Josephians win All Island Under 20 Division A Basketball Title

St. Joseph’s College, Colombo emerged Champions at the all-island under 20 division A Basketball Tournament 2022 organized by Sri Lanka Schools Basketball Association and sponsored by Gaja Sports. The final was held at the Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium, which was witnessed by a large gathering of fans. The Tournament was held after a lapse of 3 years due to the Pandemic.The Josephians came into the tournament as favourites and they lived up to expectations from the word go as they cruised through the group stages defeating Gateway College Kandy 60-38, Mahinda College Galle 75-38, Angel International School Jaffna 75-32, and LPF Academy Dehiwala 90-38 points respectively.The Josephians displayed some superior level of basketball in both offence and defense right throughout the group stage stamping their authority moving to the knockout stage.

The quarter-final against Ananda College Colombo was the most anticipated game of the tournament which lived up to its expectations, The Josephians went coast to coast passed Ananda College to register a 62-57 point win. The semi-finals and finals were blowout wins for the Josephians as they dominated both DS Senanayake College Colombo 87-36 and Royal College Colombo 68-52 points respectively.Skipper Shehan Fernando and Keith Costa were the key players in the Josephians offence while Shannon De Zilvas’s defensive game in rebounding and protecting the paint was vital for the Josephians success right throughout the tournament. Overall the Josephians team game moving the ball in offence and strong man-to-man defense was on point. Deservingly Shehan Fernando was adjudged the Most Valuable Player while Keith Costa was awarded the Best Offensive Player.

Shehan Fernando is a promising Basketball player and was selected to the national basketball pool recently, His aggressive style of basketball was seen right throughout his school career as he was able to carry his team to bag the under 15 and 17 titles some years back, he ends his school career with a 100% record, which is a rare feat in Schools Basketball.The Josephian support crew comprising of Head Coach Randima Sooriyaarachchi a former national captain and Coach Shane Daniel, did a remarkable job and they have been the pillars of success for Joes Basketball for many years. St Joseph’s won its last under 19 title in 2012 under the leadership of Current national player Praneeth Udumalagala who is now part of the current Josephian supporting staff as the skills development coach.Over 50 Schools took part in the tournament in 5 divisions for boys’ and girls’ which concluded on the 19th of May. The knockout rounds were played at the Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium for the first time and games were live-streamed, which is a commendable effort by the Sri Lanka Schools Basketball Association and Gaja Sports who had come forward to support basketball.