FIBA Asia U- 18 Basketball Championship:

Lankan boys tough contenders

Sri Lankan boys proved that they are among the top basketball teams in Asia when they performed well at the FIBA Asia U- 18 Basketball Championship in Yeman recently.

For two weeks, from September 21, Sri Lanka school basketball enthusiasts had been watching FIBA internet telecasts beamed live from Yemen where the Sri Lanka youth Basketball players were taking on Asian basketball giants.

Prior to the tour in Yemen, SL Youth comfortably secured their slot in the Championship at the 21st FIBA Asia Qualifying Basketball Tournament held in India last August. Qualifying rounds started on August 10 and the Sri Lankan boys emerged runners-up and booked their slot at the 21st FIBA Championship in Yemen.

The tournament ended last week placing SL Youth in the 12th slot, ahead of several Asian giants and just behind India. “This was one of the historic achievements in Sri Lanka Youth Basketball arena,” Sri Lanka Basketball Federation Vice President Ajith Kuruppu said.

In Yemen, SL Youth again took on India, the team which was placed first in the qualifiers in India where the Lankans lost to them in the final. It too had been a narrow save for Indian youth who clearly took the benefit of

height and weight over relatively shorter Sri Lankans. “It was a tough game in India on their home court. Even though we lost again in Yemen, it had been a close affair. SL youth proved their worth again and bounced back each and every moment,” assistant coach Shivashakthi Selveraj said.

“Many consider height as a crucial factor in the game of basketball, but we knew we ware as athletic as any other team. All games had been taken seriously and we knew how to challenge an opponent and keep the game close till it ended. We made them to battle and we had also been battling right

back,” captain of the team Clinton Stallone said. Clinton was well supported by his deputy, the multi-skilled Arun Mario Gooneratne. Tough encounters, against giants such as China, Japan, Korea, Iran and Kazakhstan allowed Lankan boys to gain much needed international experience and exposure.

“Rigorous training we underwent established who we are. It is the training that truly counts in terms of our skills. The way we had been trained raised our spirits to represent Sri Lanka Basketball so well. We were taught how to play great defense throughout with lot of enthusiasm,” said Randeel Senevirathna from Trinity College, Kandy, the only player representing the hill capital. “International basketball is a tough physical contest where players average well over six and half feet in height. Even though we are relatively shorter, speed compensated for us,” Randeel added.