Kathmandu, September 18:

Prime Sports Club, Rato Bangala, RIBS and Shooters won the girls’ section matches on the inaugural day of Seventh Men’s and Sixth Women’s Samsung National Open Basketball Tournament here today.

Prime led 15-7 in the first quarter and never looked back as they defeated Oasis 47-25. Gyani top-scored in the match with 23 points. The other match saw defending champions Rato Bangala beat Mahendra Bhawan 49-26 in which Kriti Rajbhandari netted 25 points for the winners. Likewise, RIBS outplayed Shrine 51-41 riding on Anisha Tulachan’s 27, while Shooters earned a walkover from Little Angels’ School.

In the men’s section, K&K, Public Youth Campus and Golden Gate won their matches. Binod Maharjan top-scored with 21 points but failed to save Gyanodaya from a 52-66 loss to K&K. Rajeev Shakya netted 14 for K&K. Rajeev Joshi scored 17 points as Public Youth thrashed Sambotta Alumni Association 71-35. Golden Gate defeated RIBS 56-47 in which Rabindra Maharjan netted 14 for the winners and Rabin Khatri scored 21 for RIBS.

Shekhar Golchha, Managing Director of Him Electronics, inaugurated the tournament that runs through September 28.