Joes and HFC win double cager titles at NSG
View(s):St. Joseph’s College and Holy Family Convent, Bambalapitiya made remarkable progress as they went on to win the Under-20 and Under-17 Boys and Girls All-Lanka Basketball Championships held in conjunction with the National School Games.
Clinching the Under-20 Boys title in style, the Josephians overcame D.S. Senanayake College with ease to record a 63-41 win in the final, after defeating Trinity College 52-36 in the semi-final. They were far too strong against Kaluthawalai MV, Batticaloa, who were comprehensively beaten 66-27 in the quarter-final round. The Josephians entered the competition with a comfortable 53-24 win against St. John’s College, Jaffna in the first round.
The victorious Josephian and Familian teams together
Led by Chamindu Wijesinghe, the victorious Josephian U-20 team included Damketh Dammalage as vice captain, Praveen Kariyawasam, Yethum Mudalige, Brendan Xavier, Aaron Gerald, Ovin Martino, Thisanga Munasinghe, Jaden Rodrigo, Srihas Mawalage and Aviel Jayasuriya. Aaron Gerald was named the Most Valuable Player of the category.
In the Under-17 category, St. Joseph’s beat Ananda College 70-50 in the final to win the title. They enjoyed a commanding 62-25 win against Maliyadeva College in the semi-final, after thrashing Richmond College 60-24 in the quarter-final. They kicked off the campaign with a comfortable first round victory against Kingswood College by 51-21.
Charaka Perera led the St. Joseph’s U-17 side with Abhaya Gajamange stepping in as his deputy. Methika Jayasinghe, Raphael Suraweera, Adrian Wijayawardena, Darren Bernard and Mareen Abishake were the rest of the members of the team. Skipper Charaka was aptly named the Most Valuable Player of the category.
Holy Family Convent, too made a dominant run throughout the U-20 Girls’ competition, which culminated with a 60-34 win against St. Joseph’s Girls’ School, Nugegoda in the final. They thrashed Mahamaya Girls’ School, Kandy by 51-21 in the semi-final, after recording a smashing 38-9 win against Holy Family Convent, Jaffna in the quarter-final.
They began their winning run with a comprehensive 41-14 win against Mahajana College, Batticaloa in the first round. Led by Tiara de Silva and deputized by Sachika Abeypala, the victorious HFC U-20 team included Sinali de Vaas Gunasekara, Dihini Dharmadasa, Kawya Riyal, Senuthmi Fernando and Kishuri Reiss, who was named the Most Valuable Player.
Holy Family Convent annexed the Under-17 Girls’ title beating Holy Family Convent, Jaffna in the final by 60-38 to complete their double crown. In the semi-final, HFC beat Hillwood Girls’ School, Kandy by 41-29 after overcoming Sumana Balika Vidyalaya, Ratnapura by 33-14 in the quarter-final.
HFC kicked off their winning campaign with a resounding 34-12 win against Sujatha Balika Vidyalaya in the first round, as they went on to complete with an unbeaten record as their seniors. Captained by Venessa Fernando and deputized by Amaya Henry, the HFC U-17 team included Liyensa de Siva, Anuki Abeypala, Minulie Dabarera, Misheni Perera, Binuthi Jayasinghe, Minali Silva, Dulansa Fernando, Sadie Crusz, Melissa Nanayakkara and Gimhani Rodrigo. Binuthi Jayasinghe won the Most Valuable Player award of this category.
Randima Sooriyarachchi and Shane Daniel were the main coaches of the four teams, with Hemal Fernando and Randima Jayasinghe as the teachers in-charge of the St. Joseph’s and HFC teams respectively.