The twenty-first match of the Carlton Basketball Championships 2014 was played between Sri Lanka Air Force BC and HSC Blues BC.
It was time for airmen to get the sweet revenge when they were defeated by HSC Blues BC last year at the semi-final which made the outfit left to satisfy themselves with second runner-up position. Yet when the clock ran out the same story was retold since the scoreboard read in favour of HSC Blues BC 81-44.
HSC gained possession with the tap to the jump ball and Yohan Keyser drew first blood inside the first minute of the game off a soft touch from the glass. Right after during the next possession a foul was called in favour of him when he converted a free-throw and helped the home team to lead the game three-zero. It transformed into a five-zero when Mohammed Fawshan layed up the ball through a fast break. With five minutes gone in the clock SLAF still couldn`t get a look at the basket due to their poor shot selection. It was a bit of bad luck for airmen as they could not convert about eight free throws into points when they were given the chance, which made the home team to lead the quarter by ten points when the whistle blew.
The second quarter commenced with hope from the Airmen on settling themselves in to the game but it was a pity to witness that they did not score a single point for five minutes of the second quarter. HSC Blues BC capitalising on the early lead and the poor defence structure of the visitors scored sixteen points during the entire second quarter where SLAF could only score nine points in reply for that. Rebounds were on a percentage below five for the visiting team as Marco Latinovic and Mithila Abeysekara were having good rebound nights for the home team. The game was called off for lemons when HSC Blues BC led the game by seventeen points.
(Half Time – HSC Blues BC -30 Sri Lanka Air Force BC -13)
Mithila Abeysekara had already scored ten points and etched seven rebounds when the second phase of the match commenced with another twenty minutes to run down. The bad shot selection of the visitors outfit continued which was the main factor which cost them the game. Ball movement around the floor was not witnessed at all and the second they try to do so, the home team made sure their hustle earned them a turnover. Back to back downtown swishes from Marco Latinovc extended the lead in to in-closable double digits. SLAF managed to score twenty points during the quarter but the defence of the outfit was leaking points to the opposition hence, the twenty points was not bought in to full value. The quarter concluded when the scoreboard read 58-33.
The body language of the home team stated that they were off pressure when the final ten minutes of the game commenced. Roshan Randima playing the anchor role for the home team made sure that he rotated the rest of players around him and dished assists to get the scoreboard ticking. The mistakes were never rectified by the visiting outfit which was questionable on how much they wanted to step ahead in the tournament. The Sri Lanka Air Force never showed healthy signs of settling their nerves even during the second and the third quarter. The clock ran out and HSC Blues BC rewrote the story of the encounter in the exact same plot with a lead of thirty seven points.
(Full time – HSC Blues BC – 81 Sri Lanka Air Force BC – 44)
