Clapton Girls’ Academy came an impressive third in the girls’ schools basketball tournament at the London Youth Games.
Aside from winning bronze, Clapton Girls topped their qualifying group, much to the delight of team manager Fe Keown. She said: “I thought the girls showed a lot of heart and a lot of sportsmanship. We came here last year and lost all our matches, so to come here and win all our group games, then progress to the semi-finals was brilliant.”
The Hackney school gave supporters plenty of moments to savour as they shared the bronze medal with losing semi-finalists Platanos Academy of Lambeth.
Ms Keown said: “For them to go home knowing they are finishing in the top three schools in London means that they will be motivated to keep coming to training. It will hopefully be a big boost for them to continue working hard.
“We will definitely be back next year. I want to play for a gold or a silver – I don’t like bronze!”
Greig City Academy, from Haringey, stole the show after successfully defending their crown in a stunning finale against St Saviours’ School, from Southwark.
The 2012 champions were in a rich vein of form having won all three of their group games. Greig City survived the knockout rounds to eke out a 23-22 win over St Saviours’, having beaten them 29-19 in the group stages.
The runners-up looked strong going into the final having claimed a 15-10 victory over group B winners Clapton Girls in the semi-finals.
Greig City took firm control of the final after going up 11-8 in the second quarter and they held onto the lead until the end. But there was a hairy moment when their opponents missed the chance at 20-23 to score from two free shots with 20 seconds left on the counter.
St Saviours had two more free shots in the dying seconds, which they capitalised on to narrow the margin, but it was a comfortable victory for the north London side.
Speaking after the match, Greig City Academy’s team manager said: “I’m very pleased – the girls have worked hard this season. It was a very close game but everybody stepped up in the final. They worked well as a team – less dribbling and more passing.”
The London Youth Games have been running since 1977 and last year over 100,000 youngsters took part, competing in 33 sports.
