COLOMBO: (ePRESS) – The 32nd Mercantile Services Basketball Association (MSBA) League Tournament, sponsored by My Cola Beverages, will kick off on September 9 at the Royal College Indoor Complex. The tournament, which will run until November 22, will see 53 teams battling it out across six men’s divisions and three women’s divisions.
The draw for the tournament was held on Wednesday at Jetwing Colombo Seven in Ward Place, where the press briefing and sponsorship cheque presentation also took place. A total of 636 players have registered to compete in the 10-week-long tournament, which will feature 130 games.
In the Men’s ‘A’ Division, Akbar Brothers (Pvt) Ltd, Commercial Credit & Finance PLC, and Fairfirst Insurance Ltd will compete. The Women’s ‘A’ Division will feature teams from Commercial Credit & Finance PLC, Hatton National Bank PLC, and Seylan Bank PLC.
The Men’s ‘B’ Division includes CDB Finance PLC, David Pieris Group, Hatton National Bank PLC, John Keells Holdings PLC, Sampath Bank PLC ‘A’, and Seylan Bank PLC. The Women’s ‘B’ and ‘C’ Divisions will see teams from David Pieris Group, Nations Trust Bank PLC, Standard Chartered, WSO2 Sri Lanka, MAS Holdings, and IFS R&D International (Pvt) Ltd in action.
Men’s ‘C’ Division teams include Allianz Insurance Lanka Limited, HSBC Sri Lanka, Muve Colombo, SriLankan Airlines, and The Travelling Bruncher (Pvt) Ltd. In the Men’s ‘D’ Division, teams from CodeGen International (Pvt) Ltd, Crepe Runner (Pvt) Ltd, DFCC Bank PLC, Nations Trust Bank PLC, NDB Bank PLC, Sampath Bank PLC ‘B’, Union Bank of Colombo, and Moresand Ltd will compete.
The Men’s ‘E’ Division will feature teams from Abans PLC, Aitken Spence PLC, Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC, Daraz Sri Lanka, Dialog Axiata PLC, Hayleys PLC, IFS R&D International (Pvt) Ltd ‘A’, LOLC Holdings, MAS Holdings (Pvt) Ltd ‘A’, Standard Chartered Bank, and WSO2 Lanka (Pvt) Ltd.
For the first time in the tournament’s 32-year history, two Sri Lanka Youth teams, Under-18 Boys and Girls, have been invited to compete in the Men’s ‘A’ and Women’s ‘A’ Divisions, providing young players with the opportunity to play against top-level talent.
Championship trophies will be awarded in all divisions, with runners-up also receiving trophies. The Ranil Ganewatte Memorial Trophy will be presented to the Most Valuable Players in each division. My Cola Beverages, returning as the Platinum Sponsor for the third consecutive year, has played a crucial role in ensuring the success of this tournament.
