InBL Pro U25: Chennai Heat shrug off Punjab Warriors in thrilling encounter

The inaugural edition of the InBL Pro U25 will be played from February 2 to March 1.

Chennai Heat secured a hard-fought 77-65 victory over the Punjab Warriors InBl Pro U25 at the Thyagaraj Indoor Stadium on Tuesday. Keith Kiner posted 19 points in the game and came up clutch in the last quarter to help the Chennai Heat secure the win in the last quarter. Meanwhile, Indian national basketball players Arvinder Singh and Shakem Johnson contributed to the victory with 14 points each.

Chennai Heat began the game with a solid defensive display as Deepak Choudhary and Shakem Johnson protected their basket from the Warriors’ attempts in the paint. After over two minutes of play, Arvinder Singh broke the deadlock in Heat’s favour with a three-pointer.

Shakem Johnson converted two free throws in the next play to further solidify the Heat’s lead. However, Punjab Warriors’ Lucas Barker hit a wide-open three in transition to get his team off the mark and start an intense back-and-forth battle. In the last minute of the quarter, Arvinder Singh scored a long two from the corner to end the first quarter 18-16 in the Heat’s favour.

However, Gurbaz Singh and Samuel Taane combined to give the Warriors the lead with two minutes left in the half. However, Tad Dufelmeier and Keith Kiner stepped up for the Heat, scoring two consecutive three-pointers and snatching the lead to end the first half with a 39-37 scoreline.

It stayed end to end after the break with the Heat holding onto their two-point lead. However, the Warriors’ Stokley Chaffee pulled out a slick turn table and layup to equalise and Lucas Barker scored from the line to snatch the lead again halfway through the quarter.

The Heat went on to battle on the defensive end while Arvinder Singh scored a triple and followed it up with a free throw conversion to regain the lead. While Shakem Johnson converted two free throws to consolidate the Heat’s lead while they continued to be solid in defence. Keith Kiner stepped up with a three-pointer to give the Bears their first double-digit lead of the game in the final quarter.

The Punjab Warriors were fierce at the beginning of the final quarter to cut the lead by four points, however, the Heat regained their footing through Arvinder Singh’s long two-pointer. The Warriors’ Taane Samuel started making his mark below the ring to try and reduce the deficit but they were unable to stop the Heat from scoring on the other end.

Stokley Chafee featured with a couple of dunks in transition to reduce the Heat’s lead to four points with three minutes left and give the Warriors a ray of hope. However, Keith Kiner seized the game scoring a crucial contested three-pointer and coming up with a steal as the game headed to a close, helping the Heat cruise to a 77-65 victory.

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