KARACHI, July 30: Arambagh Club were through to the final of the Commissioner Karachi Peace Cup basketball tournament by getting the better of Askari Club 38-33 in the low scoring first semi-final at the former’s floodlit court on Monday evening.

The winners, who led 21-9 at half time, came under constant pressure in the post interval period from their opponents but the lead secured by them proved vital. The eventual champions trailed 9-16 in the third quarter and were tied eight-all in the fourth.

Syed Adnan Ali (11), Hammad Hussain (10) and Agha M. Ibrahim (8) were the main scorers for winners while Mubashir and Taha scored 15 and 11 for losers.

Earlier, giving its true glimpse of the past, Arambagh Club toppled fancied Neighbourhood United 51-31 in the last fixture to top the five-team upper league on Sunday.

The triumph by a good margin helped Arambagh Club emerge league champions on better scoring ratio — for and against — after both the teams have won three and lost one game apiece.

Arambagh Club set the pace right from the word go and kept the scoreboard moving with their aggressive play and team work. They led the first quarter 9-6 and second 18-8 to finish with 27-14 at half time.

Continuing, they consolidated their position winning the third quarter 15-10 and the fourth 9-7 to round-of the match with authoritative win.

Hammad Hussain (14), Rehan Patel (12) and Syed Adnan Ali (8) played a vital role in their team’s success. Hammad N D Khan and Ali Jafri scored nine and seven respectively for losers. The losers paid the price for the absence of their key scorer Ahad Javeri.

In another match of academic interest, Gulshan Hawks managed to beat fighting Askari Club 55-53 thanks to two free shots scored by Mahad in the dying moments. Israr and Mahad were outstanding for winning outfit with 18 and 16 respectively. Mubashir and Taha scored 18 and 16 respectively for losers.