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Dimapur, Sep. 13 (EMN): Nagaland defeated Arunachal Pradesh 41-31 in the first match of the 72nd Senior National Basketball Championship (NE-Zonal), at Aizawl, Mizoram.
The Naga women cagers had the upper edge right from the start and held their own until the closure of the match. They upped their game in the second quarter scoring 16 points and giving very few opportunities for their opponents. Pele turned out to be Nagaland's top performer in the match. She accumulated eight points in the game and was supported by Kenyuni and Achetla who scored seven points each. Reena chipped in with six points.
In tomorrow's matches, Nagaland will play Tripura at 8 am.
A total of 24 matches (12 men and 12 women) will be played. The championship is being conducted on a single leg round robin league system. For both categories, the top three teams from the 71st Senior Nationals Basketball Championship 2021 (NE zonal qualifiers) held at Shillong from December 16 to the 19, 2021 were placed in the upper pool (Pool A). The other four participating teams are placed in the lower pool (Pool B).
Teams who are placed in lower pool (Pool B) will have to play in the first round played on a round robin single-leg league format, and only the top teams from each category will qualify to play in the final round along with the top three teams. In the second round, matches will be played on a single-leg round robin league system. The team with the highest number of points at the end of the second round will be the champion. They will go on to represent the Northeast in the finals of the 72nd Senior Nationals Basketball Championship, 2022 to be held at Udaipur, Rajasthan.
An update stated that this is the first time Nagaland Basketball Association is sending both the men's and women's teams in a national basketball championship. The Nagaland men's team is featured in Pool A in this championship, as they were the third best team of the last zonal championship held in Shillong.
Mizoram Basketball Association is giving live broadcasts of all the matches on the Zonet Empai app, it added.