In Pic: Haryana Gold and Punjab Steelers players in action during the third match of the UBA Pro Basketball League Season 4 at the Satyabhama University today.
Punjab Steelers shoot lights out to down Haryana Gold behind Kumar Kaushal's 28 points
Chennai, 17th February, 2017: The second day of UBA Season 4 started off with a bang as Punjab and Haryana engaged in a back and forth affair.
Punjab Steelers were fielding newcomer Dermaine Crockrell from the USA, a versatile talent who had led Bemidji State University in scoring. They featured a starting lineup of Garry Gill, Akilan Pari, Rajveer Singh, Dermaine Crockrell and Kaushal Kumar.
Haryana Gold saw De'Sean Mattox make his UBA debut. Yadwinder Singh, a defensive dynamo and perennial Indian team star for over a decade finally made his much awaited UBA debut. They started off with a lineup of Prakash Mishra, Jaskaran, DeSean Mattox, Eban Hyams and Yadwinder Singh. Haryana brought in a lot of size as they had Akashdeep on the bench as well to hold down the fort.
The teams struggled to find the back of the net in the opening minutes until Mattox and Eban connected from downtown to open the scoring. Haryana were quick to respond as they ripped in 12 points in a hurry to tie the game at 12 halfway in the first quarter. The end of the first quarter saw the Punjab Steelers leading 21-20. Haryana capitalized from distance in the first, connecting on four of six threes.
The second quarter saw Gary Gill complete a soaring alley-oop off a pass from Rajveer Singh. Gill's vertical leap served him well in completing some more looks down low. Haryana were having a field day from downtown, connecting at a high percentage. Nevertheless, Punjab managed to keep it close by attacking the rim with a purpose.
At the half, Haryana found themselves down 55-47. Harayana had connected on almost half of their attempts and while Punjab shot 58% from the field, they were working harder for their points as they were scoreless from downtown. Kaushal Kumar's 16 points helped keep them in the game as they made 17 free throws as a team.
Eban quickly picked up his fourth foul in the opening minutes of the third, before he could sit down on the bench, Gary converted another alley-oop. Harayana continued their hot streak from downtown as Prakash Mishra and Mattox connected on consecutive attempts.
Punjab were up by 14, but Haryana were not ready to throw in the towel as they cut it down to 74-68. The end of the third saw them trail 79-73. The fourth quarter flipped the script as Punjab absolutely blitzed Haryana in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter as they pushed the lead to 90-76. Indian national team player Akilan Pari hit his first shot to make the score 104-90 for Punjab with a couple of minutes left and Haryana were unable to recover from the deficit. Punjab defeated Haryana in their first game 106-92.
Players of the game: Kumar Kaushal (Indian), Dermaine Crockrell (International)
Top scorers: Punjab Steelers (Kumar Kaushal 26, Garry Gill 24, Dermaine Crockrell 28) bt Haryana Gold (De'Sean Mattox 38, Himanshu Sharma 16, Prakash Mishra 14)
