ISLAMABAD: Karachi women basketball team made history by entering the first ever semifinal of the National Basketball Championship for Women here on Tuesday after defeating Rawalpindi by 46-23 points. Besides Karachi, defending champion Wapda, Army and Lahore made it into the last four of the championship which is being played here at the Pakistan Sports Complex.

The Karachi outfit displayed superb game against Pindi team and looked in great nick. This was mainly due to the untiring efforts of chief selector Mohammad Yaqoob who selected the best squad as well as of manager Zahid Malik and coach Zaeem Khatoon.

Earlier, a good fighting match was held between Army and Lahore teams. Army kept the upper hand by maintaining its lead but Lahore also played a string game to keep the margin minimal. In another clash, Wapda beat Karachi by a margin of 37 points. The reigning champion’s striker Sehrish remained top score with eight scores followed by Mehru and Hijab, who scored six points apiece. Wapda won the match with game score 49-12.

However, Army claimed the victory by scoring 58 against 34 by Lahore. Kashifa from Army scored 14 points and Sakha from Lahore scored 8 points. Hazara Division overpowered Hyderabad with game score 18-5. Upon completion of polol matches from group A, Wapda and Karachi and from group B, Army and Lahore, based on their better average and victories, moved into the semifinal stages. Army will face Karachi while Lahore will be in action against Wapda.

Published in Dawn, October 3rd, 2018