Yadwinder, Vishesh lead ONGC to win over IOB

Mumbai: Vishesh Braghuwanshi and Yadwinder Singh lead ONGC to a 70-51 victory over Indian Overseas Bank in the opening match of the semi-final league of the seventh All India Savio Cup-Don Bosco Basketball tournament.

Besides, ONGC and IOB, other teams that have made the last four league are National champions Punjab and Shooting For Success, Punjab. Going out of the equation were Maharashtra, who lost all their matches, as well as Services and Railways, who lost their last encounters to Shooting For Success and IOB respectively. In an inconsequential women`s match, South East Central Railway used their game against Maharashtra for useful shooting practice, emerging 89-49 winners. While Yadwinder Singh (23) and Braghuwanshi (22) did the bulk of the scoring for ONGC, it was also a refreshing sight to see a rejuvenated Trideep Rai play his heart out for winners. A livewire in the defence and always on the ball for fast breaks, he forged a formidable combination with the former Railways duo to help ONGC lead throughout the game. A brisk start by ONGC saw them open a 27-7 lead in the first quarter, which they stretched to 42-18 at half time. The third quarter saw IOB make a fightback, scoring 22 points to ONGC`s 10, and shortening the lead to 40-52, but they could not maintain the momentum and some fast breaks by Braghuwanshi and Rai saw ONGC consolidate their position and emerge comfortable winners. For IOB, while Vineet R and Shivabalan kept the fight going, Abhilekh Paul and Mihir Pandey were woefully out of form. Results: Men`s semi-final league: ONGC 70 (Yadwinder Singh 23, Vishesh Braghuwanshi 22, Trideep Rai 11) bt IOB 51 (Sivabalan K 14, Vineet R 13, Praveen K 8) quarter-wise scores: 27-7, 42-18, 52-40, 70-51. Women`s league: South East Central Railway 89 (Pushpa M 24, Aakanksha Singh 19, Deepa L 13) bt Mah 48 (Renu Mourya 9, Kasturi More 9, Manisha Dange 9). PTI