FIBA Zonal tourney at Stadium today

By Harry Jayachandra

After a long wait of 16 years Sri Lankan basketball fans have something to ‘slam dunk’ about. This is when the FIBA Middle Asia Zone basketball championship gets underway at the Sugathadasa Stadium today. The hosts will play Kazakhstan in the opening tip off at 5.30p.m.

This all came about after the Sri Lankan Basketball Association made a bid to host this year’s tournament and were given the green light by the regional governing body – FIBA Middle Asia. In addition to Sri Lanka eleven countries are eligible to participate but only two namely India and Kazakhstan accepted the invitation. The top two teams automatically qualify for FIBA Asia Championship. Thus the Lankans have a good chance of making it to this prestigious tournament.

The final of the FIBA Middle Asia zone tournament will be held on Wednesday at the Sugathadasa Stadium.