Tuesday, 10 September 2013 00:00
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By Sulakshi Thelikorala
The Carlton Cup 2013 Basketball Championship was successfully concluded its second week at the Henry Pedris Basketball Courts, Field Force Basketball Courts and Amal International School Basketball Courts with the participation of 39 Basketball teams in two divisions.
Over the years, the tournament has witnessed awe-inspiring performances by players around the country who have exhibited true sportsmanship in their performances.
This year too, the leading basketball teams in Sri Lanka displayed their outstanding talents in the national basketball arena at the Carlton Cup 2013.
The Division 1 matches commenced on 31 August 2013 with the participation of Sri Lanka’s top basketball clubs and the Division II matches commenced on 24 August.
Currently both Division I and II tournaments have reached a competitive level as the leading teams in the tournament have taken the centre stage. The Old Bens, Sri Lanka Air Force, Sri Lanka Navy, Colombo BC and HSC Blacks have managed to secure their victories in the Division 1 matches held last week.
The initial match of the Division I Championship hit a solid start as the HSC Blues Basketball Club took on the Peterites Youth Basketball Club.
The much experienced HSC Blues led the game in the first half by 14 points and continued the momentum in the second half despite the Peterites entering the game later with much enthusiasm.
The HSC Blues emerged as the winners, 76 points to 63 at fulltime. Arun Goonerathne top scored for Peterites Youth with 26 points and Mithila Abeysekara for HSC Blues with 16 points.
On the first day of the Division I Championship the Old Bens Basketball Club took on the Wattala Basketball Club at Henry Pedris Basketball Complex where the Old Bens defeated Wattala BC 64 points to 52.
The Old Bens dominated the last three quarters of the match as the Wattala BC’s momentum swung throughout the game despite leading in the first quarter 19-20.
Clington Stallon top scored for Old Bens with 23 points and Prageeth Pushpakumara scored 21 points for Wattala BC.
The much experienced Otters team was defeated by Sri Lanka Navy 74 points to 56 in the second day. The sailors led the game in both half’s with 32points to 24 at half time, 41 points to 39 full time.
The Sri Lanka Navy Basketball Team has showcased some awe-inspiring performances this year in comparison to the previous years.
Colombo BC took on the Colombo Bulls on the second day of the Division I championship at the Henry Pedris Basketball courts with 30 points to 17 at half time and 62 to 36 points full time. The top scorer for Colombo BC was Harshadewa De Silva with 21 points and Rohan Gunasekara with 10 points for Colombo Bulls.
The Peterites Youth Basketball Club managed to steal their first victory in their second game as they defeated the Sri Lanka Police Basketball Team 73 points to 65. M. Azham was the best shooter for Sri Lanka Police with 20 points and Sudesh Paiva was the best shooter for Peterites Youth with 20 points.
In the subsequent games of the Division I Championship, Sri Lanka Police took on the Otters 50 points to 42 with Perera scoring 10 points for Otters and M. Azham scoring 12 points for Sri Lanka Police.
The HSC blues lost to Sri Lanka Air force by two points in a tight game of 67 pints to 65 at the Henry Pedris Basketball Courts. w
The most unsurpassed performance by a team during the Carlton Cup 2013 was seen when the HSC Blacks took on Wattala BC last Saturday.
At half time the Blacks led the game 42 to 16 and emerged winners with 71 points to 30 at full time. Timothy Nithushan from the HSC Blacks was the leading scorer and Prageeth Pushpakumara scored 9 points for Wattala BC.
Carlton Cup 2013 Basketball Championship is held for the fifth consecutive year and it is organised by the HSC Blues Basketball Club, the sports wing of the Hambantota Sports Club in collaboration with Tharunyata Hetak.
