Sameeksha Chandak, Gunjan Mantri take Maharashtra past Delhi to face Tamil Nadu in final

NAGPUR: For the second time in as many days, skipper Sameeksha Chandak scored a team-high total of 19 points to lead Maharashtra to the final of the 46th Sub-Junior National Basketball Championship at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Cuttack on Sunday.
In an exciting semifinal, defending champions Maharashtra defeated Delhi 72-64 to set up the summit clash with Tamil Nadu, who somehow managed to get the better of Karnataka 81-78 in a thrilling double Over-Time game.
While Sameeksha was at her scoring best along with Aanaya Bhavsar after the change of ends, she gelled well with city mate Gunjan Mantri and Pune’s point guard Pragati Nawale in the initial half. Having scored 16 of her 18 points in the first half, Gunjan too played a pivotal role in Maharashtra’s victory.
While Sameeksha scored 15 of the 35 points netted by Maharashtra in the second half, Pune’s Aanaya contributed eight of her 10 points in the same period.
In the exciting clash, both Maharashtra and Delhi started on par as the first quarter ended 14-14. Maharashtra’s bench strength turned the things in their favour. Having played a dominant second period, Maharashtra outperformed Delhi 23-10 to take a handy 13-point lead at the breather.
After the lemon break, Maharashtra switched their focus on the defense as Delhi cagers — despite winning the third and fourth quarters 18-17 and 22-18 respectively — failed to match the girls’ donning lovely yellow outfits.
The penultimate day, however, brought mixed luck for Maharashtra as their boys team failed to match the speedsters from Mizoram to lose their semifinal tie 65-91.
Results (semifinals)
Girls: Maharashtra (Sameeksha Chandak 19, Gunjan Mantri 18, Pragati Nawale 10, Aanaya Bhavsar 10) bt Delhi (Reha Singh 23) 72-64 (14-14, 23-10, 17-18, 18-22)
Boys: Mizoram (Johan Lalithiaghlma 23) bt Maharashtra (Taufiq Qureshi 24) 91-65 (19-10, 23-17, 24-19, 25-19).