KARACHI: Neighbourhood Club fought hard to overcome defending champions Karachi Basketball Club 76-72 in a sensational final to win the 3rd Essa Lab Basketball at Arambagh courts here on Monday.

Raja Jahanzeb, a PIA pilot by profession, led the winners with a grand tally of 23 points. He was well assisted by Abdullah (16 points) and Chinese player Chenway (14 points). For the runner-up, Jazib emerged as the main scorer with 27 points with good support from Asad Imam scoring 17 points and Moin Ahmed 15 points.

Commissioner Karachi Iftikhar Shilwani was the chief guest the concluding ceremony and distributed the trophies and cash awards worth rupees one lac among the winners, runners up and individual players on behalf of Essa Lab.

Speaking on the occasion, the commissioner announced that work on girls’ basketball and tennis courts in the city will commence this year. He also anno­unced that Karachi Gold Cup Inter District Basketball tournament will be held in December this year.

The commissioner also lauded the participation of Chinese player Chenway in the final and said that it is encouraging to see the Chinese national taking part in a leading local tournament.

KBBA President Ghulam Muhammad then spoke briefly about the problems confronting the sport of basketball and said that efforts will be made to solve the same with the help of government and other institutions. Khalid Jameel Shamsi, KBBA women wing patron Shahida Parveen, Mahwash Khan and Azmatullah were also present on the occasion.

Published in Dawn, November 28th, 2018