The boy’s finals of the Inter-International School tournament was concluded at the British School Indoor basketball court yesterday. The finalists were the same as last year and they came back to battle it out for the title of champions once again. Lyceum International School – Wattala beat the defending champions Asian International School with a surprising come back in the final quarter.
Pre-Match quotes
LISW coach speaking with ThePapare.com prior to the match, “We’re aiming to win this year my team will be giving it their best and if they perform to their best of abilities I am sure we can win this match.”
AIS coach speaking with ThePapare.com prior to the match, “We’re at a considerable disadvantage playing with a younger side against a team comprising of many national players but I am confident that if we can perform the way we have been and if we maintain that same momentum we can win this match too.”
Match Report
LISW started off the game taking first possession of the ball although the AIS players moved into a tight zone defense momentarily not allowing LISW to take any open shots. Meanwhile, the AIS players began to take control of the game adding to the deficit by taking jump shots and capitalizing on fast break opportunities to create some distance on the scoreboard.
First-Quarter: Asian International School- 23 Lyceum International School – Wattala- 13
During the second quarter, AIS managed to maintain their lead by intercepting passes and stealing the ball off the dribble off their opponents to gain more ball possessions and offensive opportunities. The AIS players managed to get through the LISW defense to outscore them in the second quarter as well increasing the deficit to 14 points. LISW trailed behind AIS as they broke for halftime.
Half-time: Asian International School- 37 Lyceum International School – Wattala- 23
During the third quarter of the game, the tables were turned on AIS as LISW began to reduce the deficit drastically. Even though the AIS players had marked the key players of LISW Rashan Perera managed to shoot over the defense getting in a few jump shots to reduce the deficit. Towards the latter part of the third quarter one of the key players for AIS Arnold Brent had an injury and was taken out for the rest of the quarter, LISW used this to their advantage seizing the opportunity to secure more rebounds and managed to reduce the deficit to a mere 02 points.
Third-Quarter: Asian International School- 48 Lyceum International School – Wattala- 46
The fourth quarter was disastrous for the AIS team as they lost their substantial lead and control of the game kept going back and forth between the two teams. After trailing by more than 10 points in the first half, LISW managed a comeback and got a few consecutive shots making it AIS’s turn to play catch up. LISW capitalized on fast breaks and managed to maintain their lead until the final buzzer and took home the title of champions of the tournament defeating the defending champions.
Full-time: Asian International School- 61 Lyceum International School – Wattala- 68
Speaking to the coach of the LISW team after the match, “It was only during the final quarter that we started to use the post to score which was a turning point and allowed us to take control of the game long enough for us to win the match.”
Best Defensive Player – Arnold Brent (Asian International School)
Most Valuable Player – Rashan Perera (Lyceum International School – Wattala)
Best Offensive player– Evangelo Stephan (Lyceum International School – Wattala)
