Maharashtra boys booted out

It was a bad day in office for the hosts Maharashtra as the boys team was knocked out of the 26th Youth National basketball tournament at Mastan YMCA in Mumbai on Tuesday.

 The local team was completely blanked by much taller Chhattisgarh boys 39-73. Maharashtra failed to dominate in any of the quarters in their must-win game.

On the last day of league stage, this was the most anticipated game. Court No. 1 where the game was to be held saw unprecedented rush in the stands. As the local boys, in their saffron outfits, entered the arena crowd was on its feet with huge applause and boisterous whistling. But that mellowed down gradually with hosts taking the back seat.

Barring the first quarter, the Maharashtra boys were never in lead. Not that the local boys didn’t have the skills, but they failed to match their counterparts in heights. Such was the irony that the tallest Maharashtra player’s height was almost the height of the shortest Chhattisgarh cager.

State girls, meanwhile, have already qualified for the next stage and have a game against West Bengal eves. Playing against Delhi late on Monday, the state eves led by a free scoring Shireen Limaye were outplayed 26-49.