TAXILA: Punjab strolled past Islamabad 51-36 as the 54th National Basketball Championship started here at the POF Sports Complex Wah Cantt on Wednesday with three other lopsided wins.

Fata had the biggest margin of victory as they thrashed Balochistan 63-19 while Pakistan Army eased to a 71-37 win over hosts Pakistan Ordinance Factories (POF) and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa cruised past Azad Jammu and Kahmir 53-24.

The event which is being organised by the Pakistan Basketball Federation (PBF) in collaboration with POF is being contested by 12 teams and concludes on March 30.

At the inauguration ceremony earlier, POF Sports Control Board vice-president Col Inamullah Khan said his body had organised several sporting competitions of national and international level during the last three years.

“These sports competitions have not only raised the soft image of Pakistan but also played an important role in persuading youngsters towards sports,” he said.

“The POF chairman has been striving to promote sports in the country and for this purpose, POF is offering international level sports facilities to various sports federations and Pakistan Sports Board (PSB).”

Published in Dawn, March 26th, 2015

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