Local Basketball: Telangana girls edge UP 73-70 to retain Elite Level 1 status

Telangana girls beat Uttar Pradesh 73-70 in overtime to secure their Elite Level 1 status at the National Youth Basketball Championship in Pune. Saanvi Kolishetty scored 24 points, while Kerala extended its winning run in the girls’ division

Hyderabad: Telangana girls produced an inspired performance to beat Uttar Pradesh 73-70 in overtime and assured themselves of retaining their position in Elite Level 1 at the National Youth Basketball Championship in Pune on Thursday.

The most competitive match of the day saw Telangana narrowly edge past Uttar Pradesh 73-70 in a thrilling Level 1 Pool B encounter.

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Saanvi Kolishetty led Telangana with 24 points, supported by D Charitha Sree (18) and Mythri Reddy Daggula (16). For Uttar Pradesh, Kanishka Yadav led the scoring with 21 points, followed by Priya Rana (18) and Harshita Chauhan (12).

Madhya Pradesh overwhelmed Punjab 95-41. Akshay Khanchi spearheaded the attack with 41 points, while Prashanth Singh (22), Anshul Singh Sikarwar (17) and Vivek Singh Tomar (12) provided strong offensive support.

Kerala girls defeated Gujarat 74-39 with a clinical performance. Subhadra Jayakumar led Kerala with 20 points, supported by Malavika’s 10, while Rutviba Jadeja scored 10 for Gujarat. This was Kerala’s third consecutive victory, following their late-night win over defending champions Maharashtra on Wednesday, when they prevailed 62-45.

With these results, Kerala joined Tamil Nadu and Karnataka as the unbeaten teams in the girls’ division, while Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan maintained perfect records in the boys’ division.

Uttar Pradesh defeated Gujarat 89-48 in the boys’ division. Tejas Baliyan and Pawan Pachauri led the charge with 21 points each, while Preran Singh Madhok added 12 and Aryan Panwar contributed 10. Gujarat’s Amit Sariya fought hard with 25 points, while Madhavendra Singh Jaitawat added 10.

In the girls’ Level 2, Rajasthan defeated Uttarakhand 77-40 in Pool C, while Andhra Pradesh routed Bihar 64-22 in Pool E.