17th July 2016 - Balewadi Stadium, Pune: Punjab Steelers maintained stayed on their winning streak today, beating the Hyderabad Sky 93-85 on Sunday afternoon at the UBA Pro Basketball League Season 3.
Gurvinder Singh’s brilliant play, which included 26 points and some important blocks, was the key to Punjab’s success. Hyderabad lost Manu Thomas, who was fouled in the final quarter, making a difference in the end in this inter-division game.
Photo Captions:
Pic 1: Hyderabad Sky and Punjab Steelers in action during the Season 3 of the UBA Pro Basketball League.
Pic 2: Gurvinder Singh (Garry) was the player of the 5th Match of the UBA Pro Basketball League Season 3 .
Mahipal Singh gave Hyderabad a nice start with a three-pointer within the first minute. Hyderabad soon extended their lead to 13-7, before Kaushal Ravi Kumar made his presence felt for the Punjab Steelers. The well built Kaushal not only scored crucial points, but forced Manu Thomas, Hyderabad’s back-bone in defense, into committing his third foul well within the first quarter. The teams finished tied at 24 points at the end of the quarter.
The trend continued in the second quarter till the score reached a tie at 34-34. That’s where Hyderabad Sky broke away with Mahesh Padmanabhan scoring three-pointers thrice in a minute, and assisted Joginder Singh to score another. That opened up a decent lead for Hyderabad. It also helped them stay aggressive despite Manu Thomas picking up a fourth foul, and as a result being absent from the floor for a larger part of the quarter. The Punjab Steelers tried to keep pace with their rivals, but Hyderabad were able to keep them at bay at half time leading 48-42.
The third quarter saw Punjab try to close the gap, Hyderabad scored a few quick points to maintain their lead. Gurvinder Singh converted five free throws on the trot in this quarter, coupled with some smart field goals to help Punjab get on level with Hyderabad Sky.
Rajveer Singh then came into his own for Punjab, scoring nine points in quick time. Akhilesh Kumar joined him with a smart field goal, and Punjab took a sizeable lead for the first time in the game. The Steelers marked Mahesh extremely well in this quarter, not allowing the in-form player to score a single point.
Mahesh came back strong in the fourth quarter with four points. Joginder's excellent three-pointers helped the Hyderabad Sky but Punjab managed to maintain their lead throughout the fourth quarter. Harmandeep Singh’s pair of field goals, and another one from Akhilesh sealed the game for Punjab, with the final score-line reading 93-85.
Punjab Steelers 93 & Hyderabad Sky 85