In a see-saw battle between Titans and VPG, the lead changed hands on many occasions, and it was the resilience of the winners which stood out
Published Date – 18 February 2026, 01:03 AM
Hyderabad: Titans scored their second successive win in the semi-final round-robin of the sixth, defeating Victory Playground 69-68 after trailing 34 -35 in the Samuel Vasanth Kumar memorial basketball tournament organised by Sports Writers Association of Telangana at Secunderabad YMCA.
For the second successive day, Titans had to dig deep into their reserves and with 2 seconds for regulation time, they trailed 66-68. Titans called for a time-out and from an alley, pop out of bounds pass Nandit not only scored a basket but also converted the resultant free throw being fouled in the act of shooting to send VPG for their second defeat in as many matches.
In a see-saw battle between Titans and VPG, the lead changed hands on many occasions, and it was the resilience of the winners which stood out, especially with Surya, Salman and Vignesh scoring from any opportunity that came by
After a change of ends, VPG stepped up the scoring and led by 10 points before a resurgent Titans team clawed back through Nandit and Surya. Bilal and Sriniketh, not to be undone, were scoring with aplomb and with lanky Shloke controlling the boards, VPG were impressive but were unlucky to end up on the losing side.
Earlier, on Monday, in a late-night match, Titans, in probably the best match of the tournament so far, won a thrilling 88 – 82 overtime win over YMCA Secunderabad after scores were locked 75 – 75 each at regulation time.
The scores: Titans 69 (Nandit 16, Surya 21, Kunal 10) bt VPG 68 (Bilal 20, Sriniketh 22, Shloke 11)
Titans 88 (Surya 23, Nandit 22, Vignesh 21, Salman 13) bt YMCA Sec’bad 82 (Rakesh 31, Sree Harsha 16, Allan 13, Samuel 13).
