Carlton Cup 2012 Basketball championship kicks off

The Carlton Cup Basketball Championship has kicked for the fourth consecutive year and the premier tournament will go on till 24 November 2012.

Tharunyata Hetak along with the Hambantota Sports Club and HSC Blues Basketball are the organisers of the event benefiting armature and professional players benefit.

Thirteen “A” division teams will compete for the highest prize in the Sri Lankan club division where an invitational team from the Maldives would also compete in this category. 26 “B” division teams will compete for the highest price in the “B” division.

Along with the two main categories “A” & “B” division an Invitational schools under-14 knock out tournament will also be conducted as a measure of developing and promoting the game among junior players in the country. Over 50 boys and girls school teams will be competing in the under-14 knock out tournament at Carlton Cup 2012.

HSC Blacks,  Otter Aquatic Club, Sri Lanka Army, Sri Lanka Navy, Sri Lanka Police, Sri Lanka Air Force, Old Bens, Wattala, RLC (Red Line Club), Avent Garde, Peterites, HSC Blues and the Colombo basketball club will battle it out in the “A” division category.

Old Thomians, Buffalos “A”, Buffalos “B’, Wennappuwa Knights, Colombo’s I’ntl Schools, Peterites, All Greens, Moratuwa, Old Anandians, Old Cambrians, Jaffna, Maroons, Vavuniya District, Mullativu, Dhamso, Batticaloa District, Royal College, Kurunegala District, Old Senanayakians, Vasians Wennappuwa, Michellites, Wattala “B”, De Mazenod, Stallions, Navy ‘B” and Army “B” will battle it out for the “B” division championship at Carlton Cup 2012.

The 2012 version of Carlton Cup would be significant in terms of basketball in the country as an international team from the Maldives would be participating in order to give the Carlton Cup tournament an international flavour. This could be considered the first time an international team would be participating in a club tournament in Sri Lanka.

The idea of an international team participating was the brainchild of the Hambantota Sports Club as it always strives to take national sport to the International area and with the participation of such international teams, local players and teams are provided with the opportunity to gain experience and other necessary skills to compete in the international area.

Another key feature would be that the Henry Pedris Basketball Courts which was once a prominent location for basketball during the yesteryears which had been abandoned and neglected during recent years has been refurbished and converted into a state-of-the-art basketball court and would be used as a venue for the Carlton Cup 2012 Basketball Championship.

The Henry Pedris Basketball Courts was refurbished and converted into a state-of-the-art facility as a measure of a community development project and a sports development project by the HSC Blues Basketball Club along with the Hambantota Sports Club and Tharunyata Hetak.

The facility would be a great opportunity for the surrounding schools around the area which do not poses a basketball court as they would be provided with the opportunity to use the courts to enhance their skills, furthermore a Basketball Academy will also be established at the venue in order to develop and promote the sport at a grass root level.

The Carlton Cup 2012 version would be powered by Bharathi Airtel as the Platinum and Team Sponsor, Auto Base Enterprises and Y&Y Sportswear by Avian Group as Strategic Partners, Solex Pvt Ltd. is on board as the Gold Sponsor, while the Galle Face Hotel Colombo is onboard as the Official Food and Beverage Partner. The Carlton Sports Network would be the Official Television Partner while Singha FM would be the Official Radio Partner of Carlton Cup 2012.