CAMPERDOWN defeated defending champions Holy Childhood 28-24 in the final to crown themselves champions of the Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association National Schoolgirls Basketball Championship at the GC Foster College of Physical Education at Sports on Wednesday.

The East Kingston-based Camperdown aggregation created history of their own by claiming the schoolgirl double, having defeated Holy Childhood for the Southern Conference title last Friday at this same venue.Camperdown had reached many finals since competing from 2003, but titles kept eluding them. But they got sweet revenege on Holy Childhood, who had defeated them for both titles lasy year.Victorious coach Daseen Boyd was understandably delighted with the double joy.“Winning both titles for the school is a great achievement… we were confident that the players would have pulled it off as we expected to play much better in the national championship play-offs,“ he said.Boyd said Holy Childhood is a very good team and has a number of young players and should be one of the favourites to win the title next season.Meanwhile, Holy Childhood’s Oneil Brown said Camperdown had the advantage going into the final.“They did not play any game apart from the final and Holy Childhood played two games to qualify for the final. St Elizabeth Technical High School (STETHS) turned up late, while Holland High did not show, so Camperdown gained points to reach the final without playing.“Camperdown players had fresh legs coming into the final, while a few Holy Childhood players had injuries and some were a bit tired,” Brown noted.Camperdown’s Ramona Lawrence was named MVP for the final in which she scored eight points, but more than that, she was instrumental with her skills, especially on fast breaks to pave the way for the victory.The new champions managed to hold a 8-3 lead at the completion of the first quarter, but Holy Childhood rallied nicely in the second period by scoring more points as both teams were locked at 12-12 at the half-time break.Camperdown and Holy Childhood engaged in a keen battle for points, but both missed several turnovers in the third quarter. Camperdown at this stage were up 19-16 with one quarter remaining in the game.The duel intensified in the fourth and final quarter as Camperdown led 23-18 with five minutes remaining.It was a battle to the final whistle as the players stepped up the pace for quick baskets with Camperdown up 26-21, before Holy Childhood scored a basket to make it 26-24 with 30 seconds on the clock. Camperdown clinched the match when they scored to make it 28-24 in the final few seconds to come out victorious.Dhana Wallace was the other top scorer for Camperdown with seven points, while for Holy Childhood the principal scorers were Ashley Ferguson with 10 points and Jahnel Todd with nine.Third place went to St Elizabeth Technical High School (STETHS) who defeated Mount Alvernia 42-14 points.The MVP for Central Conference went to centre/forward Tiana Wilson of Mount Alvernia, while the MVP for the Western Conference went to centre player Samoya Brooks of STETHS.