Kohima, May 25 (EMN): Doberman, Airhoggs, Kohima Chiefs and Stringray were knocked out of the ongoing 9th Open Basketball Tournament after losing their respective matches in the first round here at Kohima local ground on Thursday.

During the match, Tiyi Hoppers eased past Doberman by registering a 45-36 win in the first match. Dorians overpowered AirHoggs with a 48-36 victory and kept their hopes alive in the tournament.
Mission Giants narrowly beat Kohima Chiefs by a margin of 43-42 and knocked them out of the tournament while Mystic Ballers (B) managed to pull away Stingray to clinch a 43-37 win in the last match of the first round.
S Naga Trouncers, Orca, Titan, Skyhooks, Tiyi Hoppers, Dorians, Mission Giants and Mystic Ballers (B) have joined the pool leaders namely: Amplified, Taurus, Mystic Ballers (A), and Werewolves, Kohima in the second round of the tournament, where the matches will be played under league system.
During the league matches, Taurus battled to 64-39 victory over S Naga Trouncer in the first match and Amplified registered victory over Skyhooks by 56-34.
Defending champions Werewolves showed their dominance in the tournament as they beat Orca by a score of 80 – 35. Merentoshi Jamir, MLA was the match patron for the Thursday evening.