Excitement in Sri Lankan basketball with Deakin set to debut

by Rex Clementine

When the Sri Lankan basketball team goes overseas, they are overpowered by opponents with superior height. The national basketball team’s Achilles’ heel always has been height. Our tallest player barely stands at six feet and as a result the nation is not a force to be reckoned within the game even at the regional level. But all that could change come this March when we introduce a six foot nine inches tall lad to the national team. Deakin Pereira is his name.

Deakin was born in 2002 and has Sri Lankan roots. His father Ryan Andrew Pereira was born in Colombo in 1976 and migrated to Australia like many BurgHers did those days with the Sinhala only policy introduced by the SLFP government marginalizing the minorities. Due to Deakin’s Sri Lankan roots, he is eligible to represent Sri Lanka like Mayumi Raheem did in swimming and currently he is in the process of obtaining dual citizenship. Deakin is bound to dominate the basketball courts when he debuts for Sri Lanka later next year with an ability to dunk the basketball from his left-hand and his right-hand. Amdidextrous players like him are a rarity indeed.

“I used to play Aussie Rules Football and during the off-season I used to engage in basketball to keep to my fitness, strength and stamina. Slowly I took a liking to basketball and nowadays it’s all about basketball,” Deakin told Sunday Island.

The fact that he could go onto represent Sri Lanka dawned to him when he was in Colombo a few months ago and the don of local basketball nAjith Kuruppu left no stone unturned in ensuring that his talents remained in Sri Lanka and didn’t end up elsewhere.

Although born in Hallam, Melbourne, Deakin went to the US for his high school studies and was part of the team that won the national championship, and he was ranked number one. “My father was the Leading Hand at General Motors while my mother was Operations Manager of Initial Hygiene. Their support for me has been unbelievable. Whether it’s early morning practices or late evening training or whether it means three-hour drives, they have been always there for me. That’s what all kids like to have. That kind of affection and love has been amazing.

They have supported me throughout. Everyone sees your successes and want to be part of it and it’s your parents who notice when you are down, and they have backed me up to the hilt. I am truly grateful to them.” “Although I am half Sri Lankan and half Australian, I feel I am more Sri Lankan at heart. I am looking forward for the day where I take the Sri Lankan flag and go around. I know talking of Sri Lanka everyone is talking about cricket. But I want to make an impact in basketball,” Deakin concluded.