KARACHI: Fatima Jinnah XI won the girls basketball title while Chaudhry Rehmat Ali XI won the youth title and Quaid-i-Azam XI won the Veterans title in the Independence Day basketball festival matches staged here at the Arambagh courts on Tuesday.

Fatima Jinnah XI beat Mohtarma Benazir Shaheed XI by 24-20 in a thrilling contest. Roesta Turner with 10 points, Laiba Hasan(8 points) and Ume Taqadus (4 points) displayed superb game for the winning team.

For Benazir Shaheed XI, Cameron Turner (8 points), Sana Ahmed (8 points) and Ayesha Khatoon (4 points) played well.

In youth festival match, Chaudhry Rehmat Ali XI beat Hafeez Jalandhari XI 35-28. Obaid Khan (8 points), Saad Ali (8 points) and Hasan Ali (8 points) were the main contributors for the winners.

For the losing side, Ash Kumar (10 points), Mohammad Rafay (8 points) and Mohammad Danial (6 points) played well.

The most exciting match of the evening was seen between the Veterans sides where Quaid-i-Azam XI edged past Allam Iqbal XI 40-38 in a nerve-fraying contest. For the winners, international basketball player Tanveer Ahmed (10 points), Abdul Nasir (9 points), Ashraf Yahya (8 points) and Zahid Malik (7 points) were the main scorers.

For the runner-up team, Fazal Ahmed and Abdullah Imam scored eight points each while Akmal Khan and Asad Imam managed to score seven points each.

The festival matches were organized jointly by Karachi Basketball Association (KBBA) and PSWA.

Later, chief guests Deputy Commissioner South Syed Salahuddin and Deputy Commissioner Korangi Quratul Ain distributed the prizes and trophies among the teams and players. Special awards were also given to Hindu and Christian players.

They praised the organizers for holding the festival matches and asked the participants and fans to be patriotic at all times. KBBA president Ghulam Mohammad and Sindh Volleyball Association president Shahida Parveen were also present on the occasion.

Published in Dawn, August 16th, 2018