St. Joseph’s and Holy Family Convent Win Nalanda Centennial Basketball Fiesta Titles

The Nalanda Centennial Basketball Fiesta, organised as part of the celebrations marking the 100th anniversary of Nalanda College, Colombo, was held on September 24 and 25 at the Nalanda College Basketball Arena.

The tournament was organised by the Old Nalandians Sports Club and powered by X-Ncians 2002 as part of the college's centenary celebrations.

A total of 24 Under-18 school teams participated, comprising 16 boys' teams and eight girls' teams from schools across the country.

In the boys' tournament, St. Joseph's College, Colombo 10, emerged champions, while Ananda College, Colombo, finished as runners-up.

Nalanda College, Ananda College, Royal College and St. Joseph's College qualified for the boys' semi-finals, with St. Joseph's eventually securing the championship.

In the girls' tournament, Holy Family Convent, Bambalapitiya, won the championship, while St. Joseph's Girls' School, Nugegoda, finished as runners-up.

Holy Family Convent, St. Anne's College, Wattala, Anula Vidyalaya, Nugegoda, and St. Joseph's Girls' School, Nugegoda, qualified for the girls' semi-finals.

Most Valuable Player Awards

The Most Valuable Player awards were presented to:

• Boys: Yethum Mudalige – St. Joseph's College

• Girls: Binuthi Jayasinghe – Holy Family Convent

The event was attended by Nalanda College Principal Eran Champika, Old Nalandians Sports Club President Dinuka Chandraratne, and other members of the school and alumni community.

Dinuka Chandraratne is a former basketball captain and former head prefect of Nalanda College, Colombo, and the immediate past president of the Old Nalandians Sports Club. He is also noted as having received school colours five times at Nalanda College.