In a must-win game for IOB, the Chennai side rose to the occasion, routing fancied opponents Punjab 95-64 and going on top of Pool B in the UPL 26th Ramu Memorial Basketball Tournament at the Indian Gymkhana, Matunga, on Thursday.
Punjab got a head start in the first quarter racing away to a 16-6 lead but IOB rallied around and got their nose ahead 25-22. The Chennai team seemed to have gotten their act together with better passing and a mix of good defence and offence.
Robinson, who was fouled out in his last game, played with a vengeance scoring 31 points while converting 15 of his 24 shots. Pratam Singh chipped in with 23 points.
While Punjab seemed to be out of sync throughout the game and never really found their rhythm.
In the Pool A match, ONGC brushed aside the challenge from Chennai Customs 84-62 to qualify second from the group. In a tight match, home side Amchi Mumbai were knocked out in the women’s draw losing to favourites Southern Railways 61-58.
Results: IOB 95 (S Robinson 31) bt Punjab 64 (S Talwinder 20); ONGC 84 (Trideep Rai 22) bt Chennai Customs 62 (Sarvana B 13); Women’s: Southern Railway 61 (Anitha P 17) bt Amchi Mumbai 58 (Ivy Jackson 16).
