Tribhuvan Army Club (TAC) underlined their title credentials crushing Kirtipur Basketball Team 111-64 for their seventh consecutive victory in the Kwiks Basketball League on Tuesday.

Playing away to Kirtipur at their home court, TAC became the only team in the tournament so far to cross 100 points as all their four key players got into scoresheet. TAC now have 21 points at the top of the table and are followed by Bishal Milan Kendra who have 15 points from eight games.

Kirtipur are third with 12 points after losing their first match in five games. Golden Gate International College (GGIC) hammered Himalayan Hounds 94-50 and are now chasing Kiritpur on score difference after they were tied on points with the third-placed team. Hounds are fifth in the standings with nine points from seven matches.

At the Kirtipur basketball court, TAC gave a dominating display once they led the first quarter 27-17. The lead stretched to 24 points after they dropped in another 26 points in the second quarter and restricted their opponents to 12. The game went beyond Kirtipur’s reach after the Armymen scored 27 in the third quarter, while the hosts could only add 17.

The biggest lead came in the final quarter with TAC scoring 31 and Kirtipur netting 18. Rabin Khatri continued his fine performance for TAC tossing a match-high 31 with four 3-pointers. He also had 10 assists, five rebounds, five steals and five turnovers. Ayush Singh contributed 24 points followed by five rebounds and four steals.

Sadish Pradhan, the national team skipper, chipped in with 22 points, six rebounds, five turnovers and four assists. Binod Maharjan, the only man to have a triple double in the tournament so far, scored 19 points and took 14 rebounds. Abhishek Singh netted 15 points for Kiritpur, while Sumanga Bogati had 12 points and eight rebounds.

In the morning match at Shankar Dev Campus court, Rajiv Joshi starred with the three 3-pointers in his 26 points. He also made five assists and seven steals as Hounds were inflicted a humiliating defeat. GGIC went 27-18 ahead in the first quarter but it was a pathetic performance from the hosts in the second and third quarter that saw the visitors take the game away.

Hounds scored just eight and six points during the second and third quarter respectively, while GGIC netted 21 and 22 to go into the final quarter with a massive 38-point lead. GGIC also led the final quarter 24-18 to seal a comprehensive rout. Manish Raj Rajopadhyaya had a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds for GGIC.

Bikram Dangol and Anish Shahi Thakuri scored 14 points each but the latter made the big impact with 15 rebounds and five assists. Manish KC scored 18 points and took 11 rebounds for Hounds, while Bijay Burja scored 11 and made four assists.