KARACHI: Fancied Nishtar Club fought back in the last two quarters to whip fighting Askari Club 45-37 and become the first outfit to cruise into the final of the Kashmir Day basketball tournament at the refurbished Arambagh floodlit court on Friday.

The winners trailed 21-24 at half time.

Like the league, prolific scorers Talha Amjad and Shabbar turned out to be the pick of the first semi-final and made the difference. The former top scored with 18 while the latter finished with 14. Omer had a score of seven points to his credit.

Syed Bakhtiar shone for the losers and contributed 14 points. Shahmeer and Moha­m­mad Raza scored seven and five points respectively.

Nishtar Club faces the winner of second semi-final (Bahadur Club and Arambagh Club) in the final on Monday.

Published in Dawn February 19th, 2017