Youth National Basketball Championship: Karnataka women, UP men reach finals

Hyderabad: Karnataka women and Uttar Pradesh men stormed into the finals of the 41st Youth National Basketball Championship after registering thrilling victories in their respective semi-final encounters at the Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex in Balewadi, Pune, on Monday.

In the women’s summit clash, a formidable Karnataka outfit will take on the winners of the second semi-final between hosts Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. Meanwhile, the men’s final will see Uttar Pradesh face either Rajasthan or Madhya Pradesh.

The girls’ semi-final witnessed a second-half turnaround as Karnataka overcame a resilient Kerala side 55-51. Kerala started clinically, capitalising on its offensive execution through Subhadra Jayakumar and Akshara K to build an early 13-point cushion, taking the first quarter 21-8. Kerala maintained its dominance for much of the game, but Karnataka found its shooting rhythm in the second quarter and enforced crucial defensive stops to level the scores at 23-23 at halftime.

The intense see-saw battle continued after the break. Despite Kerala dominating inside the paint with 32 points, Karnataka’s deep bench and swift transition play kept the team within striking distance, trailing 36-39 going into the final quarter. In a high-octane fourth quarter, Karnataka forced crucial turnovers and converted them into 26 points. Backed by captain Mahek Sharma’s clutch double-double, Karnataka executed a decisive 12-0 scoring run to seize the lead and seal victory.

The boys’ semi-final was an equally breathless affair, with Uttar Pradesh pulling off a sensational fourth-quarter comeback to edge past Tamil Nadu 83-81. Tamil Nadu dominated the early phases, scoring an explosive 27 points in the opening quarter and maintaining a 55-46 rebounding advantage to generate second-chance opportunities.

However, Uttar Pradesh deployed a punishing transition game in the final quarter, outscoring Tamil Nadu 30-22. Uttar Pradesh converted Tamil Nadu’s turnovers into 19 points, while bench player Pawan Pachauri contributed a crucial 15 points to secure the dramatic two-point victory in front of a packed crowd of 300 spectators.

The scores:

Semi-finals

Girls: Karnataka 55 (Mahek Sharma 19, HS Shreshta 13, SM Vibha 8) bt Kerala 51 (Subhadra Jayakumar 14, Akshara K 13, Malavika V 8).

Boys: Uttar Pradesh 83 (Jatin Sharma 21, Darshil Singh 19, Pawan Pachauri 15) bt Tamil Nadu 81 (Kaushik Raj Singh 26, Sarvesh Raghu 16, P Fyodor Athithan 16).