The 2nd annual High School Basketball Championship officially tipped off at Victoria International School Sharjah (VISS) on Friday the 9th of November and witnessed both International School of Chouiefat (ISC), and New Indian Model School (NIMS), dominate day 1 play with excellent, all-around basketball.
In the first game of the day’s double-header, ISC faced Australian International School (AIS). Coached by school alumnus, Sari Sawaya, ISC were able to negate the performance of AIS star playmaker Harout Karakoulian by limiting the production of his teammates.
AIS were solely feeding off Harout’s energy on the floor. Primary ball-handler, and go-to-guy on offense, Harout racked up 17 points, and snatched 11 rebounds. On the other hand, ISC displayed a more balanced game, with almost everyone on their roster contributing across the board. Unlike ISC, AIS were limited to their starting five, with absolutely no bench support, as fatigue played the biggest factor in their overall performance. ISC compounded AIS’s limited bench support, with their own pressure defense and superior perimeter shooting. ISC also introduced a new star player to the tournament in Kareem Natafji, who led all scorers with 20 points, 5 assists and 6 steals and was named player of the week. ISC went on to a resounding 58 -21 win over AIS.
In the second game of the day, hosts of the Sharjah group, Victoria International School (VISS) went up against NIMS. Similar to AIS, VISS were looking to build on their past league outing backed by their star center Cedric Macleod. From the tip, NIMS jumped out aggressively, forcing turnovers, and converting them to easy baskets on the counter while VISS always seemed unprepared and did not get into the flow of the game till late in the 3rd quarter. NIMS also displayed excellent ball movement on the perimeter and patience when forced into a half-court game. Of the 3 players in double-digit scoring, Mohamed Safeer of NIMS finished top overall with 18 Points, 5 Rebounds, and 4 Steals. NIMS proved very resilient and although VISS managed a late surge the deficit was insurmountable as the game ended 58 -33.
The High School Basketball Championship continues next Saturday as the focus shifts to the Dubai groups.
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