KARACHI: Defending champions Neighbourhood Club edged past competitive Usman Club outfit 48-46 while Nishter Club outplayed Arambagh Club 64-44 in the two matches played in the ongoing 4th Essa Lab Basketball Cup here at the Abdul Nasir courts on Thursday night.

In the first match, Usman Club gave a tough time to Neighbourhood Club in a nerve fraying contests that saw both teams going neck and neck till the end when a last minute header decided the match in the winner’s favour.

For the winning club, the main scorers were Sozere (16 points), Halaar Hussain (12 points) and Abdullah (12 points). For the losing side, Usman Khwaja and Hamza Khwaja scored 12 points each while Hasan Iqbal and Hamza Perwani scored ten points each.

In the second match, the leading scorers for Nishter Club were Mohammad Abbas (22 points) and Mohammad Furqan (20 points) who totally dominated the game with their fine moves and scores. Both were well assisted by Akbar Khan (10 points).

For the losing side, Hasan Iqbal Jr (14 points) and Saad Salahuddin (12 points) and Abdul Rahman (10 points) played well.

Renowned sports patron Ghulam Yaseen was the chief guest on the occasion and was introduced to all teams before the matches. He emphasized on the more basketball courts in the city for the promotion of the game.

Published in Dawn, December 14th, 2019