As the all island B Division Girls’ Basketball Tournament got underway, St. Bridget’s Convent faced off against St. Paul’s Girls’ School and Gateway College Colombo played against Colombo International School, Colombo.
St. Bridget’s Convent vs St. Paul’s Girls’ School
St. Paul’s took control right from the jump ball and they drew first blood after many shooting attempts. During the first few minutes of the game, both teams struggled to score as their aim was way off the mark, although St. Paul’s did intercept the ball on quite a few occasions. St. Paul’s had opted for a 2:3 zone defense but St. Bridget’s had the tighter defensive side which didn’t allow the girls from St. Paul’s to get anywhere near the ring.
Both teams found it difficult to keep their fouls in check but neither team capitalized on this opportunity as both teams missed most of their free throws. Michele Ketagoda of St. Bridget’s was the key point scorer for this half getting in almost all of her jump shots and securing their lead as they went into lemons with a 16-point advantage.
Half-time: St. Bridget’s Convent-29 St. Paul’s Girls’ School -13
The second half started off with St. Paul’s taking the first shot and trying their luck around the perimeter to reduce the deficit. The girls from St. Paul’s began to lose the plot in the game as they began to slow down whilst their opponents took this to their advantage and began to attack the rim.
The slight rain threw off both teams for a couple minutes as the ball and court were both slippery, causing a few turnovers. During the final few minutes of the game the girls from St. Paul’s had very little hope of recovering the deficit as St. Bridget’s switched to a man to man defense hoping to take the best advantage of their tired opponents. As they began to intercept more passes and score a couple 3’s in the final half all hope was lost for St. Paul’s as the girls from St. Bridget’s secured their victory.
Full-time: St. Bridget’s Convent – 59 St. Paul’s Convent- 29
Speaking to the coach of St. Bridget’s Convent after their win he shared his views with representatives of ThePapare: “I think the key to our victory was that we had a good defense as they say a good defense is the best offense and I think we played better than we did yesterday since we were better prepared and had fewer mistakes.”
Gateway College Colombo vs Colombo International School
The game started off with CIS getting first possession of the ball and drawing first blood by passing the ball to all 5 players looking for the open shot. The girls from CIS used a tight, man to man defense but this was countered by the Gateway College zone defense as CIS wasn’t allowed to convert the intercepted passes successfully. Both teams struggled to score but CIS dominated the first few minutes of the game.
However coming into the latter parts of the first half Gateway settled into the game and took control, making3 consecutive shots to take the lead for the first time. CIS completely lost the plot in the quarter as Gateway outscored them 24 points to 9 in the second quarter. One of the main contributors to this score was Kiara Ekanayake. CIS had an advantage with respect to ball control though it didn’t do much good as they failed to make their shots count.
Half-time: Gateway College-28 Colombo International School – 16
The second half of the game was started off by Gateway as they scored first through a shooting foul. Both teams had used the 10-minute break well as they came into the game with different defensive strategies; CIS switched to a full court press and Gateway switched to a man to man defense. But this seemed to slow down the CIS players as they failed to recover after a missed shot allowing Gateway to take open fast breaks and make the deficit even larger.
As the final few minutes approached the CIS players were worn out and the girls from Gateway found it even easier to drive into the rim and score. Although CIS was dominating the game during the first few minutes they failed to continue that pace and lost the plot towards the end.
Full-time: Gateway College- 74 Colombo International School – 43
Speaking to the coach from Gateway he shared his thoughts on the win with ThePapare representatives: “Our practices have definitely started to pay off because we are playing better day by day and I think the main reason we won this match was because we didn’t let up on our defense since that is the crucial factor needed to win.”
