Royal vs. Gateway- 3rd Annual Basketball Encounter today
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Devi Balika and Gateway captains with the trophy and their respective principals
The third annual encounter between Royal College and Gateway College played for the Alles-Gunasekara Cup is expected to be a thriller. The event will be held today (September 22) at the Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium from 3.00pm onwards.
The Royal team, captained by Venuja Gamlath, has been playing together from their Under-15 days. Several players in the team were in the last year’s Under-20 Jathika Pasal winning team. The Gateway team is captained by Chevaan de Costa who won the All-Island Under-15 Most Valuable Player award. The relatively young Gateway team were the winners of this year’s National Schools Games and is considered to be an unbeaten school basketball team in Sri Lanka.
Going by the first two encounters that went down to the wire, the annual encounter has already created a ‘Big Match’ atmosphere between the two schools which have won one each. The skill, fun and the excitement that has been witnessed during the previous encounters has contributed towards the objective of both schools and all Basketball lovers of making Basketball a spectator sport.
Gateway and Royal skippers with the trophy and their respective principals
This encounter is unique in that a leading National School, one of oldest in the country, and a Premier International School, one of the youngest in the island, join hands to bond together in healthy rivalry and comradeship. Due attention is paid to upcoming talent by including an Under-15 match before the main Under-19 encounter. The girls’ invitation Under-19 game between Gateway College and Devi Balika Vidyalaya will add colour and diversity to the encounter.
Basketball is among the most popular sports in the world. It is a sport which encourages team spirit, solidarity and confidence amongst its players. With this in mind, it is an ideal sport to bridge gaps and bring the communities together and take Sri Lanka forward as a united and healthier nation. Basketball was first introduced to Sri Lanka in 1917. In November 1950, the Ceylon Basketball Association was formed with John Exter, the Governor of the Central Bank, as President as there was a need for a strong controlling body to govern the sport with the increased participation in the game. Women’s basketball was introduced much later in 1961.Royal College introduced basketball as a sport for students in 1958 and since then, they have produced several national and other level captains, players, coaches and administrators. Gateway though new, with a short history of 13 years with the sport, has contributed much by producing many boys and girls who have represented the country. In both schools, it has been a key sport developing the personality of students and acting as a feeder sport to many other games in the school to improve the physical and psychological skills of other sports.
The annual encounter is played for the ‘Alles-Gunasekara’ Cup named after two key personalities connected to the two schools. Late Mr. R.I.T. Alles, commenced his journey as a teacher of Royal College where he served for over 10 years. Mr. Alles did yeoman service to the country as the Founder Principal of D.S. Senanayake College and later as the State Secretary of Education. Remembered by many as one of the finest educators, the country has produced, Mr. Alles is also the Founder of Gateway College.
Late Mr. E. Christie Gunasekara, a Royalist himself was a longstanding Vice Principal of Royal College and former President of Sri Lanka Schools Basketball Association, who is respected for his unrelenting commitment to uplift discipline and standards of Royal College during his day.
A joint committee including the Royal College Basketball Advisory and Management Committee and the Gateway College Basketball Committee are organising the event and they are confident that it will create a platform for more children to develop their personalities through healthy competition and bring the communities of both institutions together, on and off the field.
The esteemed Monash University of Australia and Malaysia will be the Principal sponsor of the encounter. It is encouraging to see Monash University – one of the Go8 Universities in Australia and its campus in Malaysia supporting a sporting event of this nature and showing their commitment to the overall development of the youth. Australia South Asian Technologies, Keells Food, Elephant House and Asiri Health will also feature this year as sponsors. As in previous years, thePapare.com (Dialog Axiata), as the digital partner, will provide a live telecast of the event.