PANJIM: Sonics and YMCA Knights crashed out in the semi -finals of the Summer Slam basketball tournament organised by YMCA Titans under the aegis of Goa Basketball Association, at Don Bosco Oratory, Panjim.
In the men’s category, Panjim Basketeers looked like a cohesive unit in their semi-finals win against YMCA Knights. The winning team had their noses ahead in each of the four quarters to close out on an exciting 45 -35 win. For the winners, the tall and lanky Sahil Karale, the top scorer in the previous two matches, starred in this crunch game as well, scoring 14 points. Bharat Patil (12 points) had an equally good outing providing a number of assists for his other team mates. YMCA Knights efforts were led by their two big stars, the in-form Daniel Vaz who scored 17 points and Abraham Menezes, another top Goa player, who registered 12 points for his team.
In the other semi-final, the star-studded Sonics team took on hosts YMCA Titans in the game of the tournament thus far. Both the teams went neck and neck throughout and only a slender margin separated them.
In the end, it was the Titans team which held their nerves, edging out Sonics in a thrilling 45 -41 win. Stefan De Souza (21 points) and Abelio De Souza (11 points) did the bulk of the scoring to tip the scales in favour of their team. Gabriel brothers, Brandon Gabriel (14 points) and Aaron Gabriel (11 points) combined well to lead the scoring charts for the Sonics team.
Hosts YMCA Titans will take on Panjim Basketeers in the men’s final while the women’s final will be contested between YMCA Infiknights and Don Bosco Oratory, Panjim.
