January 03, 2008	Thursday	Zilhaj 23, 1428

LAHORE, Jan 2: Army and Wapda continued their unbeaten run on the fourth day of the 47th national men’s basketball championship at the Railways Stadium here on Wednesday.

Defending champions Army breezed past lowly-rated NWFP 94-42, while Wapda fought hard to edge out the spirited Navy team 74-72.

Army led the first half with an impressive margin (63-20) and maintaining their attacking game, finished with a creditable win. Alam (20) and Khalid (18) were the major contributors for Army while Rafique (16) and Shoaib (12) were the key scorers for NWFP.

After losing 54-49 in the first half, Wapda made a grand comeback in the second session to turn the tables over their rivals. Having to fight for every point in the match, both Wapda and Navy found themselves tied on various occasions but in the end it was Wapda who won even though with a close difference of two points.

Ahmed Jan (23) and Shahzad (18) were the main point sco-

rers for Wapda. Mean while Mustafa (24) and Mohsin (20) remained prominent in the Navy side.

In the remaining matches of the day, Habib Bank Limited (HBL) beat Police 70-58, POF Wah made short work of Punjab Blues 50-29, PAF overpowered KESC 67-41, Higher Education Commission (HEC) outplayed Fata 59-25 and NWFP prevailed over AJK 72-35.

HBL were 60-48 at interval in their match against Police. Falak Fareed (22), Adnan Khan (15) and Omer Khalid (8) were their chief scorers. Azmat Baig (15), Zaheer Gill (12) and Zahid (10) reduced the margin for the losing side.

In their match, POF Wah led the first half 39-25 against Punjab Blues. Ishrat Shah (22) and Abid Hussain (19) made a useful contribution for the winners while Raja Hassan (12) and Hussain Nazir (10) were the main scorers for the losing side.

PAF faced no difficulty in beating KESC after taking a 49-35 lead at half time. Asfandar (10), Gul Hassan (8) and Nadeem (10) were their key scorers. Fawad Ahmed (12) and Muhammad Rizwan (8) excelled for the KESC.

HEC beat Fata after taking a 24-16 lead at half time. Haris (21) and Mohammad Naveed (13) were their most outstanding players. Meanwhile Mustafa (17) and Dilawar Khan (14) dominated the game from Fata’s side.

NWFP’s Umar Ali (26) and Rafique (17) played a key role in beating Azad Jammu and Kashmir after taking a 19-7 lead at half time. Shahbaz (13) and Saif-ur-Rehman (12) made a good contribution for AJK.