Gateway College Colombo won the crunch points with composure, to beat St. Joseph’s College Colombo 64-57 in the All-Island Under 17 finals at the S. Thomas College Mt. Lavinia courts. In this tournament, organised by the Sri Lanka Schools Basketball Association, Gateway defeated St. Peter’s College, Colombo 04 by 68-58 in the Quarter finals stage and St. Michael’s College, Batticalo by 68-18 in the semi-final.

It was a thrilling final where the teams were evenly matched. Gateway, however, made their move towards the end of the first ten minutes. Kaumith Illepruma’s three-pointer interspersed by Danushka Gunasekara’s drive in the lane and Shehan Udugampola’s success on the paint helped Gateway outscore Joes 39-36 in the closing moments of the second quarter.

The best offensive player of the final was Brendan Keyser of St. Joseph’s College while the best defensive player of the final was Shehan Udugampola of Gateway College. The most valuable player of the final was Danuhka Gunasekara of Gateway College. Danushka finished with 23 points, and 10 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals. This marked his third double-double this season.

The consolation final between S. Thomas Mt. Lavinia, and St. Michael’s college, Batticalo, was won by the Thomians.

Under 17 Boys' Basketball Champion Team