Cricket, netball and now basketball – Asian champs in their own right
Sri Lanka’s sporting scene has been sitting pretty with Cricketers and Netballers cementing their statuses as Asian Kings and Queens. The double delight only became a triple triumph this Thursday (29), when the women’s basketballers also joined the champion's club when the cagers were crowned as South Asian Basketball Association (SABA) champions.
Kayesha Siriwardana, a member of the winning team, which beat host Maldives 72-59, weighs the worth and weight of this win in gold.
“Winning this championship was my first international medal. It was a huge thing. Though I’ve played international tours, it was my first international medal, was hence a huge thing, personally. For the team also, for some of them, it was the first-time on a tour,” she told the Sunday Times reflecting on the victorious week this has been for them.
“We didn’t have much time. Little less than two-months. Between that, we also had this expectation because we were also the defending champs. It was a very young team that went forward. Going for this, we knew we had it in us. We knew we had the skills and training. So it was just going there and performing”, Siriwardana, 27, said.
“This win, we told ourselves since the beginning, it’s something for us also. But Anjalee akki (Ekanayake) told it’s for the country, most importantly. This winning streak that was going on, was amazing. We told ourselves if we get it, we are also part of it. We’re doing for the sake of the nation as well. Before every match we said, not for us, for our country,” she explained what it meant patriotically.
“Basketball is not considered one of the most popular sports in Sri Lanka, but we also managed to get an international recognition and medal during this time. We don’t get paid that greatly for nationals,” she added.
A dream debut for Siriwardana at SABA, and a second straight title for the country, however, made them work for it. Though their title-defence started off to a cruising manner, delivering a drubbing to Bhutan 98-33, in between, there was a hiccup they too had to deal and overcome. “The Nepal match, for some reason, it was not our day. Our game plan did not work and we lost completely on our mistakes”. Going into the finals, the Lankan lasses were under an added pressure to win by over a ten-point margin. However, thanks to the 20-point lead in the opening quarter, that set the tone and propelled them.
“For the third match, we told us and the entire team, not everyone gets the chance. Make up for it since we got the chance. Especially for these finals, the amount of preparation time that went into it, was quite a lot. Because, we knew none of us would get this chance again to win for our country. Hence, let’s go all out and win. On their road to the finals, they suffered an upset loss, going down to the Nepalese 49-55. She hailed her captain, Anjalee Ekanayake, for carrying that kind of leadership, motivating them and enabled them to overcome the loss. Their coaches also had backed and infused energy pinning confidence that Maldives can be beaten.
“We were and wanted to be upset. For that, I have to credit our team captain. She led from the front and told there is nothing to be upset about. I’m supposed to be upset but I am not, because I’m hopeful and believe on you that we’re going to win by ten-points,” former Holy Family Convent Bambalapitiya captain recalled her captain’s message to the team.
“I hail from a sporting family. My mother is an ex-national netballer and my father played basketball. Hence, everyone expected me to go into sports. Since the time I was small, I was into sports – basketball and netball. After I left school and during university’s days too I have represented the army et al in basketball. I was more drawn towards basketball because I had gone in many tours and just like that,” she concluded saying on her background.