The Alles-Gunasekara Annual Basketball Encounter played between Royal College (RC) and Gateway (GCC) College ended in favor of the Reid Avenue lads yesterday. The third show-down of the encounter was played at Sugathadasa Indoor Basketball Stadium. Full-time scores read, 59-47.
RC skipper Venuja Gamlath drew first blood in the match as he launched off from down-town for a clean swish. Following the captain`s lead, Janidu Samaranayake, shot another from the perimeter which put the Royalists ahead 6-0.
With the early lead, defensive screws tightened from the RC end, which halted GC from opening their account up-until the half-way mark of the first quarter. It was Nikhil Jayasinghe who got the party started for the Gateway lads, shooting from the post.
GCC went on to score 06 points in the quarter in reply to a formidable 14 points from Royal College. It was the Royal College defense than ran riot on the GCC playing strategies. Employing a tight man-to-man defensive ploy, RC held it`s fortress till the final minute of the match.
Unfortunately for GCC, both their top contenders Mirtesh Thurairajah and Nikhil Jayasinghe did not connect their shots. Even though they did make in-roads back into the game, scoring 13 points in the second quarter, the leakage of 14 points in the defense put RC in a comfortable position.
Apart from the end-to-end encrypted defense, RC dominated the boards for almost 90% of the game. At most of the possessions both offensive and defensive rebounds were etched by the Royalists. That cut off many second chances Gateway had in trying their luck to up to the scoreboard.
Gateway lacked execution in set-pieces during the most crucial penultimate quarter. GCC only managed to score 05 points while RC topped up with another 13 points. GCC needed to slow the pace of the game and rotate the ball around the perimeter and exploit the gaps in the defense, but, the score-board pressure completely stole the game away from the players.
Stepping into the final quarter, GCC did play well, maintaining a healthy FT streak of 7/7 in the quarter. Once more, it was the defense that let them down in the final ten minutes. GCC added 20 points but leaked 18 points. If they had not let RC score that many points, perhaps the result would have been different.
On the other side, both Venuja Gamlath and Dulmin Jayasundara posed an alarming threat in terms of long-range shooting. Both players shot-off from two-three paces behind the arc and the ball still swished the nets cleanly.
In a nutshell, Royal College adjusted to Gateway College`s game-play and pace through their defense. With a swift transition from offense to defense and vice-versa, it was a tough ask for the GCC lads to execute the strategies that they pre-planned.
With the win, Royal College lead the tally of the Alles-Gunasekara Basketball Encounter 2-1.
Full Time: Royal College – 59 Gateway College – 47
- Most Valuable Player: Janidu Samaranayake (Royal College)
- Best Offensive Player: Dulmin Jayasundara (Royal College)
- Best Defensive Player: Disura Dissanayake (Gateway College)
- Best Assists Award: Cheevan De Costa (Gateway College)
