Gateway beat Joes to win Colombo North cager title
View(s):
(Front row from left): Suranji Peiris (Basketball Coordinator), Areeb Fareen (Vice Captain), Vinita Shenoy (Principal), Dulain Thevaraperuma (Captain), Tharindu Fernando (Head Coach), Fawzan Thariq (Basketball Coordinator) B(Back row from left): Sashain Perera, Taresh Samarasinghe, Liam Gray, Usman Shafraz, Julan Senmitha, Samuel Tsung, Navidu Waduwavala, Riveth Methsuka, Udeshka Suriyaarachchi, Ashain Thevaraperuma, Jazeel Aakil, Damiru Suriyapperuma, Dhanuka Wijegunarathna.
After beating D.S. Senanayake College, Wesley College, Colombo International School Colombo (CISC), Ananada College and Carey College during the initial stages, Gateway College beat St. Joseph’s College at the final of the Under-14 Boys Colombo North Basketball Tournament organised by the Sri Lanka Schools Basketball Association. The final was played at the St. Joseph’s College court.
In their first game against D.S. Senanayake, Gateway emerged triumphant with a score of 67-47 and this was followed by comfortable wins over Wesley (86-26) and CISC (68-43). Gateway cruised to the semi-final with ease with a score of 54-22 beating Ananda. In the semi-final against Carey College, Gateway recorded yet another comfortable win by 76-48.
The highly anticipated final between Gateway and Joes, as expected, turned out to be a thriller. The fiercely fought game saw St. Joseph’s take the upper hand during the first half, but Gateway was resolute not to give up. Gateway captain, Dulain Theweraperuma was clearly the game-changer with some brilliant moves during the third quarter to help his team take a slender lead of 57-52. Gateway continued their relentless pursuit of victory during the final quarter, maintaining a commanding 16-point lead with a score of 77-61. Thus, Gateway’s Under-14 team emerged unbeaten champions of Colombo North Basketball Tournament.
The tournament concluded with a grand closing ceremony as Ashain Theweraperuma was named the Best Defensive Player, while Arron Gerald, the captain of St. Joseph’s, earned the title of the Best Offensive Player. Gateway skipper Dulain Thevarapperuma was the obvious choice to be recognised as the Most Valuable Player.