LAHORE, March 23 Pakistan Air Force (PAF) emerged as the first-time champions after defeating a strong Army side in the final of the National Men`s Volleyball Championship at the Wapda Sports Complex here on Monday.

PAF`s win came after an 80-minute fight. They wrapped up the final with the score of 25-18, 39-37 and 25-19.

Army, after having lost the first set, tried hard to come back into the game but it was no cakewalk for them as PAF remained united in their high spirits to beat a strong rival.

The nail-biting clash in the second set saw Army catch up with PAF first at 25-all after being down 18-14 at one stage. Both teams equalled again at 29-29, 33-33, 36-36 and at 37-37, before PAF earned two valuable points to win the set for a 2-0 lead.

The way PAF fought for victory in the second set raised their morale as Army failed in stopping them from notching up a victory in the crucial third set and the final, too.

The classification match saw Police seizing the third place after defeating Pakistan Ordnance Factories (POF) in straight sets 25-18, 25-21 and 25-18 in 57 minutes in the last match.

President Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) Lt. Gen. (R) Syed Arif Hasan was the chief guest on the occasion.