Sharma nailed a couple of transition buckets to keep the scoring even. Gritty defense from both teams resulted in a low scoring first quarter with Mumbai up 12 to 11.
In the second quarter, Mumbai’s super-sub Brar Dildar came off the bench and hit all three of his 3-point attempts. Gagandeep continued to hit shots from inside the paint and Mumbai seemed poised to run away with the game. But guard Vinay Kaushik and forward Ajay Pratap Singh knocked down a couple of 3-pointers for Delhi to go with strong drives to the basket, keeping their team in the game. There was not much to separate the two teams at halftime with Mumbai still up by only 2 points 28 to 26.
Player of the match in Game 1, Jagdeep Bains joined Mumbai’s scoring party early in the second half operating in the low post. His frontcourt mate Nikhil Dahiya used his athleticism to hit some tough mid-range buckets. Delhi was still unable to stop Gagandeep on the inside, who put his full array of moves on display today, even hitting a deep mid-range banker that seemed out of his range. Delhi’s bench players peppered the Capitals’ scoring in the third quarter with contributions from multiple players. While Delhi used their full bench strength, playing all 12 players on their roster, Mumbai stuck to an 8-man rotation.
Leading by 6 points entering the final period, Vinay Kaushik stepped for Delhi, ferociously driving to the basket and finishing in the paint or earning his points at the freethrow line. Apart from Gagandeep, the other Mumbai players struggled on the offensive end with the team shooting an overall 33% from the field.
Delhi’s 19 offensive rebounds led to 21 second chance points, hurting Mumbai down the stretch. Delhi gained the lead midway through the fourth quarter and continued to fire away, led by player of the match Vinay Kaushik’s 15 fourth quarter points. Delhi ended up winning by double-digits 72 to 61 and evened the series at 1-1. Vinay Kaushik was awarded a cash prize of INR 25,000 for his play today. The deciding third place match will be played tomorrow.
Delhi Capitals (Vinay Kaushik 21pts 5asts, Smithin Setu 11pts 12 rbs, Satyajeet 8pts) bt Mumbai Challengers (Gagandeep Singh 22pts, Brar Dildar 11pts, Nikhil Dahiya 9pts) 72-61 (11-12, 14-16, 16-20, 30-13)
