The semi-final matches of the Inter-International Schools basketball tournament were concluded last evening at the British School Indoor Basketball court. Last year’s finalists AIS and Lyceum Wattala advanced through to the finals yet again this year.

Asian International School vs Colombo International School

The defending champions proved themselves once more triumphing over CIS with a scoreline of 81-51. The highest scorer for AIS was the skipper and national player Arnold Brendt securing 30 points for his team while Shivanga De Silva another national player did the heavy scoring for CIS getting 25 points.

The AIS players took control of the game from the tip-off by creating 2 on 1 situations before the opponent’s defense had a chance to recover and fall back. The lads from AIS consistently finished strong at the rim making sure every offensive attempt was successful coupled with this they made sure to secure a majority of the rebounds giving them more offensive opportunities. Halfway into the game CIS gradually began to trail behind as their offense mainly revolved around Shivanga making it difficult for the CIS players to reduce the growing deficit. CIS moved into an effective full-court press during the latter stages of the game however the deficit had grown to be too large to reduce with very little time remaining on the clock.

Full-time: Asian International School 81 – Colombo International School 51


Lyceum Wattala vs Lyceum Nugegoda

In the battle of the Lyceum’s the Wattala branch snatched victory in the last couple minutes securing their spot in the finals of the tournament. Lyceum Wattala beat Lyceum Nugegoda 58-49. Navina was the highest scorer for Lyceum Nugegoda contributing 13 points for his team while, Rashan Perera the captain of the Lyceum Wattala team was the highest scorer for his team getting 16 points during the course of the game.

Both teams played a very physical defensive game not giving each other any room to make an offensive play. Both teams were neck to neck on the scoreboard for a majority of the game with the Nugegoda team scoring mainly from under the basket thanks to a few well-timed passes while the Wattala team had a high success rate on their jump shots. Rashan Perera used his height to his advantage and shot over the defense allowing his team to stay close to the Nugegoda branch as the Wattala team trailed by 3 going into the final quarter.

The tables were turned on Lyceum Nugegoda as Lyceum Wattala took control of the game for the very first time during play during the final quarter. Lyceum Nugegoda faced a couple unfortunate injuries during the final few minutes which made securing rebounds a difficult task for them as a key post player was injured. Lyceum Nugegoda received a few opportunities at the line but they failed to salvage the match as they ran out of time trailing by 9 points.

Full-time : Lyceum Wattala 58 – Lyceum Nugegoda 49

The coach of the Lyceum Wattala team had this to say to ThePapare after their match: “It was a very close game and we managed to win although facing many difficulties such as a weak bench of which most of the players were injured due to a previous tournament. But we’re glad we managed to win and we’re looking forward to the finals.”

Photos: Inter International Basketball Tournament 2017 | Boys SF 01 & 02