The final preliminary match in Group A of the U19 All Island A Division Girls’ ThePapare Basketball Championship 2016 was played today between Presbyterian Girls’ School and Ave Maria Convent. Ave Maria Convent bid adieu to the tournament as the final score read 54-36 against them.
Both teams lost their first match to Holy Family Convent yesterday. Hence it was the decider in the Group as to who would advance into the semifinal stage together with Holy Family Convent – Colombo 04.
The jump ball start was not utilized as one would have expected by Ave Maria Convent. Yet, they were the first to score by drawing off a foul and converting one of the two free throws. It was a zero-zero run thereafter until Irushi Gimhani of PGS broke the silence with a full court layup getting full value for the acquired turn over. AMC was never in the game during the first quarter. It seemed as if they had a plan but the execution was not up to the mark. Too many bad passes and violations hindered their offensive possessions and their rebounds were non-existent.
First Quarter – Ave Maria Convent – 03 Presbyterian Girls School – 13
Coming off a two-minute break Christina swished the nets for AMC with a mid-range jumper. Since then both teams showed signs of nervousness as it was another no scoring patch for two minutes. PGS’ Dilakshi Nawodhya scored a free throw which was followed by a field goal
by her skipper Nipuni Nawodhya. PGS opted for a zone defense and so did the girls from Negombo. Rebounds for AMC were an inch better but it still wasn’t up to par and hence the second chances favored PGS. It was smart play by the PGS girls as they drew fouls and eventually AMC reached the team foul mark. Capitalizing on it all the free throws were brought to full value. PGS scored twelve points in the quarter in reply to the seven points scored by their opponents.
Half Time – Ave Maria Convent – 10 Presbyterian Girls School – 25
The AMC girls seemed to drive through in the 2nd half, which they did not do at all during the first phase of the game. They did play better but the missed shots earlier left them far too much to chase down. The 1st five minutes of the quarter were dominated by AMC as they went on to score fourteen points. Yet PGS switching between the full-court press and zone defense strategically acquired turnovers and maintained their scoring rate. Adding on another sixteen points in the third quarter they took firm hold of the game.
Christina, undoubtedly the tallest girl out of the ten on court, was well blocked off by the PGS defense and without her etching the rebounds it was a walk in the park for PGS. Ave Maria Convent managed to add only six points in the final ten minutes as their opponents cruised through adding thirteen points.
Photo Album – Ave Maria Convent, Negambo v Presbyterian Girl’s School
Missed shots and bad passes halted the AMC defense. Wrong judgment in defense leaked too many points that they couldn’t afford to chase down.
Full time – Ave Maria Convent – 36 Presbyterian Girls School – 54
Top Point Scorers –
1.Nipuni Nawodhya – 24 Points (Presbyterian Girls School)
2.Greshani Fernando – 7 Points (Ave Maria Convent)
ThePapare.com player of the match – Nipuni Nawodhya (Presbyterian Girls School)
