January 05, 2008	Saturday	Zilhaj 25, 1428

LAHORE, Jan 4: Defending champions Army and Wapda cruised into the final of the 47th national men’s basketball championship at the Railways Stadium here on Friday.

The first semi-final proved easy sailing for Army who beat the hosts, Railways, 107-61 while Wapda eliminated Pakistan Air Force (PAF) 79-61.

Earlier, in the quarter-finals, which could not be completed on Thursday due to fading light, PAF created an upset by defeating Habib Bank Limited (HBL) 66-58.

With a number of international players in their side, the Army proved too good for the ever-struggling Railways, who throughout the match failed to even come anywhere near to them. The Army were leading by 75-41 when the teams changed ends. Leading the first quarter by 29-15, they increased it to 58-33 at the end of the second.

Mir Ali (22) and Khalid Hussain (16) proved to be outstanding players for Army. Allah Baksh created prominent resistance for the soldiers, contributing 26 points for the losing side while Liaquat Ali added another 12.

Failing to maintain their winning performance, PAF lost to Wapda, who gained a 62-44 lead at the end of the third quarter after being 22-17, 44-25 ahead in the first two. Mohammad Prem Shahzad (24) and Ahmad Jan (23) made good contributions to Wapda’s score while Asghar Yar (20) and Gill Hassan (18) fought well for PAF.