Camperdown High School scored a close 19-17 win over defending champions Holy Childhood High as the 2016 Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA)/Southern Basketball Conference (SBC) High Schoolgirls Basketball League got under way at the St Andrew High School For Girls on Monday.

And despite the narrow victory coach Rolando Moodie was happy. “It was a big achievement so early in the competition, and the players trained hard for the win.”

“It’s, however, very early in the season, and it is good also to get past our toughest opponents as we look towards the rest of the games. I think our remaining matches should be much easier,” said Moodie.

Meanwhile, Holy Childhood’s coach Oneil Brown was disappointed with such an early loss, and said the players did not follow the instructions, and that they got too complacent. “We led our opponents for almost the entire game, leading 17-16 with two minutes left but wasted our chances of winning.

“We scored only one shot from eight free throws at the line and that was one of our main mistakes. The defeat is a wake-up call for the team. We should rebound from that defeat with a victory in our next game,” Brown said.

There were quarterly scores of 7-3, 11-8 and 15-9 in favour of Holy Childhood High.

The competition continues today in all three confederations — Southern, Central and Western.

In today’s Southern Conference schedule, Ardenne High face Old Harbour High at 2:00 pm; Meadowbrook High take on defending champions Holy Childhood at 3:30 pm at Meadowbrook High School. Camperdown High vs Tivoli High at 3:00 pm at Camperdown High School; St Andrew High For Girls vs St Hugh’s High at 2:00 pm at St Andrew High.

In Central Conference action, Manchester High vs Glenmuir High at 2:00 pm; St Elizabeth Technical High School (STETHS) vs Belair High at STETHS Court, while in Western Conference fixture, Herbert Morrison High vs Spot Valley High at 2:00 pm; William Knibb High vs Rhodes Hall High at 3:30 pm at William Knibb school; Holland High vs Muschett High at 2:00 pm; Montego Bay High vs Mount Alvernia High at 3:30 pm.

The top four teams in the Southern and Western Conferences will advance to the semi-finals, while the teams will play each other twice with the top two teams from the Central Conference advancing to the final.