The maiden women`s “A” Division game of the Colombo Super League 2015 was worked off today at the Hendry Pedris Basketball Complex. Navy SC with an impeccable combination of defense and offense rolled out for a 60-36 point victory at full time beating Contenders.
The game started on the dot at half past six with the jump ball, taken over by Navy SC that led to first score after a few missed shots. Team Contenders showed good defense in the beginning but the team Navy SC were very good in their offense which gave them a 6 point lead as the scoreboard read 11-5 at the end of the first quarter.
Lead on the scoreboard displayed confidence in the moves made by the Navy SC players. They kept adding points to their side and made sure Contenders did not score from the other end. Contenders who made more unforced errors during the second quarter failed to keep up a consistent line of scoring. Though they were one of the strongest women’s team in the basketball arena, their lack of defense for the day kept them 10 points below the score board giving the lead to Navy SC.
Half time – Navy SC -29 v Contenders -19
The third quarter continued the winning streak of Navy SC. Premila Fernando dished out a few assists among her fellow team mates as they kept up a constant scoring rate. Umanga from the Contenders team swished the nets a couple of times as she penetrated through the strong defense of the sailors. Though Umanga and Shalika from team Contenders were holding on to their offense with random shots,it did not shift the fate of the game as Navy SC continued the lead at the third quarter 52-25.
The last six hundred seconds of the game commenced with a 27 point lead for Navy SC. Yet Contenders were not ready to accept defeat and the captain of their team Shalika managed to swish the ball through the hoop with her teammates to reach a score of 36 points. But this was not enough to beat the 60 points of Navy SC by full time.
Full time – Navy SC 60 – Contenders 36
Jagath Kulathuga the coach for the Navy SC team shared his thoughts on the game with ThePapare.com. “This game was an easy win for us, still there were few mistakes that need to be corrected. We only have seven players in our team, yet we hope to reach greater heights this season. We have a few promising national level players with foreign exposure, Premila, Inoka, Sanduni, Solangi and Jayani will perform even better in the matches to come”.
ThePapare.com player of the match – Premila Fernando (Navy SC)