Having qualified for the final with an unbeaten run, Holy Family Convent, Bambalapitiya, paid the price for being overconfidence as Sirimavo Bandaranaike Vidyalaya, Colombo came out all guns blazing to defeat them by one point in a thrilling final of the Under-15 Colombo North Zonal Basketball Tournament played at Sirimavo Premises on Monday.

HFC who defeated the same outfit in a group stage match by over 20 points, were the favourites to win the title, but they ran out of ideas in the final.

Keyasha Siriwardena, who did most of the scoring for HFC during the tournament had done well to take her team to the final, but she missed a match-turning basket with just seconds away from the final whistle to lose the game by a single point.

HFC qualified for the final by beating Sirimavo, Good Shepherd Convent, Kotahena in the first round and beat Bishop’s College in the quarter-final and overcame St. Bridget’s Convent in the semi-final.

On their way to the final, Sirimavo beat Good Shepherd and Colombo International School in the quarter-final and St. Paul’s, Milagiriya in the semis.

St. Paul’s, who lost just one game in the entire tournament won the consolation final.

In the final, Sirimavo got an early lead and were ahead 12-6 at the end of the first quarter and HFC bounced back and were leading by one point at half-time.

Ayeshini de Costa with 18 points and Lihini Perera with ten points were the top scorers for Sirimavo.

Lihini was named the Best Player of the final for her all-round efforts.

Riding on performances of two sisters, namely Keyasha and Yasara Siriwardene, HFC recorded their ultimate total of 38. Both sisters contributed ten points apiece. Keyasha meanwhile was adjudged as the Best Offensive Player of the final.