Kaziranga English Academy (red) girls run for the ball during their match against Miles Bronson during the CBSE inter-school basketball tournament in Guwahati on Friday. Picture by Eastern Projections

Guwahati, Sept. 10: Hosts Hindustani Kendriya Vidyalaya pulled off convincing victories in the boys? event in the preliminary matches of the CBSE Cluster-I Guwahati (region) basketball tournament at the Henegrabari PHE courts here today. But the girls failed to keep up the tempo as they went down tamely to Don Bosco, Kokrajhar.

The Hindustani boys opened their account with a narrow 20-18 victory over Delhi Public School, Numaligarh, in the first match of the day. They went on to defeat Kaziranga English Academy 19-11 later in the day.

In the first match of the girls? section, the Bosconians from Kokrajhar proved too good for the home team. They won 16-8.

In the only other match played today in the girls? courts, the Kaziranga school got the better of Miles Bronson 12-8.

The other school that ruled the roost in the boys? courts were from Assam Rifles Public School, Shillong. They routed Miles Bronson Residential School, Guwahati, 32-6 and outclassed Army School, Narengi, 13-7.

The army boys from Narengi won their first match of the day with a 31-4 win over Maria?s Public School, also of Narengi.

Altogether 15 teams, including five girls? squads, from across the Northeast are participating in the three-day tournament, inaugurated by Kamrup (metropolitan) deputy commissioner A.K. Absar Hazarika yesterday. CBSE regional officer K.K. Chowdhury was also present at the inaugural session on the premises of the Hindustani Kendriya Vidyalaya.