National team skipper Sadhish Pradhan and Bijay Burja missed free throws at crucial stages as Tribhuvan Army Club avenged their first leg defeat to Times International Club in Nepal Basketball League with a 67-66 victory on Monday.

In a thrilling contest between two already qualified teams at the Army Headquarters in Bhadrakali where none of the teams managed to go beyond five-point lead at any stage of the game, Times put their nose ahead at 66-64 with 44 seconds left when their Sri Lankan recruit Praneet Udumalagala sunk a two and drew foul from against Aayush Singh for one free throw.

Udumalagala missed the free shot and went on to foul Army skipper Robin Khatri with 41 seconds left. Khatri missed one of the two free-throws to make it a one-point game at 66-65. Times held possession but Ajay Kushwaha denied Pradhan with a crucial block with 28 seconds left. Army failed to convert at another end with Manish KC taking the rebound for Times.

Singh made an intentional foul against Burja with 10 seconds remaining but the youngster missed both the shots. Following the side-ball, Singh once again fouled Pradhan and the captain agonisingly missed his shots. Siddhartha Maharjan made a brilliant run and sunk a two against 6ft 4in Times centre Vikram Joshi along with drawing a foul.

With just 3.5 seconds remaining, Maharjan missed the only free throw but that hardly cost Army the game. Burja almost had his buzzer beater for a three-pointer converted but the ball rebounded off the rim. Following their first defeat in 12 games, Times still lead the table with 23 points. Army can overtake Times on point difference if they win away to South Siders on Tuesday.

The last time the two title contenders played in a tense match at Times, the hosts won 103-96. On Monday, Army took one-point (20-19) lead in the first quarter and Times tied the match after the completion of second period which they took 15-14. Army went three points ahead heading into the final quarter after a 16-13 lead in the third quarter.

In a closely-contested third quarter, Times scored 19 against the 17 of their opponents but ultimately fell one-point short. Man-of-the-match Binod Maharjan played a crucial hand in Army victory with 14 points along with five rebounds and assists each. Kushwaha (14 pts) and Ram Krishna Ghatane (13 pts) also made important contributions for them. Udumulagala had a double-double for Times scoring 20 and taking 11 rebounds. Pradhan and Bujra scored 12 points each. Joshi had 11 points and 12 rebounds.

In an evening match, Golden Gate Club hammered South Siders 104-65 on the back of 21 points from Binod Shrestha, who also had six assists and three rebounds. Golden Gate dominated the game from the outset at their home court starting with a 27-8 lead in the first quarter. They stretched it to 25 points after taking the second quarter 27-21.

South Siders were virtually out of the contest when Golden Gate headed into the decider with a 36-point cushion following another 26-15 lead in the third quarter. The victory was complete with a 24-21 lead in the final quarter. Indian recruit Yogesh Kanderia scored 19 points for Golden Gate and Rajiv Joshi contributed 18 that included four three-pointers.

Sanjay Byanjankar netted 17 points for South Siders. On Tuesday, Nepal Police Club will take on Times. Only a win can keep NPC alive in their race for the playoffs. Police are tied on 18 points with Golden Gate, while Budhanilkantha Municipality Basketball Club (20 pts) is the other team in fray for playoffs.