Kathmandu, February 20

White House International College won the title of the IIMS fifth Under-18 National Basketball Tournament here at the National Sports Council covered hall today.

White House defeated Xavier International College 56-45 in the final match. Suraj Khatri top scored for White House with 15 points that included two three-pointers, while Sagar Tamang of Xavier netted 26 points but he failed to avert the defeat. White House opened with 10-8 lead and extended the advantage to four points after they took the second quarter 14-12.

White House took the match away from Xavier in third quarter when they won it 20-7. Xavier bounced back in the final period with a 18-12 win but it was too later for them to react.

Earlier, Samriddhi beat New Zenith 78-69 riding on 20 points from Somit Gurung in the third-place playoff match.

Bishal Moktan of White House was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament.

A total of 12 teams took part in the event that also served as the selection tournament for the SABA U-18 Basketball Tournament to be held in June-July in Bangladesh.

President of Nepal Olympic Committee Jeevan Ram Shrestha handed over the prizes to the winners.