Fairfirst clinch MSBA ‘A’ Division Basketball Title

Fairfirst Insurance clinched the 2022 Mercantile ‘A’ Division Basketball Championship when they defeated Commercial Credit 78-63 in the final encounter played at the Royal College Indoor Stadium in Colombo on Saturday.. The winners led from the start to the end and maintained their impressive record in the tournament with another clinical performance with all their star players striking form.

Even then, there was little bit of complacency that crept into the Fairfirst Team during the latter stages of the fourth and final quarter as their opponents reduced the deficit to a couple of baskets.

In fact, Commercial Credit enjoyed their best part of the game during this stage as they made a determined effort to make a match of it after having been outplayed in the first three quarters.

However, Fairfirst regained their momentum back again with a series of baskets backed up well by some excellent rebounds as they increased the lead before winning the final by a convincing margin. Earlier, Fairfirst made a superb start to the game as they built up a commanding 19-11 lead at the end of the first quarter and went into half time with a clear lead of 40-28.

Fairfirst, of course, brought in their substitutions to provide an opportunity for all their players during the third quarter, yet they made sure that they maintained the lead beyond their opponents reach. Earlier, in the semi-finals, Fairfirst cruised to a massive 76-51 victory over Dialog Axiata PLC while Commercial credit trounced SriLankan Airlines 72-48.

Meanwhile, Akbar Brothers defeated Hatton National Bank (HNB) 74-60 to secure the Mercantile ‘B’ Division Championship. However, the game looked almost even after the first quarter as Akbar Brothers managed to snatch a close 18-17 lead before they extended their dominance to 38-29 at half time. Akbar Brothers took total control of the final in the third quarter as they piled up 23 points during a superb exhibition of basketball while conceding only 14 points to their opponents, which helped them to lead 61-43 at that stage.

Akbar Brothers, of course, completed their preliminary round matches with an unbeaten record while overcoming HNB 93-42 and Union Bank 91-71 and went on to beat John Keells Holdings 69-50 in the semi-finals.

The 30th Mercantile Basketball Tournament was conducted by the Mercantile Services Basketball Association.