Joes overcome AIS in extra-time thriller

St. Joseph’s College, Colombo 10 outdid Asian International School Colombo in the 2nd quarter-final fixture of ThePapare.com U-19 Boys’ Basketball Championship 2016 that took place at the Henry Pedris Basketball Complex last evening.

A strong display of defense in the overtime period sealed the win for St. Joseph’s College, with the final score reading 69-62. It was an action packed game with many thrills and spills; definitely one to remember.

As the two teams clashed head on in the first quarter, the defending champions AIS got the scoreboard ticking early on with captain Taher Akbarally converting off a rebound. Both teams were in full swing owing to the high stakes of the fixture. Joes, playing a 1-2-2 zone defense, found themselves in foul trouble early on in the quarter. AIS managed to restrict the Joes offensive strategy to lead the quarter 8-13.

 Photo Album – St. Joseph’s College v Asian International School – QF 2 

St. Joseph’s attempt to drive at the basket went well, but they failed to convert those drives into points on many occasions. The only points for Joes came from two quick three pointers scored by Shenal Samuel. Akbarally continued to lead AIS, driving the lanes exceptionally well to draw fouls on the way to the rim. Although, St. Joseph’s seemed to guard well throughout the second quarter, they could not prevent themselves from committing too many fouls. To make matters worse for the Joes, the AIS defense seemed to improve and were restricting their scoring opportunities; they failed to convert second chances and capitalize on rebounds. The scoreboard was in favour of AIS, 27-14 at the end of the first half. Akbarally finished with 15 points, with eight of them scored off free throws.

Halftime Score: St. Joseph’s College 14 – Asian International School 27

As play commenced for the second half, AIS continued to attack and penetrate the Joes defense in a strong manner. A fast paced, intense third quarter saw Joes closing in on their deficit. Managing to get their act together on the fast breaks, St. Joseph’s began converting points; with Shivanga Perera leading the scoring. Both schools were showing early signs of wear and tear as the sheer intensity of the game was taking a toll on the players. Although the overall game of St. Joseph’s slightly improved; AIS continued to dominate, walking out of the third period with a 38-31 advantage.

Joes forced AIS to commit errors and continued to apply pressure on them during the last ten minutes. Working on the fast break, they caught up on the scoreboard. With four minutes remaining, Shenal Samuel of St. Joseph’s tied the game 44-44 with a quick three pointer from downtown. From here onwards, it was a constant tussle between the two teams in desperation to get ahead, with the game clock in its dying minutes; a worn out AIS team still driving the lanes and St. Joseph’s working the ball around, scoring jumpers.  With under 20 seconds remaining, and the score tied at 53-53, St. Joseph’s failed to convert a layup and a consequent rebound in their final chance to seal the fate of the game in regulation time.

Full-time Score: St. Joseph’s College 53 – Asian International School 53

Joes went into overtime with fresh owing to the fact that many key players had been fouled out. They capitalized on the drained out AIS team; outscoring them 14-7 in the extra period. Shehan Fernando carried St. Joseph’s to the win with 7 points in the last quarter.

Final Score: St. Joseph’s College 69 – Asian International School 62

It was schools’ basketball at its finest last evening as both teams refused to let go until the dying seconds. St. Joseph’s, nearly facing defeat, capitalized at the end of the day, despite a stellar performance put up by Akbarally, Piyasena and the rest of the AIS lads.

Speaking to the AIS coach after the game, Mr. Ajith Kuruppu,” They was a lack of conditioning as a team. Conditioning levels are key in the game of basketball. We need to take this as a lesson and be better conditioned for the next season. St. Joseph’s were a good match for us.”

The winning captain Panduka Gajamange had this to say, “I’m extremely happy that the boys held on until the last minute and managed to walk away with the win. However, we were struggling to defend the AIS players driving at the basket, ending up with many fouls.  We need to focus on our defense in the upcoming semi-final game”

Top Scorers:

ThePapare Player of the match: Shewanga De Silva (St. Joseph’s College)