Mustangs edge out Saints 59-51 in level-II basketball match

Mustangs defeated Saints 59-51 in a closely contested match in the Level-II Stage of the Annual League Basketball Championship. A strong defensive effort in the second half and key performances from Akhil, Annamayya, and Vinod led to the win

Hyderabad: In a close contest, Mustangs defeated Saints 59–51 after scores were level at 28–28 at halftime in the Level-II Stage of the Annual League Basketball Championship for the G M Sampath Kumar Trophy, being held at YMCA Secunderabad.

Aided by two three-pointers from Vinod and Manny, Mustangs raced to a healthy 18–8 lead at the end of the first quarter.

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Saints clawed their way back as Dujon and Venkat combined well to score 15 out of 20 points between them to level the scores at 28–28 by halftime.

After the break, Mustangs tightened their defense on Dujon and Venkat, which affected the Saints’ scoring. They scored just three points, while Mustangs scored 15 points through Akhil and Avinash to take a massive 43–31 lead at the end of the third quarter.

In the fourth quarter, Saints tried hard to recover, scoring 20 points. However, Annamayya chipped in with baskets at regular intervals for Mustangs, scoring 12 points in the fourth quarter alone, helping them win the match convincingly 59–51.

The scores: Mustangs 59 (Akhil 15, Annamaya 13, Manny 8, Vinod 6) bt Saints 51 (Dujon 17, Venkat 16, Charith 8).

G8 52 (Sameer 15, Chandu 15, Sai 10) bt YMCA Hyderabad 43 (Viswa 11, Krish 11).