The maiden “A” division encounter of the Colombo Basketball Super League was worked off yesterday at the Police Park Basketball Complex between HSC Blacks and Buffaloes Black. HSC Blacks setting themselves up for a long journey in the tournament, walked off victorious at full time when the scoreboard read 64-47.
The match commenced with the traditional jump ball at half past eight. Even though Buffaloes did get a hold of the jump ball they failed to convert it into points. It was a zero-zero run for two minutes in the game, until the Blacks drew first blood off a mid-range jumper. Both the teams were defending their territories using well the sagging-man to man strategy. Rebounds did come in handy for both the sides as all ten players were competing themselves for the loose ball. Tushan Dharamsena scored the second basket for the Blacks as they led the game 4-0 with less than five minutes to run down in the quarter. After almost six minutes of play, the Buffaloes stepped in to the party scoring their first. The offense of the Buffalos was a bit shaky during the maiden quarter thus it ended with a four point HSC lead.
Blacks did outsmart the Buffaloes in their defense in the second quarter. Even though both the teams did opt on the same strategy; Blacks made sure that they took a few steps forward to pressurize the offensive player which did not happen from the other end. Since the Blacks played their defense in such a manner the offense for the Buffaloes was not the easiest. Hence many unorthodox shots out of the book were attempted and it did not do any good in ticking the score board. The Blacks on the other hand opted for many shots outside the arc where they swished the nets and maintained a consistent line of scoring. The game was called off at half-time as the Blacks led the game by seven points.
Half Time – HSC Blacks – 30 Buffaloes – 23
There were not many fast break opportunities for either of the teams in the match. Yet, Blacks playing a strategic game placed one of their men on the half way mark while the other would run down the lane. The ball as soon as it rebounded was passed on to the man on the half way mark who made no mistake in running it down the hands of the other team mate who finished it off swishing the nets. It helped them to break the momentum in the Buffaloes defense which leaked many points in favor of them. The Buffaloes did make their way back to the game as they connected a few shots outside the arc but the strong foundation built by the opponents were way out of reach. The third quarter came to a closure with a four point Black lead.
The final six hundred seconds commenced and the game was still in the hands of the HSC Blacks. The Buffaloes did opt for a full court defense for a few seconds and it was a failure. They were in such a rush to swish the nets during the last quarter, but it is questionable whether they opted for the right strategy in doing it. The pressure was on their sleeves as the clock ticked down and the lead was increased. With the pressure mounting, the defense was scattered apart and the transition from offense to defense shifted back. HSC Blacks capitalizing on it did run a few fast breaks down the court which helped them etch the winning line far easier.
Full time – HSC Blacks – 64 Buffaloes – 47
