The first boys’ semi-final of the Inter-International Basketball Championship between AIS and Lyceum Nugegoda was played at the British School in Colombo. AIS ran out winner, with a score of 77-59.
AIS got control of the ball from the jump ball but they failed to convert the start into points as the ball was intercepted by Lyceum, who drew 1st blood. AIS soon retaliated with a mid-range jumper by Arnold Brent. Arnold used his height advantage to get above the defense and get AIS an early lead of 8 points into the first quarter.
First Quarter: Asian International School -15 Lyceum International School Nugegoda – 7
The second quarter was kick-started by AIS with a shot from under the basket whilst Lyceum moved to the perimeter to try their luck to reduce the growing deficit but weren’t successful at it. Arnold Brent did what he does best and attacked the rim strong with a couple dunks to help make the deficit larger. Lyceum was relying on a zone defense whilst AIS opted for a man to man defense although Lyceum’s defense couldn’t stop AIS from outscoring them, 20 to 14.
Half Time: Asian International School – 35 Lyceum International School Nugegoda -21
The third quarter too was started off by AIS getting a free shot after driving in and drawing in the foul which was soon followed by 4 consecutive shots leaving Lyceum in the dust. Lyceum was fast to get the rebound on both sides of the court but it wasn’t of much use as they couldn’t get past the AIS defense to take a clean shot. AIS increased their lead further during the quarter thanks to a few shots from downtown by Damshike Piyasena. On the other side, Navina from Lyceum was trying his best to use his size advantage to score a few baskets near the rim yet it wasn’t enough to get them the lead as they trailed by 21 points at the end of the quarter.
Third Quarter: Asian International School – 54 Lyceum International School Nugegoda -33
Lyceum got the first shot of the quarter but it was only downhill from there as they started to make careless mistakes and began to lose possession of the ball. It was only 5 minutes into the quarter when they got back into the game and tightened thescrews on their defense and began to reduce the deficit by a few baskets. Lyceum was looking to take advantage through shooting fouls as AIS couldn’t keep count of the foul limit. In the final few seconds, Lyceum scored a couple of shots from downtown but it wasn’t enough to take them into the finals as the accumulated deficit from the previous quarters came back to haunt them.
Full time: Asian International School – 77 Lyceum International School Nugegoda – 59
The AIS coach shared his thoughts with ThePapare after the match and had this to say “We played a good game and had a good offensive game but our defense was lacking a bit. We’re definitely not expecting an easy final no matter who gets in but we’re hoping to take home the championship like last year”
