KARACHI: Usman Club overcame Patrician Stars 48-46 in a closely-fought opening match of the third Commissioner Cup Basketball Cup Tournament being organised by KBBA in collaboration with the Pakistan Sports Welfare Association here at Arambagh basketball court on Friday night.

He also lauded the role of Commissioner Karachi Iftikhar Ali Shalwani in promoting basketball in the city.

Brilliant Hassan Iqbal (14 points) was on the forefront of the team’s success with valuable contribution from Hamza Parwani (12) and Hamza Khawaja (10).

For the losers, Elvis Fernandez scored 13 points followed by Stephen (12) and Jibran (11) but their efforts failed to save their team from defeat.

Earlier, Deputy Inspector General Police South Sharjeel Kareem Kharal, who was the chief guest on the occasion, declared open the event.

He announced that DIGP South Basketball Cup will be held at the said venue in the current year with a view to promoting the game at grass roots.

Commodore Saqib Jameel Khattak, SP Ali Raza, Shahida Parveen Kiyani, Engineer Mehfoozul Haq, Khalid Jameel Shamsi, KBBA president Ghulam Mohammad Khan and Abdul Nasir were also present on the occasion.

Published in Dawn, June 16th, 2019