Maliban bags top spot at Mercantile Volleyball Championship 2019

Maliban’s Men’s Volleyball Team win coveted top spot at the Mercantile Tournament

The Maliban Women’s Team awarded Runners-up position at the Tournament

Maliban Biscuits was recently awarded top honours when they won the much-anticipated Mercantile Volleyball Championship 2019, which concluded recently at the Maharagama Youth Centre. 

Maliban also bagged several other titles as well, including the Runner-up for Women’s Division-A and Championship Division.

Held for the eighth consecutive year, the Mercantile Volleyball Championships aim to strengthen goodwill and camaraderie among the local mercantile fraternity while popularising the country’s national sport. 

After its revival in 2012, which saw the participation of 500 teams, the Mercantile Volleyball Championship celebrates its eighth anniversary this year with over 100 teams in the men's and women's categories.

The preliminary matches of the Mercantile Volleyball Tournament 2019 were held on 7 and 8 September while the finals took place on 2 and 3 November amidst much pomp and pageantry.  

The total prize money for this year’s tournament exceeded Rs. 1 million.  

After qualifying from the semi-finals following its win over the MAS Stretchline team, Maliban’s Championship Division Men’s Team led by skipper Priyankara Perera scored a clean 3–0 win against the defending champions Omega Line Apparels to win the finals, clinching the coveted volleyball title in the Mercantile Sector.

Furthermore, after winning the semi-final rounds against Rusalu (Division A) and MAS Kreed Shadeline (Championship) respectively, both teams from Maliban – the Women’s Division A Team led by Danushka Dilani and the Championship Division Team led by Kasuri Lakshika – were placed runners-up in both categories.

The winning teams cordially extended special thanks and dedicated their win to Maliban’s Chairman, Managing Director, directors, Group CEO, General Manager of Operations (Biscuit) and Chief Operating Officer (Milk and Agri), heads of departments and all staff, without whose support this victory would not have been possible. 

With a strong focus on developing the skills of its employees both in their place of work and personal lives through sports, Maliban believes in the strong synergy between engagement and innovation. This commitment to employee wellbeing has enabled Maliban to secure several awards by bodies such as the Global Performance Excellence (GPEA) Awards and the ‘Best HR Company’ award at the Asian HR Leadership Awards held in Dubai recently, which showcases the company’s position as a brand that practices a unique approach to grooming a talented pool of employees. 

In delivering excellence, Maliban continues to evolve with innovative leadership coaching strategies and skills development workshops to further enhance its value addition to its valued customers and trusted employees.