2007 ISSEA Games | Hosted by International School of Kenya-ISK: March 1st to 3rd 2007

Ethiopia-South Africa Defend Titles at ISSEA Championships

Ethiopia 's International Community School- ICS and South Africa 's American International School of Johannesburg-AISJ successfully defended their girls and boys titles respectively in the International Schools of Southern and Eastern Africa - ISSEA Basketball championships at the International School of Kenya-ISK.

Girls final: ICS ( Ethiopia ) 37 vs. ISK ( Kenya ) 30

The girl's final saw the defending champions; Addis Ababa based-ICS take on hosts International School of Kenya-Lions in a tough tie. The game tipped of on a high note with ISK going up 4-0 inside a minute of play. ICS settled down in the game and recovered through Karen Triquet to tie the game at 7-7 with 5:50 to go in the first half. Sasha McCarthy and Claire Remington were on point for ISK in the last 2 minutes, sinking vital points as ISK took a 15-11 lead at the break. Remington opened up the second half with a basket, giving the hosts their biggest lead; 6-points (17-11). ICS point guard, Ruth Ashebir who was having difficulty in the first half, stepped up her game, combining well with Bezawit Asheber and Karen Triquet to close in within a point 17-18 with 11:40 to go. K. Triquet hit a 3-pointer to give ICs their first lead of the game at 20-18 with 10:36 minutes to go, as B. Asheber got a steal and basket 15 seconds later extending ICS lead to 22-18 prompting ISK coach David Ribbins to call for a time out. On resumption, ICS maintained their offensive plays, through its's magnificent trio of Ashebir, Asheber, and Triquet backed by Correne Omole to take a commanding 31-24 lead with 3 minutes remaining. ISK's Remington and Erica Yagi struggled to keep their team afloat, sinking baskets to cut the deficit to five points (30-35) with a minute to go. A determined ICS side handled the ball carefully in the last minute with R. Ashebir sealing the sweet victory for ICS at 37-30 as they successfully defended the title they won in 2006 in Harare , Zimbabwe . Karen Triquet bagged 12 points, Ruth Ashebir added 08, and Bezawit Asheber 10 for ICS, while Karen Triquet, Sasha McCarthy and Lauren Bestor had 8 points each for the hosts.

Boys final: AISJ ( South Africa ) 57 vs. IST ( Tanzania ) 41

In the boy's final, American International School of Johannesburg- AISJ took on surprise finalist International School of Tanganyika-IST in a thrilling game. The first half was balanced as both teams put up a spirited fight, trading baskets to tie at 1-11, 13-13 before IST took a narrow 27-26 lead at half time after a Richard Carson 3-pointer with 15 seconds to go. AISJ changed strategy as they came into the second half, taking IST on full-court press, which paid off as they capitalised on their opponents turnovers to open a 10-point lead (43-33) with 4 minutes remaining. AISJ's Ben Carpenter, Monty Turner and Aaron Drew led their teams' offensive, while IST's reply came through Chad Johnson, Maurice Zahkem and Richard Carson. AISJ dominated the final minutes outscoring the Tanzanian side 31-14 in the half to take the game 57-41, successfully defending the title they won in 2006 in Harare , Zimbabwe . Monty turner shot a game high 25 points with team-mate Ben Carpenter adding 17 points for AISJ, while Chad Johnson had 15 points, with Richard Carson and Mattia Venier adding 8-points each for IST.

Semi-finals:

In the boys' semi finals, AISJ hit Harare International School -HIS of Zimbabwe 52-31 after leading 21-19 at the break, while IST shocked hosts ISK Lions 39-36 in a game they led 37-36 with 2 seconds to go before Raphael T-Morin was fouled, sinking both his free throws for a 39-36 win. In the girls' semis, Karen Triquet shot 20 points as International Community School-ICS edged out International School of Tanganyika-IST 49-35, while hosts ISK had to fight to the final minute to edge out Robert Ndamagyre's International School of Uganda-ISU 29-23 in a tense game.

Quarter finals:

International School of Tanganyika-IST upset favourites ICS 50-49 after a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by substitute Thomas Maddens, while Harare International School edged out ISU 58-54.

Harare International School hit hosts ISK Lions 38-37 to take the boys third position, while ISU hit IST to take the girls third spot. Coach Lynn Chanakira's Harare International School under captain Lalee Simeso defeated AISJ 28-25 in overtime to take the fifth position.

Awards and Standings

2007 ISSEA ALL-STAR TEAM

Lalee Simeso (HIS), Erica Scheffer (ISU), Grace Henda (IST), Ferdinand De Laet (HIS), Alexander Dereymaeker (HIS), Claire Remington (ISK), Daniel Tchinguengue (ISU), Sasha McCarthy (ISK), Chad Johnson (IST), Louise Oyee (ISU), Aaron Drew (AISJ), Ruth Ashebir (ICS), Daniel Carlos (ISK), Beth Asheber (ICS), Richrd Carson (IST), Idi Farah (ISU), Monty Turner (AISJ), Ben Carpenter (AISJ), and Karen Triquet (ICS)

Selected Results:

Girls

ISU 42- HIS 20
IST 20- AISJ 18
ISK 28- AISJ 10
IST 23- AISJ 13
ICS 50- AISJ 18
ICS 23- ISK 20 (overtime)
IST 31- HIS 22
ISU 32- AISJ 15

Boys

ICS 40- ISU 19
ISU 47- HIS 46
ICS 48- ISU 24
ISK 32- HIS 28
ISK 27- IST 18
HIS 36- ICS 33
AISJ 38- IST 24

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