Joes clinch U-19 cager crown

Anuradha ABEYSEKERA

St. Joseph’s College, Maradana led by dynamic cager Praneeth Udumalagala, clinched the under-19 ‘A’ Division Basketball Championship for 2011, beating the defending champions, St. Benedict’s College, Kotahena 78-64 in the final played at the Royal College court yesterday.

Josephians took the early lead and maintained it till the last minute of the first quarter (15-12). Soon they were dragged to the back seat with Benedictines scoring two back to back three points to seal the quarter 18-15. Bens played with a good team work and defended their ring while maintaining the lead till the short whistle. They increased the gap and were ten points ahead at a stage (35-25). Joes tuned up to their usual rhythm in the later part of the second quarter and closed the gap. Even though both teams fought point to point in the second quarter Josephians were lagging behind four points at half time (31-35).

Josephians played an aggressive game in the third quarter, regained the lead by scoring 23 points while restricting opponents to seven points.

Joes blocked the Benedictine attack with an effective three point line man-to-man defense. Bens lost their grip during the third quarter and missed some re-bounds and under the basket shots. Joes posted a 12-point lead at the end of third quarter (54-42).

Eventhough losers fought hard in the final quarter in a point to point battle Josephians clinched the victory with a comfortable 14-point margin.

Udumalagala was adjudged the most valuable player of the tournament for his excellent captaincy and top scored in the finals with 34 points. Josephian Yohan Keyser was awarded as the best defensive player award and contributed with 20 points in the final. Benedictine captain Clinton Stallon was picked as the best offensive player and scored 22 points. Shan Sugunakumara added 16 points to the losing team.

Meanwhile the consolation final was won by Royal College, Colombo when they beat St. Anthony’s College, Wattala (52-42) at the same venue. Royalists were one point behind mid way (24-25) but turned the game into their favour in the second half.

Sandeep Rathnayake (12 points) and Sameera Chanaka (10 points) were the best scorers for the Royalists while Milan Chathuranga and Nalinda Jayawardane contributed 16 and 14 points respectively for St. Anthony’s College.