Six new teams at Merc Basketball
An unprecedented number of entries including six new comers have attracted the 27th edition of the Mercantile Services Basketball Association (MSBA) League Tournament 2017.
Forty-six teams Men and women will participate in this prestigious tournament, which is powered by Dialog Axiata PLC.
Thirty seven Men’s teams in five divisions and nine Women’s teams in two divisions will be engaged in 120 matches including the seven finals.
The tournament will held from June 12 to August 11 at the Sir Edward Henry Pedris Stadium, Colombo 5. The new comersin the fray are, JAT Holdings, Moulana Travels & Tours, Hayleys Group, Virtusa Polaris, London Stock Exchange & Fair First Insurance.
The draw for groupings was held on May 23 at the Citizens Development Business and Finance Auditorium, Colombo 10, with the participation of MSBA Officials; President, Brawin Fernando, Vice President, Rimaz Hassan and General Secretary, Mafaz Mohideen.
 Team lineup
- Â Men’s Teams:
‘A’ division-Six teams: DFCC Bank, Fair First Insurance, Dialog Axiata, Sampath Bank, Commercial Credit & Finance PLC and HNB.
‘B’ division-Five teams: Sri Lankan Airlines ‘A’, Kanrich Finance, Nations Trust Bank, MAS Holdings ‘Reds’ and John Keells Group.
‘C’ division-Seven teams: LB Finance, Union Bank, HSBC, Seylan Bank, NDB Bank, Std. Chartered Bank and David Pieris Motor Co.
‘D’ division-Eight teams in two groups:
Group ‘A’: MAS Holdings ‘Blacks’, LOLC, Hirdaramani Group and JAT Holdings
Group ‘B’: Softlogic Holdings, Amana Bank, Commercial Bank HSBC Global Services.
‘E’ division -Eleven teams in two groups:
Group ‘A’- WNS Global, IFS International, Airport & Aviation, Moulana Travels, Hayleys Group and Aitken Spence Group.
Group ‘B’-London Stock Exchange, Abans Group, Citizens Development Business, Sri Lankan Airlines ‘B’ and Virtusa Polaris
- Â Women’s Teams:
‘A’ division-Three teams: Commercial Credit & Finance PLC, HNB and Seylan Bank
‘B’ division-Six teams: Nations Trust Bank, David Pieris Motor Co., Mobitel, MAS Holdings, John Keells Group and IFS International.