Junior NBA C'ship: Indian squads show fight but suffer consecutive defeats

In a disappointing outing, both the Indian boys and girls team suffered back-to-back defeats to end winless on the second day of the Junior NBA Global Championships here.

After a loss in the first game on the opening day, the Indian girls began on a dominant note against their Africa, leading 20-12 at halftime. However, they had no answer for Africa in the second half, as they were outscored 45-16.

For the second consecutive game, Muskan Singh was the team's top-scorer with 11 points. Her teammate in the backcourt, Osheen Singh contributed across the board with five points, eight rebounds, and four steals.

 

After a few hours, the girls were back on the court for their third and final pool game. This time, it was against the team from Europe & Middle East.

After a close first quarter (7-15), the game ran away from the Indian girls. They were outscored 23-5 in the second quarter and failed to make up that deficit in the second half as they succumbed to a 23-62 loss.

On the other hand, the Indian boys, after a win on the opening day, couldn't do a lot in their first game on day two.

They were outscored 43-14 in the first half against Africa, eventually losing 21-63.

In their third and final pool play, the Indian boys were headed towards a win after leading 30-15 at halftime against Europe & Middle East. However, they managed to score only 11 points in the second half while allowing 37, leading them to suffer their second consecutive defeat (41-52).

Kushal Singh's double-double of 15 points and 14 rebounds along with five blocks went in vain. Harsh Dagar also registered a near double-double of seven points, nine rebounds to go along with three assists, and three steals.