Mari Stella College Negombo booked their semi-final spot in ThePapare Basketball Championship defeating St. Benedict’s College 41-75 in the quarterfinal encounter held at the Hendry Pedris courts this evening.
Final score 41 – 75 in favor of Mari Stella College
The game started off with St. Benedict’s getting possession from the jump ball but they weren’t able to use it to their advantage and get the first shot due to a couple of bad passes resulting in them losing possession. Both teams had numerous opportunities to score yet neither was able to capitalize. It was St. Benedict’s who finally got the first shot 2 minutes into the game although it seemed as if the pressure of the quarter-finals was telling on the Bens as they lost the ball on numerous occasions whereas Maristella finally settled into the game and made good use of the possessions which led to a few fast breaks. The game could have gone to anyone during this quarter as both teams took turns at gaining the lead.
First Quarter: St. Benedict’s College – 16 Mari Stella College – 18
The second quarter began with Maristella scoring first as the Benedictines lost possession of the ball a few times missing out on possible scoring opportunities. As the quarter continued it saw the Benedictine defense fall apart as the lads from Maristella drove into the basket with ease and obtained a comfortable lead. St. Benedict’s employed a full court man to man defensive strategy during the latter part of the half in hopes of reducing the deficit but it wasn’t successful as the eagerness to obtain rebounds allowed Maristella to keep control. The increasing deficit wasn’t helped by the Benedictine inaccuracy as they missed a few open shots during the quarter that could have reduced it.
Second Quarter: St. Benedict’s College – 25 Mari Stella College – 32
Maristella scored first moments after the third quarter began with difficulty as their first 3 attempts rolled off the edge of the rim. It was apparent that they were playing a defensive game which was rock solid, rejecting any attempt by the Benedictines to take a shot at scoring contrary to the Bens defense which was wide open allowing their opponents to drive in and increase their lead. The quarter was dominated by the boys from Negombo, who scored 20 points, which was double of what the Benedictines scored.
Photo Album – Maris Stella College v St.Benedict’s College – QF 1
Third Quarter: St. Benedict’s College – 35 Mari Stella College – 52
The fourth and final quarter began with the boys from Maristella scoring first and they continued to maintain their dominance by stealing the ball off the Bens regularlyleaving the Kotahena lads with very slim chances of victory. They scored only 3 baskets during the quarter. The quarter ended with Maristella recording an impressive 23 points and securing their place in the semi-finals.
Fourth Quarter: St. Benedict’s College – 41 Mari Stella College – 75
The coach of the winning team, Mari Stella had this to say to ThePapare after their victory: “I’m glad we made it to the semi-finals but all of the teams we could face are of equal threat and we need to bring in our A game to make it to the finals.”
The coach of St. Benedicts spoke to ThePapare after the match and shared his thoughts on the loss: “We played with a team full of juniors and our main aim was to make it to the quarter-finals and I’m glad we did because I want to build the team for the year to come since we lost 2 of our best players to AIS”
Top Point Scorers:
Malshan Rumlz – 18 points (Mari Stella College)
Dinuka Gamage – 11 points (St. Benedict’c College)
ThePapare Player of the match: Ronal Perera (Mari Stella College)
