Golden Gate International College (GGIC) ran riot with all their experience in the final quarter to beat Xavier International College 71-56 for their first victory in the Kwiks Basketball League on Thursday.

Playing away to Xavier at their home court in Kalopul, GGIC trailed in the entire game barring the last and deciding quarter to seal an important away win having lost to Tribhuvan Army Club (TAC) in their first game at the Army Headquarters. Xavier, meanwhile, lost their first game of the tournament.

National team hoopster and Thursday’s best player Rajeev Joshi alone scored 33 points in GGIC victory, while former national team captain Bipendra Maharjan also played his part with 20 points, five assists and nine rebounds. Maharjan also rolled in three three-pointers.

The hosts went ahead in the first quarter by five points (17-12). In a closely-contest second quarter, GGIC scored 24 points but Xavier went neck-to-neck with 23 to make sure they head into the third quarter with a slim four-point lead. GGIC reduced the deficit to two points by the end of third quarter scoring 13 against the 11 from their opponents.

With an experienced squad, GGIC scored a whopping 22 and conceded Xavier only five in the final quarter. Nikesh Magar top scored for Xavier with 29 points and seven rebounds. Anish Magar had 14 points with four each assists and rebounds.

At BMK basketball court in Bishalnagar, Himalayan Hounds finally registered first victory in the tournament in third game, beating Bishal Milan Kendra (BMK) 68-57. Player-of-the-match Saurav Shrestha was pivotal in Hounds’ victory with a match-high 28 points. He also had 10 rebounds and three assists.

Hounds went ahead by eight points in the first quarter scoring 21-13. BMK hit back in the second 10 minutes to lead 17-13 but Hounds were still ahead heading into the second half by four points. They kept five-point lead going into the final quarter scoring 13 to that of 12 in the third quarter.

The final quarter ended 21-15 with Hounds finishing as the leaders. Bijaya Burja also had a double-double scoring 18 points and contributing 10 assists. Manish KC also had 12 points and 12 rebounds, while Anish Diwakar took 12 rebounds. Sandesh Tamang scored 18 points for BMK with Prayush Shrestha sinking in 11 points and getting seven rebounds.

In the only match on Friday, Kirtipur Basketball Team will host Xavier. Tribhuvan Army Club currently lead the table with nine points from first three consecutive victories. Kirtipur stay second with six points from two games.

In all, eight teams are in fray for the Rs 200,000 top prize in the tournament played over double league format over a month.