St.Josephs`College drubs Colombo International School
St. Joseph’s College, sailed to a comfortable victory over Colombo International School in their U-19 Schools ThePapare Basketball Championship fixture that took place this morning at the St. Joseph’s College Basketball Court. The Joes dominated the 40 minutes, finally taking the game 66-34.
Gaining possession off the jump ball, CIS began driving to the basket and drawing fouls. On defense, they adopted a man to man guarding strategy. Joes countered this by cutting off CIS possession before they could cross the 3-point arc. After forcing such turnovers, St. Joseph’s capitalized unmercifully by converting at the other end. The first period drew to a close, 12-2, in favor of the home team.
The Joes continued to play attacking basketball in the second period, moving the ball around all 5 players and feeding the post player when necessary. Anticipating each CIS strategy, they switched their offensive games and defensive games in accordance. CIS, on the other hand, attempted to focus on shooting from the perimeter, eventually succeeding in adding a few points on the board. Joes led at halftime, 30-11.
As play commenced for the second half, the St. Joseph’s defense further improved. CIS was forced to attempt difficult shots from the perimeter and lost possession of the ball off the dribble quite often. CIS seemingly struggled with the 24-second allowance and fell afoul to many shot clock violations. The CIS lads failed to converge as a unit, with only a couple of players attacking well but lacking support as the game moved on. In stark contrast, St. Joseph’s clung onto the offensive and defensive rebounds and scored on the fast break. With the home court advantage and a staggering average height of around 5’10”, the Joes played as a solid unit executing their intended strategies at the correct moment. If at all, St. Joseph’s would need to improve on their defense and strengthen their post plays on the offense.
This was highlighted in the winning captain Panduka Gajamange’s words after the game,
“I was quite satisfied with our offense. We need to continue our attacking game in the upcoming games, but will have to apply more pressure on the defense”
Top Scorers
- Amandha Gunawardene- 13 points (CIS)
- Panduka Gajamange – 11 points (SJC)
Full Time: St. Joseph’s College, Maradana 66 – Colombo International School 34
ThePapare Player of the Match: Panduka Gajamange (SJC)
Photos: ThePapare Basketball Championship 2016 – Group B (09/07/2016)
St.Josephs`College ease off to second win over St. Benedict`s College
St. Joseph’s College, clinched their second victory of the day in the U-19 Schools ThePapare Basketball Championship Group C fixture against St. Benedict’s College at the St. Joseph’s College Basketball Court last evening. Although both teams came into the game with a win apiece, the St. Joseph’s team outscored their opponents 58-33.
The Joes dominated the first half working the ball well between all five players on the court and switching between driving to the basket, feeding the post players and making shots from the three-point arc. They played a strong defensive suit with a seemingly impenetrable zone defense. Things did not seem to work out in the Bens camp as their defense was left reeling and the offense only slightly working. St. Benedict’s was also losing out on some crucial offensive and defensive rebounds throughout the first half. The scoreboard read 33-15 in favor of St. Joseph’s at lemons.
The Jospehians continued to dominate in the second half by forcing turnovers and scoring off
the fast breaks. They finished at the rim, using long lob passes from across the court. Fortune seemed to drift away from the Bens, as the deficit grew as a result of not moving the ball around and some feeble attempts at the basket. As the game clock ticked away in the last period, St. Joseph’s rotated among their entire roster of players quite often. Their attempts to focus on improving the defense in this game were quite apparent to the spectators. They sealed the win 58-33 at the final whistle.
Top Scorers
- Shimel Hewage – 10 points (SBC)
- Panduka Gajamange – 15 points (SJC)
Full Time: St. Joseph’s College, Colombo 10 58 -St. Benedict’s College, Colombo 13 33
ThePapare Player of the Match: Shivanga de Silva (SJC)
