STUDENTS participating in the competitive Bahrain Private School Sports League (BPSSL), sponsored by GulfWeekly, have this week been celebrating the closing of its basketball season, with a recap of the results and championship winning sides.
The season witnessed a number of double-winning teams, revealed Dave Horner, league secretary and athletic director of Riffa Views International School, one of the educational institutes involved.
“Congratulations to them for consistently playing at a high level and in some cases remaining undefeated,” he said. “The league takes a break over the summer, and will return refreshed after the school holidays.
“We would like to thank GulfWeekly for its continued sponsorship of the league and recognition of our athletes’ achievements.”
The ‘most valuable player’ (MVP) awards were chosen by the coaches, who liaise with their players to determine each school’s representative.
Intermediate Girls BASKETBALL
The Intermediate Girls League champions were the Bahrain Bayan School. They defeated their closest competitors St Christopher’s School 29-26 during league play, a culmination of improving results which took them to the top of the table. Tournament
The Girls Intermediate Tournament was hosted by The British School of Bahrain at the nearby Batelco Club facilities. The Bahrain School had a comfortable 3-0 win over Ibn Khuldoon in a thrilling finale to the tournament. This result was somewhat of a surprise as The Bahrain School had only finished third during league competition.
Intermediate Boys BASKETBALL
THE BPSSL Intermediate Boys league title was taken by Ibn Khuldoon National School. This team remained undefeated throughout the season but was pushed close by a Modern Knowledge team that seemed quite evenly matched at times.
Tournament The league game between the two sides ended with a mere one-point victory for Ibn Khuldoon, and a similar story emerged in the tournament, hosted by Riffa Views International School. Ibn Khuldoon shot a three-pointer close to the buzzer to win the game.
Junior Boys BASKETBALL Modern Knowledge School junior boys’ team swept the league and cup double but didn’t have it all their own way throughout the competitions and had to work hard for success. They narrowly defeated The British School of Bahrain 31-27 in the closest match of the league campaign.
Tournament The intense rivalry between the two teams was to produce a tense final of the tournament, hosted by Bahrain Bayan School, with the game eventually going to overtime, before Modern Knowledge came out on top.
JUNIOR Girls BASKETBALL St Christopher’s junior basketball girls dominated the league and cup awards this season. The team went undefeated and beat their closest rivals by 20 points in league play.
Tournament The tournament, hosted by Ibn Khuldoon School, showcased the St Christopher girls’ dominance as they defeated all to complete the league and cup double.
Senior Girls BASKETBALL
The BPSSL Senior Girls Basketball League champions were The Bahrain School. The team dominated all their rivals during the league campaign, beating tough competitors St Christopher’s 15-9 in their closest encounter of the season.
Tournament The Senior Girls tournament was hosted at Ibn Khuldoon National School, where The Bahrain School were the eventual winners, thanks to a last-second three-pointer, as they defeated St Christopher’s in the round-robin schedule.
SENIOR BOYS BASKETBALL
The BPSSL Senior Boys League Championship was definitely a two-horse race, as The Bahrain School and Modern Knowledge School defeated all comers with ease. The showdown between the two teams saw a high scoring game, which was taken by Modern Knowledge School 83-75.
Tournament Modern Knowledge were in good form going into the tournament at Bahrain Bayan School and duly completed their league and cup double, defeating Bahrain School in the final.