Odisha Basketball Association (OBA), in coordination with Khurda District Basketball Association (KDBA), is gearing up to organise the BFI-IMG Reliance Bhubaneswar School Basketball League (BSBL) here at Mother`s Public School and Unit-I Indoor Hall Basketball Complex from October 21 to 30.
``BSBL is a part of Indian School Basketball League (ISBL), which is being organised in 22 cities across the country by Basketball Federation of India (BFI) in collaboration with IMG Reliance. The League will provide an ideal platform for young basketball talents to showcase their potential at the state and national level,`` said KDBA partron Madhusudan Padhi at a press conference today.
Divided into two categories, BSBL will feature 10 cities in Premier League and 12 in Challengers Leauge. Bhubaneswar has been placed in the Challengers League along with Pune, Gurgaon, Noida, Chandigarh, Ahmedabad, Patna, Goa, Bhilai, Varanasi, Dehradun and Guwahati.
In the Bhubaneswar League, 16 schools in boys category and 10 in girls will vie for titles. ``Teams will play league matches after being divided into four groups and top two finishers from each group will qualify for the knock-out stage. As the practice, the Premier and Challegers Leagues will feature promotion and relegation,`` said KDBA secretary Prasant Nayak.
Mother`s Public School Principal Poly Patnaik assured all help for the successful staging of the BSLB. ``Our student are game for sports. We have been conducting intra-school league in different sports. We will extend all cooperation for the success of BSLB,`` she said.
With basketball in a stagnant state in Odisha, Bhubaneswar League seems to have come as boon for the state to give the sport a new life, especially at the grassroots level. But it will be possible if OBA makes sincere effort to make BSLB a success.
TEAMS IN BSLB:
Boys: Unit-I Govt Boys High School, Unit-IX Govt Boys High School, Chandrasekharpur DAV School, Unit VIII DAV School, Pokhariput DAV School, Mother`s Public School, Delhi Public School, Loyala School, ODM Public School, KIIT International School, Sai International School, BJEM School, Ruchika High School, Venkateswar English Medium School, St Joseph`s High School, KISS School.
Girls: Unit-IV Govt Girls High School, Chandrasekharpur DAV School, Pokhariput DAV School, Mother`s Public School, Delhi Public School, Loyala School, KIIT International School, Sai International School, BJEM School, KISS School.
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PHOTO: Prasant Nayak (Left), Poly Patnaik (Centre) and Madhusudan Padhi brief about BSBL in Bhubaneswar on Oct 15, 2014.