Varun, Markesh steal the game from MSRIT; Yashas scores for SBMJC
DNA Correspondent. Bangalore

College rivalry witnessed a new high at the 5th Rahul Sebastian Memorial Basketball Tournament where MS Ramaiah Institute of Technology (MSRIT) and St Joseph's Commerce College (SJCC) were involved in a slugfest to clinch the final berth on Friday. However it was the three-time finalists SJCC boys who managed to overcome their rivals by 10 points.

Composed of players from HAL, Sports Hostel and a foreign player from Ivory Coast, Joseph's fought past the stiff challenge posed by MSRIT. "We have beaten MSRIT on three occasions in this tournament. We were quite confident of pulling off a win in the semis," said Markesh, who scored nine points in the match.
Though MSRIT started on a positive note with a four-point lead in the initial stages of the match, Varun's accurate shooting favoured SJCC as they led 28-25 by half time.

The evening crowds at the flood-lit Bharath Union courts were enthralled by the point-to-point thrills of the game. The team managers of both the teams, Girish Raju (SJCC) and Sachin Belawadi (MSRIT) went through some tense moments in the third quarter of the match where the scoreboard read 35-35. But SJCC captain Ananda's three pointers turned the match for his team. They ended the third quarter with a lead of seven points.

The SJCC team is now looking forward to a high-intensity final on Saturday. "We were expecting Christ to enter the final but the way SBMJC boys defeated them in the quarterfinals, we are going to have a tough battle. We have lost to them in the finals on three occasions and this time we are eyeing revenge," said Ananda.

In the second semifinal, SBMJC PU beat RNSIT 55-46; Yashas topscored for the winners with 20 points and was supported by Shahrukh with 12. Karan got 24 points for RNSIT. The final will be played today at 6pm.



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