While the Mumbai Challengers had drawn first blood in their best-of-three semifinal series against the Delhi Capitals, the latter stormed back into contention for the final with a 72-61 victory in the second game.
With this, the semifinals are poised 1-1 in the second season of the UBA Pro League, being played at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium in Hyderabad.
Mumbai were understandably eager to close out the series in the second game, which would have given them two days’ rest ahead of the final. Ranbir Singh picked up from where he left off in Game 1, opening his team’s scoring with a strong drive. But his three-point shooting was below par, which hurt Mumbai’s offence.
Mumbai centre Gagandeep Singh kept the numbers up with early points in the paint and from the freethrow line. For Delhi, forward Smithin Setu put up the initial points, cleaning up after his teammates in the paint. Delhi point guard Sachin Sharma nailed a couple of transition buckets. Gritty defence from both teams resulted in a low-scoring first quarter with Mumbai up 12-11.
In the second quarter, Mumbai’s super-sub Brar Dildar came off the bench and hit all three of his three-point attempts as they kept their noses ahead of Delhi 28-26.
Jagdeep Bains joined Mumbai’s party early in the third quarter, operating off the low post. His frontcourt mate Nikhil Dahiya used his athleticism to hit some tough mid-range buckets as Mumbai ended the third quarter 48-42.
Vinay Kaushik stepped for Delhi in the fourth quarter, ferociously driving to the basket and finishing in the paint or earning his points at the freethrow line as Mumbai were stunned into submission, conceding 30 points and scoring only 13. Delhi won 72-61 to stay alive in the series.
