Another setback for Hyderabad Sky
This was also the third match in a row where Pune scored over a 100 points. In the absence of their star player Shinde from the start, Pune Peshwas led 27-22 in the first quarter. Narender continued his rich vein of form as he and Mane continued to bag points and keep up the momentum the Pune Peshwas had seized.
Pune: Maintaining their imperious form Pune Peshwas got the better of Hyderabad Sky as they beat them 109-99 in the UBA Pro Basketball League season 3 at Balewadi Stadium here on Saturday. Both the teams clash again on Sunday in the playoffs and it was a chance for both the teams to gauge each other's strengths ahead of the big match.
This was also the third match in a row where Pune scored over a 100 points. In the absence of their star player Shinde from the start, Pune Peshwas led 27-22 in the first quarter. Narender continued his rich vein of form as he and Mane continued to bag points and keep up the momentum the Pune Peshwas had seized.
For Hyderabad Sky, Thomas was tasked with keeping up the pressure on Pune and he also started the game brightly. In the second quarter, Hyderabad Sky worked their way back into the game and cut the lead to just a point at 39-38 with 4 minutes left and thanks to the efforts of Mahesh and Mahipal, took the lead for the first time in the match.Buoyed by Shinde's return, Pune Peshwas finished the second quarter nudging ahead 53-52.
The third quarter also saw rivetting stuff as Hyderabad Sky managed to take a slender lead of 79-77 going into the fourth quarter.Pune Peshwas bounced back in the final quarter, thanks to Shinde and Narender as they opened up a 10 point lead with just over two minutes left. In the end, Hyderabad couldn't muster enough to give the Pune Peshwas a late scare. Results: Pune Peshwas 109 (Narender 27, Mane 16, Arjun 14) bt Hyderabad Sky 99 (Mahipal 26, Mahesh 20, Thomas 17)
