CIS clinch under 19 cager title

Angu Rajendran

"What an extraordinary match!" said Principal of British School as he watched the balance swing from one side to the other at the under 19 boys basketball final organized at the British School indoor court between Colombo International School and defending champions Lyceum Nugegoda, last weekend.

Colombo International School (CIS) took an early lead 14/2 in the first quarter, much to their own surprise. CIS tallest player at six feet two inches, fifteen year old Nitesh was in full form as he converted all the offensive rebounds into baskets. Some amazing long passes between Shannon Bartlett and CIS's own Achilles - Virosh, kept CIS in the lead up to the middle of the second quarter.

CIS played at a pace never seen before, not allowing Lyceum's defense to settle down. There were some excellent substitutions on the CIS side to give their players the much needed rest and with a strong bench that was just about possible. And every player who came in played his heart out specially young Onello Gilbert, showing their team's bench strength.

However, as the CIS players tired themselves out with their unrelentingly fast- paced game and Lyceum's centre Rajitha Hettiarachchi found his form, Lyceum made a quick come back to finish at half time with a lead of one point.

At the end of the third quarter when Lyceum took a twelve point lead and the audience lost interest in the one-sided match, CIS made an amazing come-back. CIS played with their hearts, and the will to win showed. Their indomitable team spirit and front court press during the last quarter for just one minute allowed the game to pick up pace and as Virosh converted five continuous baskets without allowing the ball to go to Lyceum's offensive court, CIS were back in the game.

CIS won the hearts of all watching with their plucky game as Lyceum lost heart when their defence was torn apart on all sides and their offense was trapped by a brilliant front court press at just the right time.

Some vital free throws were missed by the disheartened Lyceum players in the crucial moments of the game as technical fouls abounded. Adrenalin flowed as CIS captain Sven Gilbert converted two continuous three pointers to seal CIS victory during the last 58 seconds of the match.

CIS won their well-deserved battle of spirit and skills narrowly with 62 points to Lyceum's 57. Virosh of CIS was the obvious choice for the Most Valuable Player award while Nitesh was the Best Defensive Player and Rajitha Hettiarachchi of Lyceum was the Best Offensive Player.

In the girls final the well practiced Gateway team cake-walked to victory in a one-sided final against Asian International School. After having played an amazing semi-final against favourites British School, defending champions AIS simply could not find their form in the final and lost to the hardy and aggressive Gateway girls 58/38.