Kochi Tigers take INBL’s opening leg honours

Despite losing their last league match 72-88 against Bengaluru Kings, Kochi Tigers won the opening l

Despite losing their last league match 72-88 against Bengaluru Kings, Kochi Tigers won the opening leg honours in the first Indian National Basketball League (INBL) at the Rajiv Gandhi indoor stadium here on Thursday.

With Chennai Heat losing its last game against Chandigarh Warriors 69-83 earlier in the evening, the Tigers were assured of the title even before they took on Bengaluru Kings in the last league match on Thursday night. The Tigers finished the first leg on top of the six-team table with four wins and a loss for a total of nine points. Chandigarh Warriors (three wins, two losses, eight points) finished in a three-way tie for second place.

The Tigers were a weary bunch. In fact, a few of their stars had played for their employer KSEB in an all-Kerala tournament nearby earlier in the evening and that showed in their game.

With that being the situation, the Tigers brought out many from from the bench frequently. The team led 26-17 in the first quarter but it was mostly downhill from there.

That made the Kings’ job easier in the end. The second leg will be held in Jaipur from October 26.

The results:

Bengaluru Kings 88 (Abhishek Gowda 18, Arvind Arumugam 15, M. Harish 14, BK. Anil Kumar 13, Pratyanshu Tomar 12) bt Kochi Tigers 72 (Jishnu G. Nair 24, Lalrina Renthlei 13).