 "Photo: IANS")
The Patna Pirates registered an emphatic 49-38 victory over the Bengal Warriors to climb above them on the table and finish the season on a high at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium here on Saturday.
Ranjit Naik (11 points), Anand Tomar (8 points) and a brilliant Mohammadreza Chiyaneh (7 points) were the Patna Pirates' stars in their victory.
With the two teams separated by a single place and four points on the table, this clash carried with it a chance to salvage pride from the season and the Patna Pirates, last year's finalists were the ones who started the brighter.
Ranjit Naik's aggressive raiding gave them an early lead which they capitalised on to inflict the first All-Out within the first 10 minutes of the game.
The Bengal Warriors though always stayed in touch, their defence earning them points and keeping them in the game. It was the defence that helped them inflict an All-Out on the Patna Pirates to draw level at 16-16. The teams then went into the break with the Patna Pirates leading by a single point, 18-17.
Much like they had in the first half, the Patna Pirates stormed out of the blocks in the second half and were boosted by Mohammadreza Chiyaneh's brilliance.
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They inflicted a second All-Out on the Bengal Warriors to take a strong 27-20 lead. From then on in, they never let the momentum drop and inflicted a third All-Out with six minutes to go. Naik completed his 10-point game soon after as the Patna Pirates closed out a deserving win.
--IANS
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