Basketball: WAPDA bag national event for 13th time
Register a 51-31 win over HEC in basketball final.
KARACHI:
Wapda successfully defended their National Women’s Basketball Championship crown after a convincing 51-31 win over HEC in the final of the 16th edition in Islamabad yesterday.
Munazza Butt was the star of the day as she scored 16 points for the champions. For HEC, Sana Mehmood scored nine points but was unable to take her side to a win. There was no cash prize and only medals were distributed among the players.
Wapda’s coach Imran Afzal rued the fact that his players were unable to play at a higher level despite having won this event 13 times.
“There’s hardly any joy because we’ve been winning this title for the last 13 years,” Afzal told The Express Tribune. “What’s the point when you don’t have a national side that your players can be part of and participate in international events.”
Afzal added that the players have to wait for 12 months to take part in an event since there was no other major event being held in the country.
“I hope Wapda send the girls abroad for training as incentive. We have a lot of talent but they lack exposure and that restricts their growth.”
Meanwhile, Wapda’s Fareeha Khan said that the federation promised national camps but failed to fulfil it.
“Every year we are promised that a national team will be made and training camps will be held but that has never been done,” she said.
Meanwhile, Islamabad beat Punjab 24-23 in the third-place match.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 2nd, 2012.
Wapda successfully defended their National Women’s Basketball Championship crown after a convincing 51-31 win over HEC in the final of the 16th edition in Islamabad yesterday.
Munazza Butt was the star of the day as she scored 16 points for the champions. For HEC, Sana Mehmood scored nine points but was unable to take her side to a win. There was no cash prize and only medals were distributed among the players.
Wapda’s coach Imran Afzal rued the fact that his players were unable to play at a higher level despite having won this event 13 times.
“There’s hardly any joy because we’ve been winning this title for the last 13 years,” Afzal told The Express Tribune. “What’s the point when you don’t have a national side that your players can be part of and participate in international events.”
Afzal added that the players have to wait for 12 months to take part in an event since there was no other major event being held in the country.
“I hope Wapda send the girls abroad for training as incentive. We have a lot of talent but they lack exposure and that restricts their growth.”
Meanwhile, Wapda’s Fareeha Khan said that the federation promised national camps but failed to fulfil it.
“Every year we are promised that a national team will be made and training camps will be held but that has never been done,” she said.
Meanwhile, Islamabad beat Punjab 24-23 in the third-place match.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 2nd, 2012.