Tribhuvan Army Club (TAC) cruised to their third consecutive victory easing past South Siders Basketball Club 86-68 in an away match of the Kwiks Basketball League on Wednesday.

At the St Xavier’s College basketball court, home for Siders, Rabin Khatri netted 29 points in yet another convincing victory for the departmental team. Siders, meanwhile, lost their second consecutive having lost their tournament opener away to Team Budanilkantha Municipality (TBM) on Monday.

TAC opened up 18-12 lead in the first quarter and raced to a 19-point cushion heading into the second half scoring 24 in the second while restricting Siders to 11. Siders did make a comeback in the game leading the third period by three points (25-22) but it was not yet enough for them to challenge a star-studded TAC side.

The Armymen took the final quarter 22-20. National team skipper Sadish Pradhan also netted 23 points for TAC. Sanjay Byanjankar Junior, playing his first match of the tournament, was the leading scorer for Siders with 26 points. TAC had beaten Bishal Milan Kendra (BMK) 87-73 in their first game and Golden Gate International College (GGIC) 88-50 in the second.

Khatri, who now has 60 points in the tournament, had eight assists and four rebounds. Pradhan rolled in three three-pointers. Binod Maharjan had two three-pointers in his 14 points. Byanjankar scored three three-pointers, while Wisdom Pandey also collected 10 points for Siders with two three-pointers.

In Golfutar, Kirtipur Basketball Team registered an important away victory defeating TBM 75-67 on a back of 21 points from Anil Khadgi Shahi. It was second win in a row for Kirtipur having beaten Himalayan Hounds in their home game. Shahi also had nine rebounds in the game.

Kirtipur took a 19-15 lead in the first quarter and went nine points ahead scoring 21 in the second, while TBM could only add 16. They hung on to the lead scoring 18 in the third and stopping the home team for 12.

TBM led the final quarter 24-17 but by then it was too late for them. Player-of-the-game Abhishek Singh’s 20 points, six rebounds and three assists were crucial in Kirtipur’s victory.

Soman Maharjan also contributed with 12 points, six assists and four rebounds, while Samir Niroula took nine rebounds. Biraj Rana and Saugat Deep Singh netted 12 points each for TBM. Rana had seven rebounds, six assists in his display. Nirav Chand also took 12 rebounds for the hosts.

On Thursday, BMK will play host to Himalayan Hounds in Bishalnagar in the early game. GGIC will play away to Xavier International College in Kalopul.