It’s been 10 years since the Ascent Corporate 5-A-Side Tournament has been enthralling the masses of Dhaka. It’s been a decade of triumphs, heartbreaks and overall thrills. Over 400 corporate houses and thousands of executives have participated in this tournament. We take great pride in welcoming you to this landmark edition of this year’s spectacle. For the next 9 days, 45 corporate houses will descend to the hallowed grounds of the STM Hall in Uttara, to battle their wits and leave behind a trail of blood, sweat and tears in their wake. All for the purpose of bringing the coveted Ascent Cup to their respective boardrooms.
Bando Design v Dhaka Tribune
And we couldn’t have asked for a better match to set the tone for the tournament, when 2013 Champion Dhaka Tribune took on last year’s finalist Bando Design. Right from the off set, Bando’s mercurial captain and last year’s Golden Boot winner took matters in his own hand and went on a goal scoring spree. He seems hell bent on retaining his last year’s crest. He put a mind boggling 7 past the Dhaka Tribune goal keeper. It can be said that Tribune are sorely missing their editor cum goal keeper Zafar Sobhan.
Beximco v Metlife
The next match saw the five-time winners Beximco Pharma make short work of Metlife. Tiger Arafat Sunny started the proceeding by scoring a fine brace in the first half. This was followed by a hat-trick by Pharma’s goal scoring machine Syed Adil Ahmed. Metlife did pull one back, but it was of scant consolation as they were left to contemplate what went wrong.
HRC v Anchor Exim USA
HRC were taken to the cleaners by the debutante team Anchor Exim USA in a 7-1 drubbing. Rezwanoor Rahman scored a hat-trick while Kabir and Anis also added to their cause. HRC who are stalwarts in this competition looked shell shocked at the final whistle. No doubt they will be adopting a new game plan for their next match.
Securex v Adcomm
The first T20 score was recorded in the match between Securex and Adcomm. The advertisers drew first blood by scoring in the opening second which all but infuriated the Securitywallahs. What happened next was a deluge of goals by a marauding Securex team. Their striker Sharif netted a staggering 10 times in the match which puts him firmly in the lead of the goal scoring charts. Adcomm’s captain Toy pulled two back but it was a case of too little too late.
Ascent v Le Meridien
The home team Ascent started their campaign with a 7-1 trouncing to newbies Le Meridian. The hoteliers found out how hard life is at the Ascent Cup. Faruq slammed in five for Ascent with Masum and Nipu scoring one apiece. Rajib scored the consolatory goal on behalf of Le Meridien. Hopefully they wont be too bogged down with this result. It has been known to happen to the best of the teams.
Edge Consulting v Qubee
The first competitive match of the tournament was when old timers Qubee took on the new entrants Edge Consultants in a 2-3 thriller. Edge gave a good account of themselves with Rafel and Abrar slotting a goal apiece. However, it was Qubee’s experience that gave them the edge (no pun intended). A fabulous hat-trick by Rakib sealed the deal.
Gemcon v Mtb
The reigning champions Gemcon were up next again Mutual Trust Bank. Needless to say, it was a one sided affair, with the MTB goalkeeper having to retrieve the ball out of net for 8 times. By the looks of it seems, Gemcon are still the team to beat this year. Sohel scored three, Shamim and Riqta netted twice each while skipper Munna scored one for the giants.
Asiatic Exp v General Electric
Asiatic EXP fought tooth and nail against General Electric but they fell short when it mattered most. GE took the spoils in a 2 -1 victory with Romel and Shakti each adding to the GE cause while Joy pulled one back for the AD firm.
