32nd MSBA League set to begin from next week
The 32nd Mercantile League Basketball Tournament, organised annually by the Mercantile Services Basketball Association (MSBA), will get underway September 9 at the Royal College Indoor Sports Complex in Colombo. The annual basketball extravaganza, competed among top corporates of Sri Lanka, will continue until November 22, with 53 teams in fray under nine different divisions.
According to the officials of MSBA, this year’s event promises to be one of the most competitive yet, with 53 teams vying for glory across six Men’s divisions and three Women’s divisions. The tournament, which features an approximate count of 636 cagers in both genders, will take place at the Royal College Indoor Complex during weekdays beginning from at 5:30pm on match days. A total of 122 games will be on the schedule, including the final.
The Mercantile League is one of the top basketball tournaments of the country
“MSBA has long been a platform that bridges the world of sports and business, helping many basketball players transition into successful corporate careers. The association’s influence extends beyond the workplace, with several players who have competed in the MSBA League going on to represent Sri Lanka in international tournaments,” stated Brawin Fernando, the President of MSBA.
The elite among the divisions will be the Men’s ‘A’, in which Akbar Brothers, Commercial Credit and Finance and Fairfirst Insurance are in contention. The Women’s ‘A’ division, the topmost of its segment, will feature Commercial Credit and Finance, Hatton National Bank and Seylan Bank.
The Men’s ‘B’ division will include CDB Finance, David Pieris Group, Hatton National Bank, John Keells Holdings, Sampath Bank ‘A’ and Seylan Bank, while the Women’s ‘B’ and ‘C’ divisions will see David Pieris Group, Nations Trust Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, WSO2 Sri Lanka, MAS Holdings and IFS R&D International in strife for the title.
In the Men’s ‘C’ division, Allianz Insurance Lanka, HSBC Sri Lanka, Muve Colombo, SriLankan Airlines and The Traveling Bruncher will battle each other, while CodeGen International, Crepe Runner,
DFCC Bank, Nations Trust Bank, NDB Bank, Sampath Bank ‘B’, Union Bank of Colombo and Wiley Global Technology will complete the in the Men’s ‘D’ division.
Abans, Aitken Spence, Commercial Bank of Ceylon, Daraz Sri Lanka, Dialog Axiata, Hayleys, IFS R&D International ‘A’, LOLC Holdings, MAS Holdings ‘A’, Moresand, Standard Chartered Bank and WSO2 Lanka will be among the teams in fray in the Men’s E Division.
The Men’s ‘F’ division will have Amana Bank, Ceylon Tobacco Company, Contrinex Ceylon, Creative Software, DIMO, Hemas Holdings, IFS R&D International ‘B’, Legacy Health, London Stock Exchange Group and MAS Holdings ‘B’.
The MSBA have decided to make a new addition this season, by inviting two Sri Lanka Youth teams—Under-18 Boys and Girls—to compete in the Men’s and Women’s ‘A’ divisions.
“This initiative will provide the ideal platform for young cagers to gain experience at the top level. As the MSBA we are commitment to nurturing the next generation of the country’s talents in basketball,” stated Rimaz Hassan, the Senior Vice President of MSBA.
Winners and runners-up of each division will receive trophies in addition to the Ranil Ganewatta Memorial MVP Trophy, presented to players of all divisions. My Cola Beverages have continued its commitment as the platinum sponsor for the third consecutive year.