COLOMBO, Apr 29 (ePRESS) – St. Joseph’s College, Colombo 10 produced a dominant performance to beat Ananda College 70–37 and win the Under-20 All-Island “A” Division, Tier 1 Basketball Championship final, held at the Nalanda College courts in Colombo last Saturday, completing a historic back-to-back perfect season in the tournament.
The Josephians, led by skipper Methika Jayasinghe, controlled the final from the start, combining strong attack with tight defence to outclass Ananda and confirm their status as the best school team this season.
Their march to the title was equally impressive. St. Joseph’s defeated Trinity College, Kandy 63–44 in the semi-final after an unbeaten run in the group stage. They recorded wins over Wesley College (75–56), Royal College (52–50), St. Thomas’ College, Mount Lavinia (58–41), Ananda College (66–37), Prince of Wales College, Moratuwa (60–35), D.S. Senanayake College (51–38) and Trinity College (78–52).
Captain Methika Jayasinghe led from the front throughout the tournament and was named Most Valuable Player (MVP). Darren Bernard also stood out and won the Best Offensive Player award for his consistent scoring.
Vice-captain Mareen Abishake played a key supporting role along with teammates Darren Bernard, Adrian Wijayawardena, Chamindu Wijesinghe, Aaron Gerald, Damketh Dammalage, Raphael Suraweera, Nathan Gunarathne, Praveen Kariyawasam, Isindu Edirisinghe and Brandan Xavier.
The team was coached by Randima Sooriyaarachchi and Shane Daniel, with strong backing from Master-in-Charge Hemal Fernando, Prefect of Games Rev. Father Samesh Anthony and Rector Rev. Father Ranjith Andradi.
This victory also completed a rare clean sweep for St. Joseph’s basketball. Their Under-17 and Under-20 teams won all four major titles – the National Schools and All-Island Tier 1 championships – in both 2024 and 2025, marking two straight years of perfect seasons.
