Punjab beaten by US outfit in opener

Mumbai, Jan 25 (PTI) Fancied Punjab were beaten byoverseas outfit, United States Shooting for Success (SFS),80-57 in their opening league match of the UnitedPhosphorus-Savio Cup All India Basketball Tournament at theDon Bosco school court today.

Punjab trailed the American outfit right through thematch after trying their best. Only once did the northernIndian team look like clawing their way back when they weredown 13-7 and pulled a 6-0 run and levelled the second quarter13-13.

For SFS, sharp shooter Terry Fields top-scored with 21points, while J Earnest (15) and J David (13) complementedhim.

For Punjab, P Amrit led the scorers'' list with 14 points,while S Amjyot (12) and S Amritpal (10) chipped in nicely.

In another match, Indian Overseas Bank registered theirsecond win, defeating Services 72-50. K Hareesh was the topscore with 28 points and he got support from P Mihir and RVineet, who scored 24 and 6 points respectively.

In the women''s match, defending champions SouthernRailway started their campaign on a winning note, defeatingKarnataka 72-43. This was Karnataka''s second loss.