Sri Lanka, Oct. 13 -- Asian International School (AIS) stormed into the finals of the Inter-International Schools Under-19 Basketball Championship after five long years, defeating the strong Colombo International School (CIS) 68-63 in a thrilling semifinal encounter played at the Olympus Sports Complex in Malabe yesterday. The tournament is organised by The International Schools of Sri Lanka (TISSL).

With this victory, AIS will meet Gateway College Colombo in the grand final tonight at 7.30 p.m. at the Gateway College Colombo Basketball Courts in Rajagiriya.

What makes this AIS achievement remarkable is that the entire team has been built through the school's own basketball programme. None of the players are scholarship entrants - every...