Defending champions Punjab retained their title by thrashing FATA 76-61 in the final of the Men’s National Junior Basketball Championship here at Hamidi Hall, Pakistan Sports Complex on Monday.
Trailing by four points at the end of the first quarter, Punjab got their act together in the second 10-minute period and then got control of the match from that point onwards. The players from FATA were better in the early exchanges as they availed most of their scoring chances and also defended well. Punjab, on the other hand, took a little time to settle.
The defending champions were particularly good in the second quarter. They entered the court with an aggressive intent and took full control of the proceedings. Put under pressure by the nimble-footed Punjab youngsters, FATA began to make mistakes and were unable to play their natural game.
Punjab scored as many as 30 points in the second quarter and restricted FATA to just 16 — that meant that Punjab led 46-36 at the halfway stage. They continued to play steadily while FATA tried their best to overcome the deficit and bounce back in the match. However, it was not to be as Punjab stayed the junior champions for another year.