The third and the final day of the 51st senior National Championship men level II got underway at the Gateway College Kandy basketball court earlier today. There were two semi-finals scheduled for today where Puttalam took on the Kurunegala District in the first half of the day’s play which were the group stages of the tournament.
Senior Nationals Basketball Championship 2017 | Vote for your favorite team
With the senior nationals basketball championship…
Puttalam started absorbing some immense pressure from the Kurunegala team. The first quarter went as close as it could get. Puttalam who had 4 Army players combined very well with the youth players in the side to come from behind for the win. Both the teams took time to settle but it was Kurunegala who got their act together sooner. They had some luck at points as they received some free throwers for fouls that seemed a little harsh. The first quarter ended with Kurunegala leading by 4 points.
First Quarter: Puttalam District BA (06) – (10) Kurunegala District BA
Some good work saw Kurunegala take the lead but Puttalam was always at hand and were doing their utmost to organize their defense. They finally did in the dying minutes of the first half executing some brilliant underarm passes.
Kurunegala didn’t have to a poor quarter, as they did what they did in the first half but Puttalam played much better in the second quarter. As the timer went off for the half time there was a 6 points gap with Kurunegala leading.
Half-time: Puttalam District BA (13) – (19) Kurunegala District BA
In the third quarter both the teams made some mistakes trying to get three pointers without trying to penetrate the defense which either team could have done easily. This was a rather competitive quarter with Puttalam showing signs of making a comeback. Kurunegala lost the plot in this half as they switched their defense strategy which was previously a one on one which seemed a good ploy against Puttalam to a new 3 on 2 strategy.
Third Quarter: Puttalam District BA (33) – (27) Kurunegala District BA
Puttalam won the match eventually by 8 convincing points at the end of the full time securing a stunning comeback win. They played brilliantly in the final quarter of the game. Kurunegala tried to defend rather than go get their points at the opposition half which proved vital. Puttalam went on to score point after point eating at the Kurunegala lead. When they finally got the lead there was no stopping them from winning it.
Full-time: Puttalam District BA (53) – (45) Kurunegala District BA
Speaking to the captain of Puttalam District coach after their win he shared his views with representatives of ThePapare: ‘We are in the final we now have a chance to win the Level II division that is our ultimate objective, We didn’t have a very tough match to be honest our players were little tired’
