Kathmandu, March 30

Tribhuvan Army Club and Golden Gate International College were ready for the final match of the Kwik’s Basketball League at the NSC covered hall on Saturday with captains calling it a 50-50 encounter.

Golden Gate skipper Bipendra Maharjan hoped for a highly competitive final, while his TAC counterpart Rabin Khatri said it was anyone’s game.

“Reaching the final is a big achievement for us and we will put up a tough fight against TAC,” said Maharjan, who added that the departmental side was one of the strongest contenders. “Both the teams have 50-50 chances of winning the match but we have an advantage as we have been playing together for around 10 years and all the players know each other inside out which will be helpful for us in the final,” said Maharjan.

Golden Gate coach Bipin Kapali accepted his side made a shaky start before taking the momentum. “We made a good comeback in the latter stage of the tournament and we hope to do the same one more time on Saturday,” he said.

Golden Gate made it to the final beating Bishal Milan Kendra, while TAC saw off Himalayan Hounds in the playoff matches. Golden Gate, who lost four matches in the league, were the only team to beat TAC in the league round.

TAC skipper Khatri was confident of winning the title. “We have majority of national players in our squad and I believe we will be able to prevail over Golden Gate in the final,” said Khatri, who is also the national team member. “However, we will miss the services of guard Bikram Joshi, who has left for the United States for his personal reasons,” said Khatri. “It would have been a 60-40 contest if we had Joshi in the team. But in his absence, it is now a 50-50 game.”

TAC coach Yaman Gurung was also confident of his side’s victory in the final. “Our last match against Golden Gate was a competitive one despite having a couple of disadvantages, including the venue. But we are playing the final at the NSC covered hall and it is a comfortable venue for my boys to outshine the opponents,” he said. “I am pinning hopes on senior players and their experience, while the young guns will give them adequate support,” said Gurung.

Meanwhile, national team skipper Sadish Pradhan said tournament like Kwik’s Basketball League would help in the overall development of the sport and players. “If we can get to play at least two events like this in a year, we can make difference in international arena, especially in South Asia,” said the TAC player.

A total of eight teams — TAC, Golden Gate, Bishal Milan, Himalayan Hounds, Team Budhanilkantha Municipality, Xavier International College, South Siders and Kirtipur Basketball Team — took part in the event organised by Play for Deprived Children Nepal under the sponsorship of Chaudhary Group. Top three teams will take home Rs 200,000, Rs 100,000 and Rs 50,000 respectively.