Hounds Academy secured an impressive 102-92 victory over Royal Sports Central on Saturday at the Kirtipur Covered Hall in the ongoing Himalayan Java Basketball League (HJBL). With this win, Hounds climbed to the top of the table with 15 points from 8 matches, while Royal sits fourth with 10 points from the same number of games.
The first quarter ended evenly at 25-25, but Hounds Academy took control in the second quarter, outscoring Royal 27-21 to lead 52-46 at halftime. Royal fought back in the third quarter, winning it 25-23 and narrowing the gap, but Hounds maintained a 75-71 lead heading into the final quarter. They sealed the game with a strong 27-21 finish. Despite Royal’s Prasanga Maskey scoring a game-high 37 points, his team fell short. Bijaya Burja impressed for Hounds with 30 points, while Ugyen Norbu Gurung earned the Most Valuable Player award for his all-around performance.
In an earlier match on Saturday, Times Basketball Club edged out Kirtipur by a narrow 91-90 margin. Nishchal Maharjan of Kirtipur delivered a stellar individual performance with 43 points, but it wasn’t enough to secure victory. Times made a strong start with a 29-11 lead in the first quarter. The second quarter saw both teams score 26 points each. Kirtipur fought back in the third quarter, winning it 25-22, and backed by their home fans, dominated the final quarter 28-14. However, they still fell just short by one point. Sadish Pradhan led Times with 27 points and was named the MVP of the match. With this win, Times have 13 points from 8 matches and sit third in the standings, while Kirtipur remain in fifth with 10 points.
The Himalayan Java Basketball League (HJBL) action will continue on Sunday with a single match between GoldenGate and Samakhushi Youth Club.
