Fairfirst wins 2017 Mercantile Basketball Tournament

In what was a neck-to-neck final match, Fairfirst beat Commercial Credit 40-33 to claim the title at the Mercantile Basketball Tournament ‘A’ Division category. 

This is Fairfirst’s debut at the MSBA tournament, although they did compete in previous years under the name of Union Assurance General. 

Home to quite a few sports stars, Fairfirst is passionate about fuelling the wining spirit of Sri Lanka’s sporting fraternity. “We have amazing talent at Fairfirst and as a company we believe in fostering a culture that promotes working hard and having fun,” stated Fairfirst Insurance Managing Director/CEO Dr. Sanjeev Jha. 

Captain Shehan Udayanage, commenting on the win, said: “It was a tight match. As expected Commercial Credit gave us some tough competition but we persevered. All credit goes to the team and our coach. It’s their morale that carried us through to the finals and brought us the cup.”

Incidentally, Fairfirst had lost to two-year defending champions Commercial Credit in 2016, but managed to turn the tables this time around. Despite Commercial Credit making a strong start, they failed to keep up the momentum and soon Fairfirst began to dominate the match. As they made it to the final quarter both teams were tied at 33 points apiece but Fairfirst managed to take back their lead and defeat Commercial Credit by seven points. 

Fairfirst played at their full strength, backed by star players Isuru Perera, Roshan Randima and Captain Shehan Udayanga. The other members of the squad included Thamindra Fernando, Wije Basker, Nipun Lakshitha, Nimesh Fernando, Thilan Chandana, Hiran Wijesooriya, Nimesh Kavinda and Lakshan Madushanka. 

The award for Most Valuable Player of the Tournament was given to Roshan Randima, who said: “It’s truly an honour to be awarded this title and I’m proud of what the team has been able to accomplish. This is a moment to remember for all of us at Fairfirst.”