Berger defeated Badurilia 107 to 104 in the Major Clubs tournament with limited over-rounds on Wednesday morning. The hosts held on for three points after a match that went down to the wire. It was their second victory in five games, putting them level on points with several sides above them.
And here's the thing about a game like that — you do not see it coming from the first quarter. Both teams traded blows throughout, and by the end the margin was barely a basket. Berger had been struggling for consistency, losing four of their previous five matches, so this felt like a turning point.
Badurilia have now lost all six of their outings. They had nothing to do all evening, conceding 104 points while managing only 104 of their own. The table does not tell you much when every team has played the same number of games and nobody has taken points yet, but the pattern is clear enough.
To be fair, the visitors have been in this position before. Their last five results read 94-197, 147-254, 132-135, 134-135 and 172-173. They lost by one against Polaris Sports last time out and drew with Murus — so a close defeat was not entirely unexpected, even if the scoreline did not go their way.
Berger sit sixth with five points after this win. They had not won since their 70-66 match against Kurunegala Youth three days ago, so the run is finally broken. The gap to the leaders remains wide, but at least they now have something to build on.