Women’s
The first battle of the day was the semifinals against University of Sri Jayawardenapura (USJP) and University of Moratuwa (UOM) in the women’s category.
USJP had a good start with leading scores on the board. UOM took charge of the game during the second quarter but failed to keep it longer. This put the ball back into USJP’s basket giving them a win at 48 – 27.
The second semifinal match was held between University of Kaleniya (UOK) and University of Colombo (UOC). This was an exciting match with both teams focused on leading the score board. The first quarter ended with a tie, but the points went interchangeably to both teams in the rest of the quarters. Final accumulation of the points gave UOK the key to enter the Finals.
At the consolation finals between UOM and UOM, UOC dominated the game with excellent display of shoots. The teams matched each other equally with their defending techniques. The pressurized state of the UOM players was visible with their air balls. UOC claimed the third place of the basketball series at 33 – 30.
The finale of the women’s category was set between UOK and USJP. The game began with USJP dominating the floor with 16-5 in the first quarter. They kept the momentum with 15-5 and 13-2 till the end of the third quarter. This gave them a safe margin of 32 points. The final quarter was played easily by USJP that allowed UOK to grab 5 points more. In the end USJP established a total 52- 25. They were crowned champions in the women’s basketball category as a recognition for their excellent display of talent.
Men’s
The first semifinal match began with UOM against UOC much to the excitement of the audience. UOC ruled the game in the first half with 30 points against the 13 from UOM. The never give up mind set of UOM tied the score at 10-10 at the third quarter, but this was not enough to move to the next level as UOC finalized the match at 56 – 37 and moved to the finals.
UOK went against USJP in the second semifinals. This was a smooth win for UOK with a 71 – 47. They started the first quarter with equal scores on the board however the equilibrium soon shifted towards UOK from the second quarter. UOK kept their drive defending the shots that eventually placed them at the finals.
Both the teams that reached the finals, with a wide margin against their opponents continued their strategy towards winning. By the end of the first quarter UOK was on top by a single point. UOC balanced the game in the first half with 20-20. Using the same energy they took charge of the game from the third quarter clinching 3 points more than UOK. UOC used the advantage of UOK’s struggle to add points and comfortable settled at 23 – 12 at the end of the final quarter. Stylish shoots and defends from UOC gave them the victory of the day naming them Champions of the Basketball series.
In the consolation finals between UOM and USJP, the teams balanced each other with approximately equal scoring. USJP clinched 5points more in the first quarter that was taken over by UOM in second quarter by a lead of 8 points. They both settled for 14-13 by the end of the third quarter with UOM on the lead. The final quarter was the game changer which decided the third place by a single point and gave the bronze to USJP.
