Jermaine Lannaman, Gleaner Writer

Ardenne High stayed on course to cop their third straight hold on the ISSA all-island Under-16 basketball crown when they defeated Kingston College (KC) 56-48 in one of two semi-finals played at the National Stadium Courts yesterday.

Ardenne, who were led to victory on a game-high 23 points and 10 rebounds from Damion Johnson, and 12 points from Ramon Hemmings, will play Jamaica College (JC), in the final, who defeated St George's 67-57 in the other semi-final.

"We knew KC would come and play good basketball because it's a do-or-die play-off. But I knew my team would stick to the task and in the end get the job done," said Ardenne's coach, Basil Williams.

The first quarter was an even affair as both teams ended at 15-15. Ardenne then went on to claim the second and third quarters by a point, 23-22 and 42-41, before opening up in the final quarter and demonstrating their superiority.

"We are planning to put a beating on JC," said Williams, who pointed out that if they were to achieve the feat of three consecutive victories at the national level, they would be the first team to do so.

Meanwhile, in the opening game, JC were guided to victory by Deano Hibbert's 26 points and 11 rebounds, and Alexander Robinson's 15 points and nine assists.

Won by two points

The boys from Old Hope Road won the first quarter by two points, 14-12, before falling behind in the second and third quarters by nine (20-29) and 11 points (43-34), respectively. They were, however, inspired by Hibbert in the fourth quarter and in the end, overcame the deficit to triumph by 10.

"The performance was not the best, but the boys showed a lot of heart," said JC's coach Kurt Stewart.

The final will be played next week Thursday, shortly before the playing of the all-island Under-19 final at the Stadium Courts.

Herbert Morrison will play Wolmer's and St George's College will go up against Cornwall College in the under-19 semi-finals, which will be played on Tuesday at the Montego Bay Cricket Club and Stadium Courts, respectively.