SahaijSekhon, Amritpal Singh, and Amjyot Singh Gill led the Young Cagers to a 79-77 victory over Palestine on Saturday night in what could be termed as a clutch effort.
The opening quarter was both similar and dissimilar to Friday’s game versus Saudi Arabia. Palestine led by a comfortable 12-point margin after the first quarter, 25-13. With the Indians unable to muster anything from beyond the arc, Palestine rode on their better 3-point shooting.
Kyndal Dykes was a man on a mission, and he ripped through the Indian perimeter defenses with ease. In the match against Saudi Arabia, India, on the other hand, improved their 2-point shooting and rebounding. Meanwhile, the Young Cagers struggled with ball-handling and found it difficult to score beyond the arc on both offense and defense.
During these trying moments for India versus Palestine, Amritpal Singh was their lone combatant, exploiting his size to great use and scoring whenever India needed it. His consistency opened the path for India’s fourth-quarter comeback, and after a lacklustre performance against Saudi Arabia, Amritpal Singh redeemed himself with a double-double. The Indian no.10 scored 30 points and grabbed 12 dazzling rebounds to put up a strong showing on the glass.
When India eventually made a shot from beyond the arc, it was near the conclusion of the second quarter. Slowly, Amjyot Singh Gill joined in the fun as they began to chip away at the West Asian side’s early advantage. Kyndal Dykes, the focal point for Palestine, had a near triple-double with 32 points, 10 assists, and seven rebounds.
With a 10-point deficit in the second half, India stepped up its perimeter defense while consistently scoring inside the paint. Amjyot scored 23 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in the contest. Joginder Singh provided support from the perimeter, recovering from an early 3-point slump to make four shots from beyond the arc and end with a 40 percent 3-point percentage for the night.
In the third quarter, the Palestinians allowed just one point to slip away from their lead, but India exploded in the fourth.
They started hunting down rebounds with a zeal they hadn’t shown against Saudi Arabia, and they tightened their rotations, especially when Dykes got involved. After going scoreless from beyond the arc in the previous three periods, Amjyot came up huge during this stretch, draining two important three-pointers.
The battle appeared to be all but over once India recovered the lead. The scoreline was highlighted by Sekhon’s last-minute breakaway push, but Palestine was not about to give up.
Dykes persisted, and his team closed the gap to two points. Amjyot’s two free throws were missed, setting up a suspenseful finish, but the opponent couldn’t score a driving layup in the last seconds. India returned with a stronger effort in the competition, putting up a better performance. They also improved their performance within the arc, allowing the free-flowing style to flourish.
