Colombo International School Kandy takes down their Colombo branch and makes it through to the finals.
The smooth entry of Colombo International School Kandy from the tip off continued for most part of the first quarter. On the other hand Colombo International School Colombo panicked and lost control of the game. This was visible with the fouls coming in; Chandika Karunarathne from Colombo was one of the first to give away two free throws to Kandy. CIS Kandy coach was comfortably laid back in the first quarter with the players taking over the game and bringing on a high score early on. Kiran at number 7 surprised the spectators with two three pointers. He was instant; just utilizing quick passes and positioning himself before any defense approach. Kiran shot both the 3-ponters from right above the three point line. Umair Naleer also joined Kiran with 3-pointers in his 5 baskets for the quarter. Being a medium built player Umair’s 4 baskets awed the CIS Colombo team. As the quarter came to an end CIS Kandy was already on top by 15 points.
(First Quarter – Colombo International School Kandy 26: Colombo International School Colombo 11)
For the Colombo team the saviors were Oneallo Gilbert and Thulhara Darmashasa. They were the only contributors to the score and it continued so for the most of the second quarter. Thulhara was the first to score a three pointer for the team Colombo. Dashing through the taps of Kiran, Rimzy Thulhara was speedy towards the center. With many Kandy players still within the circle his decision to go for a long shoot worked fine. With much involvement of players at numbers 6 , 4 and 7 CIS Colombo was able to make an improvement from the first quarter score to a 15 in the second. Yet Kandy was leading by 20 points.
(Second Quarter – Colombo International School Kandy 46: Colombo International School Colombo 26)
With the minor drawback of Kandy, the coach himself got involved in the game, pushing Kiran to go for three pointers early on. Though he missed two tries early on in the third effort he was successful. However the coach’s plan for Salim did not work as he expected. The tall rebounder was not able to position himself at the request. Yet making up for the drawback was Umair who’s already known for his performance in the first quarter. Staring off from an air bound layup Umair was able to score 4 consecutive baskets. Out of which three were 3-pointers. This easily pushed the overall score of CIS Kandy to an unbeatable high.
(Third Quarter – Colombo International School Kandy 64: Colombo International School Colombo 39)
Twenty five points ahead in the game gave Kandy all the confidence they needed. Kandy switched the best of their players to bench. Kiran was replaced by Afzal. Though Umair was continuously requested by the coach to come back he continued to play. CIS Colombo had their best performance in the last quarter. Though it was too late in the game for a turn over, the five consecutive baskets by Thulhara Danushka was a notable performance. The game was wrapped up by Kandy as Salim scored a three-pointer while the whistle went off.
(Fourth Quarter – Colombo International School Kandy 74: Colombo International School Colombo 55)
