January 06, 2008	Sunday	Zilhaj 26, 1428

LAHORE, Jan 5: Pakistan Army re-established their reputation as the power house of national basketball, beating Wapda 64-35 in the 47th national men’s championship final to regain their 10th successive title at the Railways Stadium here on Saturday.

Pakistan Railways were third, defeating the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) 68-59.

The final fell short of people’s expectations as Wapda, contrary to their earlier claims, could not put on a decent show and bowed down under pressure to their opponents who remained on the offensive from the very start.

The first quarter ended 18-4 with the following ones putting the soldiers in the lead (32-18, 52-25).

Pervez (19) was the most valuable player in the Army side followed by Khalid Ahmad (17), Mudassar Khan (15), Mir Alah (12) and Ilyas (10).

Mohammad Akhtar (14), Ahmad Jan (9), Mohammad Shahzad (8) and Jahangir (7) brought some respite for the losing side.

In the fight for third place, Railways faced a determined PAF. The score was 21-18 at the end of the first half.

The airmen thrilled the crowd by finishing the second half 37-37, while giving Railways a tough time in the following session too.

But with a display of greater collective efforts and control of the ball, Railways took over the lead in the third quarter folding it at 58-39 and winning the match finally.

Allah Bukhsh (29), Arif Khan (22) and Azhar (9) were the scorers for Railways while Tanveer Ali (19), Gul Jamal (18) and Imran (16) scored for the losing side.

General Manager, Pakistan Railways, Farooq Aziz, chief guest on the occasion, later gave away the prizes. Also present were Secretary, Pakistan Amateur Basketball Federation, Lt Col retd Nasim Butt and Irfan Gohar, Vice President, Railways Sports Board.—APP