They were asked to do precisely that job against Al-Ameen College Bulls in the boys’ college division of the Mahindra NBA League basketball tournament. How spelendidly they responded to that challenge!
The Jain hoopsters, low on speed and conversion in the first-half, rallied in style to post a 45-28 win over Al-Ameen at the Sree Kanteerava stadium here on Sunday. Jain’s Kaif (17) stuck to the basics for most part, but when his chance came the high-flying point-guard made a statement of intent in a way only he can.
Al-Ameen, barely the force once they used to be, jumped to a 6-0 lead within five minutes but Kaif, playing on the 45, found his shooting range to tie the game at 8-8 at the end of the first-quarter.
With three tall men -- Varun, Varun M, Chethan M -- constanly raiding rival territory, Jain gained momentum and extended their lead to 23-17 at half-time.
Al-Ameen’s super-quick point guard Ajmal (10) and shooting guard Vijay (11) did their bit but couldn’t stop Jain from taking a formidable 43-21 lead in the third quarter that sealed the fate of the match conclusively.
Results: Men's, Club division: Bosch SC Spurs: 51 (Pavan 16, Vijay 14, Stalin 11) bt Young
Orions Bulls: 37 (Karan 9, Sriram 8, Prateek 7). HT: 22-22; MEG Lakers: 60 (Arockia 19,
Jijin 15) bt Indiranagar Thunder: 54 (Nityn 18, Keshav 9). HT: 38-23; Vijaya Bank Suns: 52 (Rohan 10, Basavaraj 12) bt Southern Blues Hornets: 31 (Sudheer 8, Anandh 7). HT: 30-9; JSC Rockets: 84 (Minhal 26, Sujan 18) bt VBC, Mandya Kings: 67 (Pavan 12, Shamanth 9). HT: 40-41; Bharath SC Nuggets: 50 (Adeel 18) bt NGV Jazz: 49 (Radhael Noel 13). HT: 22-19; Beagles Grizzlies: 52 (Pavan 13) bt Kanaka Warriors: 51 (Harish 15).
HT: 21-26; HAL Mavericks: 68 bt Sai Dharwad Clippers: 67.
Group B: Warriors Magic: 39 (Abishek 12, Carey 10) bt Cleveland Cavaliers: 23 (Akash 7).
HT: 15-11; Snipers Sports Celtics: 36 (Radhakrsihna 14, Peter Ajay 12) bt Atlanta Hawks: 20 (Karteek 12). HT: 9-15; SX Hostel Boys Bobcats: 39 (Rangan 14, Syed 8) bt Grace BC
Bucks: 19 (Selvakumar 11). HT: 9-18; SIT Club Bulls: 36 (Bharath 14, Arjun 11) bt
Yelahanka Hoopsters Raptors: 31 (Leenish 9, Ram 8). HT: 19-7.
College division: RV Institute of Engineering Magic: 80 (Surya 30, Ravishankar 20, Vinay 16) bt RV Institute of Management Cavaliers: 12. HT: 46-0; SBM Jain College Bobcats: 45 (Kaif 17) bt Al-Ameen College Bulls: 28 (Ajmal 10, Vijay 11); MSRIT Pacers w/o Al-Ameen PU College Raptors.
Boy's, School division: DPS, South Bulls: 36 (Karthik 10) bt NPS, Koramangala Bucks: 12.
HT: 17-7; Christ School Knicks: 60 (Rajan D 18, Binoy 15, Daniel 10) bt Himanshu Jyothi
HS Raptors: 48 (Hrishi 13, Mohan S 12). HT: 28-14; FAPS Magic: 36 (Karan 25, Deep 8) bt
Bishop Cotton Celtics: 29 (Richard 11). HT: 17-12. SJIHS Pacers: 31 bt Shanthi Nekethan
Pistons: 11; HT: 20-6; NPS, Rajajinagar 76ers: 34 (Hriday 10, Vishal 8) bt Christ Wizards: 24. HT: 22-20; Aditi Int'l Heat: 49 (Vohra Dev 19) bt Gear Innovative Int'l School Bobcats: 22 (Saurabh 7). HT: 27-12; Vidyaniketan School Cavs w/o NPS Hawks.
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