51st Basketball Senior Nationals in Full Swing

Sri Lanka Basketball Federation, bringing the long wait to an end, have taken measures to revive the prestigious tournament for the islands` basketball districts. The 51st edition of the Senior Nationals will take center-stage from 02nd February – 18th February 2017.

Commencing the 2017 calendar year, the tournament brings together 46 teams in total, representing the respective districts. The tournament will be operated in three phases (Level I, Level II, Level III) during a span of three weeks.

This year`s edition will be played around the island, starting from the administrative capital Colombo to Kilinochchi from one end and to Matara from the other end.

Asanga Amratunga, President of the Sri Lanka Basketball Federation speaking to ThePapare.com said “We are going to start off the calendar year empowering the districts by giving them the chance to showcase their talents. Most importantly the tournament will be played around the country and it will revamp the districts and bring back the energy in basketball”. 

Level I

The first level will feature ten teams in the men`s category, with the teams divided into two main groups. The group stages will be played on a league basis. The top two teams of each group will take on each other in the the semi-final stage and the winners will compete for the title.

In the women’s category, the tournament will feature five teams in the first level. The group stages will be played on a league basis and one team out of the five teams will be knocked out. The top four teams will then move to the semi-final stage, with the winners fighting it out in the finals.

The matches of Level I will commence on the 13th February 2017 and will go on until the 18th February 2017. All the matches in level I will be played in Colombo.

Men’s` Category

Women`s Category

Venues: Police Park, Hendry Pedris Basketball Complex, Amal International School, Otters Aquatic Club, St. Joseph’s Girls’ School, Nugegoda.         

Level II

The second level of the tournament will feature six teams in the men`s category divided into two main groups. The group stages will be played on a league basis. The top two teams of each group will take on each other for the semi-final stage and the winners will compete for the finals.

In the women’s category nine teams, divided into two groups featuring five teams in one and four teams in the other. The group stages will be played on a league basis. The top two teams of each group will take on each other for the semi-final stage and the winners will compete for the finals.

The matches for the Level II will commence from the 02nd February 2017 and will continue until 05th February 2017. All the matches will be played in Kandy.

Men’s` Category

Women`s Category

Level III

Level III of the tournament will feature 13 teams divided into four groups. The group stages will operate on a league basis and the top two teams of each team will qualify for the quarter-final stage. The winners will play the semi-finals and then the finals.

The matches for Level III will commence on the 9th February 2017 and will go until 12th February 2017. The matches for Group A and C will be played at Matara while the matches for Group B and D will be played Kilinochchi and Polonaruwa.