Presbytarian Girls School and St. Joseph’s Girls School started off their Sri Lanka Schools Girls Under 17 A Division Basketball campaign with dominant performances at the Lyceum International School Basketball court earlier today.
Presbytarian Girls School beat St. Bridget’s Convent comfortably 42 points to 29 points. While St. Joseph’s Girls School Beat Good Shepherd Convent 65 points to 26 points
St. Bridget’s Convent v Presbytarian Girls School
The opening game of the tournament started off with much anticipation as both these schools have faced off earlier this year in different age groups to mixed results. Presbytarian Girls School coming into the match as underdogs took off with a flying start thanks to 2 long range shots from Irushi. SBC stuttering in the start, slowly started to gain momentum but the half ended 24 point to 12 points in favor of Presbytarian Girls School.
Earlier in the day ThePapare.com caught up with the coach of PGS Mr. Tharindu Fernando and asked him what his expectations are for his girls at this tournament. “PGS has a good chance of finishing at the top 3 of the tournament even though SBC is very unpredictable we are ready for the challenge”.
As the second half of the match started SBC seemed to have found a new spring in their step. They cut the deficit by half and continued to carry forward however again it was Irushi teaming up with Oshadi to keep the points ticking over for PGS. The pressure was too much for SBC to handle and they finally cracked to let their opponents get the better of them. PGS eventually took the game 42 points to 29 points at the buzzer to start their tournament on a positive note.
Catching up with SBC coach Mr. Randima, “I am not happy with some of the referees decisions but that’s how the game works, nobody is perfect not even my players”. He further added “SBC will bounce back, we have showed consistency during this year and we will try our best to continue that form”.
Summary
Half Time – SBC 12 – 24 PGS
Full Time – SBC 29 – 42 PGS
Top Scorers
PGS – 17 points Irushi, 8 points Oshadi
SBC – 12 points Shayami Perera, 8 points Ashlene Kodippily
Good Shepherd Convent v St. Joseph’s Girls School
With the second game about to get underway between Good Shepard Convent and St. Joseph’s Girls School, ThePapare.com had a chat with the coach of St. Joseph’s Girls School Sivashakthi Selvaraja and asked him if this tournament will be won by his team. “I honestly don’t know how to react because this age group is a real test for coaches. My team is missing several key players due to other commitments but I have faith in my squad to pick up the slack.”
With the game underway GSC seemed to be on par with the girls from Nugegoda as they exchanged baskets, however SJC took control of the game and shook away their jitters and they started to dominate proceedings and end the half on a very high note scoring 36 points to Good Shepard’s 14 points.
As the second half started the momentum of the game did not shift as SJC kept control of the game and showed no signs of pressure. Good Shepard had many opportunities to get back into the game, however it was their lack of technique that pulled them down. As SJC kept running away with the game, the bench of SJC got valuable game time to prepare for the bigger challenges ahead as they wrapped up the game 65 points to 26 points.
Summary
Half Time – GSC 14 – 36 SJC
Full Time – GSC 26 – 65 SJC
Top Scorers
GSC – 18 points Hansini
SJC – 13 points H.K. Thisari, 12 points Tharindya Illangathilake
