In the third day of the Defense Services Basketball Championship 2016 Sri Lanka Navy (Women) and Sri Lanka Army (Women) won their matches and qualified for the final stages of the championship to be played on Thursday.
Sri Lanka Navy (Women) v Sri Lanka Army (Women)
The Sailors walked into the game with a positive mindset after beating Air Force in their first match which a comfortable ten-point margin.
Sri Lanka Navy started off proceedings and dominated from the traditional jump ball start. Scoring twenty-two points in the maiden quarter they led the game by fourteen points. It was a complete team performance by them in the first quarter as everyone chipped in with a basket to keep the score board ticking.
Sanduni Bolegalla top scored for the quarter with six points while skipper Solange scored a couple. Premila Fernando scored two points and Inoka Sandamali too added four points. From the other end The Soldiers managed to add just eight points in reply to the ambush.
Photo Album – SL Army Women vs SL Navy Women – Defence Services Basketball
At lemons Sri Lanka Navy stood at thirty-seven points as they added another fifteen points in the second quarter. With Thiyasha`s shot from the arc and a couple of baskets from Rasika and Maleesha, Sri Lanka Army added seven points and trailed by twenty-one points.
Even though Sri Lanka Army was desperate in rejuvenating themselves, the sailors were superior. Sri Lanka Navy scored thirteen and twelve points respectively in the third and fourth quarters. Even though Sri Lanka Navy scored a game best of seventeen points in the final quarter the leakage in the earlier quarter came back to haunt them.
Full Time: Sri Lanka Navy (Women) – 62 Sri Lanka Army (Women) – 38
Sri Lanka Army (Men) v Sri Lanka Navy (Men)
The second match was played between the men`s teams of the respective women`s team. Even though the women suffered a humiliating defeat the Army men topped the Sailors with a narrow margin.
Sri Lanka Navy led the game at the end of the first quarter with a twelve-point margin. The score board stood at 19-07. It was Dilshan` s pair of three-pointers which helped the Soldiers to have a breather as Sooriyarachchi top scored with five points for Sri Lanka Navy.
The first half of the game was a nightmare for Sri Lanka Army as they only managed to add another thirteen points to the score board to remain at twenty when the half time whistle blew. Sri Lanka Navy continuing their solid start into the game added fifteen points and the led the game by fourteen points. Scores remained at 34-20.
Photo Album – SL Army (Men) vs SL Navy (Men) – Defence Services Basketball
The Soldiers, coming into the game after a ten-minute break, took the Sailors by surprise as they bombarded them with shots. Scoring a game best of thirty-one points they grabbed the fate of the game. Sri Lanka Navy only added fourteen points.
Suraj Balasuirya contributed with eleven points while Pawan Gamage chipped in with seven points for Sri Lanka Army. Just before the final six hundred seconds, the scores stood at 51-48, Sri Lanka Army leading the game.
It was tight contest in the final quarter as both teams tightened their screws in defense and upped their offense. Sri Lanka Navy scored nineteen points while their opponents scored eighteen. Sameera Withana added five points and helped the winning cause of the Soldiers.
Full Time: Sri Lanka Navy (Men) – 66 Sri Lanka Army (Men) – 70
 and Sri Lanka Army (Women) won their matches and qualified for the final stages of the championship to be played on Thursday.){kind=link}