Tribhuvan Army Club (TAC) successfully defended the men’s title, while Wheelchair Sports Association (WSA) claimed the women’s trophy of the Turkish Airlines Engage Empowering League (EEL) Wheelchair Basketball Championships at the Dasharath Stadium covered hall on Saturday.

TAC, the only undefeated team in the league stage, edged Jawalakhel Wheelchair Sports Club (JWSC) 37-27 in the men’s final to lift the trophy. Raju Katuwal became instrumental in the departmental team’s victory scoring 23 points alone. Bodhisatwas In Action (BIA) won the third place honors in men’s event defeating Pokhara 16-9. Ramesh Khatri contributed 10 points for winners.

Raju of TAC won the highest scorer award for scoring a total of 172 points in the tournament while Prem BK of JWSC was declared the most valuable player. Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation Centre (SCIRC) was named the fair play team.

In the women’s event WSA, the only team to maintain 100 percent winning record in the league round, got the better of Women Wheelchair Basketball Association (WWBA) 18-11. Jyoti Aryal and Gita Dulal contributed equal five points for WSA in the summit clash. BIA also secured third position in women’s category after a hard fought 11-10 win over Nepal Spinal Cord Injury Sports Association (NSCISA). Laxmi Kunwar scored all the points for NSCISA as her effort was not yet enough.

Rajani Rai contributed five points for BIA. Jyoti Aryal of the winners WSA who scored 31 point in the tournament, was named the highest scorer and her teammate Hemkala Sunwar was declared the most-valuable-player. NSCISA took home the fair play award.

The top three finishers in both men’s and women’s event were rewarded with purse of Rs 30,000, Rs 25,000 and Rs 20,000 respectively along with trophies and medals. The fair play teams will be given Chandragiri Hills Tour package along with Rs 10,000. The tournament MVPs got Rs 6,000 and highest scorer’s took home Rs 5,000.

The event organised by Engage, a non-profit organisation promoting social inclusion in Nepal, featured nine teams in men’s and five in women’s categories. The top four teams after the round robin league had made it to the playoffs. The matches were played at The British School, Chhauni, St Xavier’s College and covered hall.