ThePapare Basketball Championship 2018, U19 A Division All Island Schools Basketball Tournament, tipped off for its` third episode at Dialog Axiata Auditorium earlier today.
Three years ago, in 2016, Sri Lanka`s No.01 Sports Hub, ThePapare.com, with the sole intention of empowering Sri Lanka school’s basketball, partnered up with the Sri Lanka Basketball Federation (SLBF) and the Sri Lanka Schools Basketball Association (SLSBA) to launch ThePapare Basketball Championship, U19 A Division All Island Schools Basketball Tournament.
Read: ThePapare Basketball Championship 2016: Escalating Schools Basketball
Since its inception in 2016, the championship has changed the landscape of Schools Basketball in the island, opening the gateway to more competitive basketball whilst providing a proper structure at the school level of the sport. Strengthening the championship further, ThePapare.com also introduced LIVE streaming to schools` basketball in the same year.
Read: Hansini`s last minute 03 pointer seals the title for Good Shepherd Convent
Good Shepherd Convent – Kotahena won the Girls` title in 2016 while S. Thomas` College managed the Boys` title. Year 2017 produced brand new champions as St. Joseph`s Girls School – Nugegoda and Holy Family Convent, Bambalapitiya emerged as Joint Champions in the Girls` category while Royal College, Colombo won the Boys` title.
Read: Blue Black and Blue; Undisputed Schools` basketball champs
In the span of 3 years, the championship has grown from the participation of 20 schools to 32 schools in 2018. For 2018, the championship will cover the entire island with schools from Jaffna and Batticaloa also competing for the coveted trophy.
The championship will introduce a brand-new ranking system for Sri Lanka Schools Basketball. The participating schools for the 2018 tournament were ranked based on their performance during the 2017 tournament, paving the way for a more competitive event.
Watch and Read: New Structure and System for Schools Basketball
ThePapare Basketball Championship 2018 will also see a new set of rules to govern the championship for this edition and forward.
The 03rd edition will tip off on the 16th of September with the girls` category while the boys` category will begin on the 25th of September. The knockout stages of the championship will start off on the 30th of September and the finals will be played under lights on the 5th of October at Hendry Pediris Stadium.
The group stage matches in the boys` category will be played at S. Thomas` College, Royal College, Gateway College, St. Joseph`s College while the group stage matches of the girls` category will be played at Gateway College and Lyceum International School – Wattala.
All the knockout matches will be LIVE streamed on www.thepapare.com, Dialog TV Channel 01 and MyTV.
With 32 teams competing this time, can Royal College, St. Joseph`s Girls School and Holy Family Convent defend their titles or will we see a new generation of stars?
