The consolation finals of the Senior Nationals basketball tournament took place on the 22nd of February at the Otters basketball court. The first match played was the women’s match in which Army and Air Force battled it out for 3rd place. The second match was the men’s Match of HSC playing against MSBA.

Army vs Air Force

The Air Force team was the first to start the game off converting the jump ball successfully but the Army team countered momentarily. Both the Air Force and Army teams man to man defence served its purpose of adding pressure to the offensive player and allowed them to obtain the defensive rebounds as neither team could secure their shots. Neither side had a proper offensive plan as both teams got stuck and lost the ball once they brought it to the other side. Both teams played a slow tempo, low scoring game, but when the Army team began to relax the Air Force took a slight edge as they went into lemons leading by 2.

Half-time: Army- 14 Air Force- 16

The second half was no different as both teams were going back and forth on the scoreboard turning it into an unpredictable match. The Army team had changed up their offensive plan and switched to taking their chances around the perimeter which worked as they turned the tables on Air Force and took a marginal lead. The Army team was slightly faster than their opponents allowing them to maintain the lead via fast breaks. Coming down to the final few minutes it turned into a competition around the perimeter as both teams were looking to score from downtown. By the end of the game, Army although having faced a bit of drama at the start won 3rd place.

Full-time: Army- 55 Air Force- 48


Hambantota DBA vs Mercantile Services BA

As the game began HSC started off handicapped playing with 3 players less on the bench limiting the substitutes they had. Having lost the semi-final game this was not a crucial match for either team as they both played a very relaxed game this was especially the case for the Hambantota team as they had a very relaxed defence allowing MSBA to breeze through to finish strong at the rim. Although it was a relaxed and comfortable game for both teams MSBA didn’t slack too much when it came to their defence and the first half began to seem like a one-sided affair with MSBA on a scoring rampage of layup after layup. Going into halftime Hambantota was trailing by 24 points.

Half-time: Hambantota DBA- 13 Mercantile Services BA- 37

By the start of the second half of the game, the rest of the Hambantota team had arrived which really made a difference as it became a more fast paced game. Throughout the second half, Hambantota outscored their opponents as they upped their offensive and defensive game. Hambantota didn’t waste time setting up offensive plays but instead just attacked and finished strong near the rim. Had there been more time it would have been possible for Hambantota to turn things around and secure 3rd place. By the end of the game, neither team seemed to care too much about the victor after their semi-final losses as they had treated this as a mere friendly match.

Full-time: Hambantota DBA- 46 Mercantile Services BA- 52

“After a semi-final loss, the pressure to win was gone for both teams hence why they both played such a relaxed game.” ~ Mercantile Services BA coach