Preliminary stages of the girls’ category of ThePapare Basketball Championship 2018 continued for the second day at Holy Family Convent Basketball Complex. Hosts Holy Family Convent (HFC) and 2016 champions, Good Shepherd Convent (GSC) recorded wins on day two.

Good Shepherd Convent v St. Paul’s Girls School – Milagiriya (SPM)

GSC started the game strongly with scoring in each possession they could take. On the other hand, SPM struggled from the beginning of the game to find the net and with the score being 14-2 at the end of the first quarter.

In the second quarter GSC continued to dominate the game in terms of pace, recording many steals which led to fast breaks on the other end. Continuing the rhythm and pressurizing the opposition, SPM continued to struggle thus, being outscored at the end of the quarter 14-05.

Half time: Good Shepherd Convent – 28 St. Pauls Girls’ School – 07  

The latter half of the game showed no difference in the GSC dominance.  To add on to the dominance, GSC continued to tighten their defence and up the tempo which led to mishaps being caused in the SPM camp in both offense and defence.  

SPM did fight back in the third quarter adding 10 points. Yet the early lead banked by GSC steered them a clear path towards victory. GSC claimed a rather dominating win with a 34-point lead.

Full Time: Good Shepherd Convent – 54 St. Pauls Girls’ School – 20

Captain of GSC, Tharushi Wijemanne, speaking to ThePapare.com said, “We tried to create a better offense with more chances to convert on. We tried on more 3 pointers and dictated the tempo of the game in terms of pace. The game gave us a lot of experience and taking the tournament game by game”

Top Scorers

Good Shepherd Convent – Hansini Maleesha – 24 points

St. Paul’s Girls School – Manudi Pathirana – 9 Points

Holy Family Convent v Colombo International School (CIS)

Both the teams took a couple minutes to set foot on the game, but it was HFC, who drew first blood in the 4th minute. HFC, penetrated the opposition defence finishing close near the rim on most of their shots.  

CIS failed in the maiden quarter not being able to connect. It ended a low scoring affair, with a score line of 06-03 as CIS managed to convert 03 free-throws.

CIS came back strong at the start of the second, leading the game by a point, 7-6. The home side, showing more experience grabbed the pedal during the latter minutes increasing the lead by 07 points. The fast-paced game unmatched CIS which put them back behind.

Half Time: Holy Family Convent – 19 Colombo International School – 12  

The second half tightened the competition as CIS once again led the game by a point, 23-22. CIS adapted several isolation offensive plays which provided them the lane to drive through the defence. Eventually, CIS outscored HFC 08-10 in the penultimate quarter.  

HFC hungry for a comeback, deployed tight defensive methods. Senara Amunugama who was in form for CIS, were double teamed by HFC in defence which rattled the CIS game-plan. The win in defence helped the hosts to grab more rebounds and increase the pace of the game. CIS failed to adapt into the final minutes of pressure which earned them a 13-point loss at full time.  

Full Time: Holy Family Convent – 43 Colombo International School – 30

Captain of HFC, Sandrene David, speaking to ThePapare.com said, “Observing the opposition we knew they were quite efficient in scoring 3 pointers. We exerted pressure and cut their chances of taking free shots. It was a simple tactic which led us to the win”

Top Scorers

Holy Family Convent – Anne Fernando – 12 points

Colombo International School – Leia Hamza – 16 points

 

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