Holy Family Convent Bambalapitiya crowned champs
The victorious Holy Family Convent Under-17 Basketball team Seated from left: Shane Daniel (Coach), Roshan Randima (Coach), Brawin Fernando (Welfare Society Representative), Rev. Sr. Maureen Hettiarachchi (Prefect of Games), T. Thivakaran (Vice President – Welfare Society), Roshan Ragav (Trainer), Randima Jayasinghe (Teacher-in-Charge) Standing front row from left: Sinali de Vaas Gunasekera, Venara Jayasundara, Minoli Hensman, Kishuri Reiss, Oneli Perera, Onela Dunuwille, Amandha Wanduragala, Sithumi Jayaratne, Shonali Dharmasena (Captain), Dihini Dharmadasa, Rainee Anthony Standing back row from left: Ronali de Alwis, Sachika Abeypala, Supuli Obeyesekera, Gayathi Jayasinghe (Vice Captain), Minoli Direkze, Tiara de Silva, Sewvandhi Fonseka, Kawya Riyal
Most Valuable Player: Venara Jayasundara
The All-Island Girls Basketball Tournament 2019 that was played throughout the month of April concluded with Holy Family Convent Bambalapitiya coming out victorious. They reached the grand finale by beating St. Anthony’s Girls School Kandy in the semi-finals with a score of 68-47. Ladies College Colombo, the runners-up of the tournament took on St. Joseph’s Girls School, Nugegoda and won with an eventual scoreline of 33-29.
Best Defensive Player: Gayathi Jayasinghe
The Girls Under-17 All-Island finals took off at the Holy Family Convent courts in Bambalapitiya between Ladies College and the unbeaten team, Holy Family Convent. The game turned out to be an enthralling contest for the spectators present at the courts from the very beginning as a to-and-fro battle took place with both teams getting the upper hand at certain points of the game.
However, the spirited performance by Ladies College still came in second as Holy Family Convent Bambalapitiya prevailed by eventually winning the game scoring 21 to 16 at halftime and 42 to 37 at full time. The main scorers for the game were Gayathi Jayasinghe (12 points) and Shonali Dharmasena (10 points).
Two notable cagers from Holy Family Convent went on to win individual awards from the competition. Gayathi Jayasinghe went on to bag the Best Defensive Player award for her stupendous performance in the final while Venara Jayasundara’s consistent performance earned her the Most Valuable Player of the Tournament. The victorious team was coached by Shane Daniel and Roshan Ridma with the assistance of teacher-in-charge Randima Jayasinghe and prefect-of-games Rev. Sr. Maureen Hettiarachchi.