Hillview College defeated Holy Cross College 41-38 on Friday to be crowned champions of the Secondary Schools East Zone Basketball U-20 League, at the Maloney Indoor Sporting Arena.

Holy Cross were attempting to follow in the footsteps of Fatima College, who were undefeated on their way to success in all formats (U-15, U-17, U-20) in the North Zone.

But Hillview had other plans and exacted revenge for their U-17 final defeat last Monday at the same venue. The highly anticipated final did not disappoint as both teams battled hard without gaining much separation for the entire 40 minutes of action.

Holy Cross went into the half-time interval with a slim four-point cushion at 23-19.

In the second half, Hillview increased their energy and team effort which transitioned into better defence to clamp their rival's main scorers. With the game tied and just three minutes and 34 seconds left on the game clock, Nathaniel Crichlow sunk a floater to give Hillview the lead, which they did not relinquish to the buzzer.

Hillview's Samuel Edwards and their captain Christian Zoe were more than a handful for the Holy Cross defence. Edwards top scored in the match with 19 points while Zoe had 16 points. Holy Cross' Judah Telesford scored 13 points while U-15 and U-17 standout Jervais Edwards-Caracciolo added 12 pts.

In the bronze-medal match, Trinity College East`s star Ayodeji Iwaro had one the best offensive showings in the league with 41 points to secure a 61-52 victory for his team against Five Rivers Secondary. TCE were heading for a blowout victory, leading by 20 points at the half – 39-19. However, a second-half surge by Five Rivers, led by Judah Guy (22 points) and Ronaldo Garvin (19 points) kept chipping away at the deficit to make the game interesting, but TCE kept them at bay for the win.