Defending champions Chennai Slam moved one step closer to retaining their title when they beat Delhi Capitals 77-62 in the opening game of the three-game finals in the second season of the UBA Pro League being played at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium in Hyderabad.
The Slam mixed up their starting lineup with versatile forward Ramkumar coming in as the starting small forward for the team. Delhi stuck to the same lineup, which included MVP Vinay Kaushik, that had given them much success this season.
Both teams were tentative to begin with. In an even-scoring first quarter, Delhi started off on an 8-2 run. They were aggressive on the offensive glass, creating second-chance opportunities and putting the ball back in from the paint. Capitals centre Ramesh was especially effective in the first period, working the paint and getting into good positions to drain easy layups. On the defensive end, the Delhi backcourt was up in the grill of the Chennai guards Agu and Cammy Carmel. Kaushik even had a huge chase-down block on Chennai forward Ashutosh in transition. Delhi went slightly ahead at the end of the first quarter 16-15.
In the second quarter, the champs came alive with forward Ashutosh Rai finding his touch from mid-range. Chennai’s second quarter scoring with a triple each as they outscored Delhi 25-9 to lead 40-25. Chennai then went from strength to strength as they continued to build a lead and tenaciously hung on to it as the clock ran out on Game One.
