Ruby Trichy Warriors moved further clear at the top of the Tamil Nadu Premier League table with a 196-179 win over Aidream Tiruppur Tamizhans on Wednesday. The result keeps the visitors in second place with ten points from seven games, while the hosts remain fourth on eight points. And here's the thing about this league — you don't need to dominate possession to win when the scoring runs this high.
By then the gap between the two sides had grown to two points, which matters when you're looking at what's still to play. The Warriors have five wins from seven matches, three defeats to show for it, while the Tamizhans have four victories and three losses. To be fair, neither side has found a way to hold a draw in this tournament.
The visitors arrived with momentum, having beaten Nelia Royal Kings 182-137 on Monday. The hosts had come off a 167-166 win over Kovai Kings the previous day, a one-point margin that tells you something about the tight nature of this competition. Both teams have been involved in close finishes recently — the Tamizhans won 207-206 and 206-205 in their last two games before this one.
Four hundred and seventy-five points between them is the kind of number that makes you sit up. The Tamizhans have been involved in several high-scoring affairs of late, including a 220-102 demolition of Dindigul Dragons back in July. This match, though, was decided by a margin of seventeen points — not a blowout, but enough to separate the two sides cleanly.
The table now shows the Warriors two points clear at second, with three games remaining. The Tamizhans have work to do if they want to close that gap, though they've shown they can compete in these tight contests. Eight points from seven games puts them in the mix, but they'll need to find consistency in the closing stages of the season.