India @ New Zealand: The 2nd quarterI think we put all our efforts on this one as it is the quarter where we made the biggest difference. We caught up with New Zealand and took the control of the box score: +2 for India. I don’t know if the Kiwis thought they were going to crush our little team, but I think this quarter had a big impact on their moral. And that’s when champions point out their noses. Indeed, it’s not when everything is under control that we can see a champion emerge. But it is when things are getting difficult that we see what a champion looks like. It’s like yesterday. Lionel Messi took on his responsibility at the end of the match that saw FC Barcelona win against Athletico Bilbao. The guy assumed his status, created space, pierce Bilbao defense, and scored a decisive goal when his team was under pressure.
In this quarter, I think Vachan (V. Kumar)
(8195295) played a major role. Dinakara was not looking good back then. So the coach decide to rest Dinakara and put Vachan on the court. Regarding my performance, I was satisfied. I delivered 6 assists and made my partners play well. The only negative point was that S. Searles made me dance. I couldn’t handle him correctly.
India @ New Zealand: The 3rd quarterThe 3rd quarter was exciting. Both teams were playing at their full level. It was great. We even leader by 5 points. The back-ups were doing their jobs. For example, Syon (S. Nagendra Gandhi)
(8195605) scored 10 points with a 5-6 FG attempt. If my memory doesn’t trick me, I think the 3rd half finished with 28 – 25 for India.
I can’t find my words to explain what we felt at that moment. We believed that we could make it. Even though people didn’t believe in our chances, we thought that we could do it!
India @ New Zealand: The 4th quarterAnd then, the disaster started. We took control on the beginning of this last and decisive quarter. We didn’t only defend, we attacked, and made the show even more entertaining. But when entering the last 9 minutes, the nightmare begun. The Kiwis were on fire. S. Searles scored a five in a row. I could have done everything, he was unstoppable. They were doing some weird combination: Pajaitan alley hoop to Hales for a dunk out of no where. Every time we scored, they replied. And it seemed to be so easy for them. They were so confident. We thought that the first team that will miss its attempt would loose the match. But it was nothing of the sort. Even when they missed an attempt the were in rage and grabbed the offensive rebound. We were drub by the stake of this game. In a moment, I think we forgot that it was just a basketball game and were thinking too much of politics. In fact, after the game against Pakistan, some general managers were so upset - because India have lost against a ‘rival’ - that they started to manifest negatively their discontentment. As players we were amazed that even in our beautiful sport, nationality, origins, skin colors can have a negative impact. After all, on 16 players, 11 of us plays abroad. A majority in Europe. Some of us in America. And even in the Middle East. Of course, the only responsible of those bad results is N#23 and not anyone else, right boss? But I wish that people can put aside those aspects in the future, and only talk about the ball and nothing more.
To get back on track, this 4th quarter was a pain for me. S. Searles showed me every color that composed a rainbow. My eyes were turning yellow. I think. And the buzzer beat, I felt on the floor and couldn’t get my head up.