Kathmandu, February 19

Tribhuvan Army Club (TAC) and Team Budhanilkantha Municipality (TBM) register victories in the Kwik’s Basketball League here today.

TAC defeated Golden Gate International College (GGIC) 88-50 in their home match at the Army Headquarters court. Rabin Khatri top scored for the TAC with 17 points and six assists, while Sadish Pradhan netted 16 points and Bikram Joshi and Ayush Singh contributed 11 points each.

Singh also netted 10 points in rebounds, whereas Binod Maharjan had nine. TAC’s Bikram Joshi, who played a key role in stopping Golden Gate players from scoring freely, was named the man-of-the-match.

With their second straight victory, TAC are leading the standing with six points. TBM and Kirtipur Basketball Team are second with three points each.

TAC — who had a star-studded lineup including national team skipper Sadish Pradhan along with Binod Maharjan, Rabin Khatri and Bikram Joshi — fell 19-22 behind in the first quarter before bouncing back strongly to take the remaining three periods. TAC netted 13 in the second quarter and restricted Golden Gate to just six, while they win 27-12 in the third period. TAC also dominated the final quarter 19-10.

Binod Shrestha and Rajiv Joshi scored 14 points each for Golden Gate, while Bikram Dangol contributed nine. Ayush Shahi Thakuri collected 14 points in rebounds.

In another match, Budhanilkantha registered a 59-56 victory over South Siders Basketball Club at the Golfutar Basketball Court. BMK fell 6-22 behind in the first quarter and won the second 16-14. They bounced back strongly in the third period and won it 17-2 which made all the difference in the result as BMK won 20-18 in the final quarter.

Man-of-the-match Tejendra Gurung and Bijay Rana scored 16 points for Budhanilkantha, while Nirav Chand netted nine points with four blocks. Pushpa Raut netted two three-pointers for TBM. Likewise, Sanjay Byanjankar of South Siders top scored in the match with 17 points and three assists, while Rabin Gautam netted 15 points. Avi Rajkarnikar scored 12 points, collected four in rebounds and netted three three-pointers.

On Tuesday, Himalayan Hounds will take on TBM at Shanker Dev Campus courts. A total of eight teams are taking part in the first-ever league organised by Play for Deprived Children Nepal under the sponsorship of Chaudhary Group.