The semi-finals of the Sri Lanka School ‘A’ division under 17 basketball tournament took place last evening at the Gateway College Colombo basketball court. The semi-finalists were AIS, St. Joseph’s College, Gateway College and Lyceum International School Nugegoda. Read on to find out what happened during the matches.

Lyceum Nugegoda vs Gateway College

The game was started off by Lyceum Nugegoda taking first possession and converting it successfully into a basket. Soon afterwards Lyceum settled into play a man to man style defence while Gateway opted for a zone defence. When Gateway switched to the offense, they seemed to have a preference to take their chances from beyond the perimeter. While Gateway mainly scored through jumpers Lyceum scored by finishing strong near the rim. Gateway capitalized on the gaps of the defence to beat the defensive player and score. After an extremely tight first half Gateway led by 01 as they went into lemons.

Half time: Gateway College- 33 Lyceum Nugegoda- 32

The game continued to be extremely close as it progressed on to the second half. Lyceum benefited from collecting more rebounds resulting in more second shot opportunities which allowed them to dominate during the third quarter. During the final 10 minutes, both teams were highly reliant on fast breaks to obtain a majority of their score. During the final few minutes, the Gateway players moved up to a full court press soon after turning the tables on Lyceum following a couple 3 pointers. The game went right down the wire being extremely close. Lyceum leveled the scores sinking in a couple shots at the line which would have led to an overtime where they could have regained control but unfortunately for them a last minute fast break followed up by a couple of free shots by Gateway sealed the victory for them and Lyceum lost their spot in the finals.

Full-time: Gateway College-64 Lyceum Nugegoda-61

Speaking to the coach of the winning team after the match he had this to say to ThePapare.com: “They gave us a good game and in fact the same thing happened last year, where we had a very close game against Lyceum but we’re glad we made it into the finals and hopefully we can take the title this year.”

Photo Album – Lyceum International School, Nugegoda v Gateway College – SF1

St. Joseph’s College vs Asian International School

AIS took first possession of the ball and immediately scored the first basket off a mid-range jump shot. Throughout the game, AIS depended on their jump shots to score points. On the defensive side of things, both teams had opted for a zone defence. AIS used a lot of screens to try and get past the defenders, while the Josephians powered through the defence and penetrated to finish strong at the rim. The Josephians were also at an advantage when it came to rebounds as having taller players made it easier for them to collect more rebounds. Both defensive teams did a good job rejecting many offensive attempts but it was St. Joseph’s who led into half time.

Half time: St. Joseph’s College-25 AIS-24

During the beginning of the second half, both teams were neck to neck and both teams had used the break well, revising their game strategies. AIS switched to a man to man defence during the final half although the Josephians continued to power through and increased the deficit. The AIS players struggled to stop Shehan from the Josephian team, who continued to consistently score near the rim giving Joes a substantial lead towards the end of the half. AIS, on the other hand, had some bad luck with their shots, with a majority of them rolling off the edge of the rim. Towards the final part of the half, the Josephians moved their focus from shooting to defending to maintain their lead and take the final position in the finals. Although AIS received many opportunities at the line they failed to take maximum use of them as they lost to St. Joseph’s College by 09.

Full-time: St. Joseph’s College-55 AIS-46

The St. Joseph’s College coach shared his thoughts about the match with ThePapare.com: “Defence was our primary focus during the last quarter and I think that played a crucial role in sealing our victory. We played an open out game and the players didn’t hesitate to pass the ball out to the open player which also played a crucial role. Hopefully, we can maintain this momentum for the finals as well.

Photo Album – St.Joseph’s College v Asian International School – SF2

Catch the finals of the under 17 Sri Lanka Schools tournament today at the Gateway College basketball court from 4 PM onwards as St. Joseph’s battles it out against the home team for the champions title.