Mercantile Services Basketball League Tournament kicks off today

An unprecedented number of entries, including six newcomers, were seen for the 27th edition of the Mercantile Services Basketball Association (MSBA) League Tournament 2017.

Forty-six men’s and women’s teams will participate in this prestigious tournament, which is powered by Dialog Axiata Plc. Thirty-seven men’s teams in five divisions and nine women’s teams in two divisions will be engaged in 120 matches including the seven finals.

The tournament will be held from 12 June to 11 August at the Sir Edward Henry Pedris Stadium, Colombo 5.

The newcomers to the fray are JAT Holdings, Moulana Travels & Tours, Hayleys Group, Virtusa Polaris, the London Stock Exchange and Fair First Insurance.

The draw for the groups was held on 23 May at the Citizens Development Business and Finance Auditorium, Colombo 10, with the participation of MSBA President Brawin Fernando, MSBA Vice President Rimaz Hassan and MSBA General Secretary Mafaz Mohideen.

Men’s teams

‘A’ Division (six teams): DFCC Bank, Fair First Insurance, Dialog Axiata, Sampath Bank, Commercial Credit and Finance Plc and HNB.

‘B’ Division (five teams): SriLankan Airlines ‘A’, Kanrich Finance, Nations Trust Bank, MAS Holdings ‘Reds’ and John Keells Group.

‘C’ Division (seven teams): LB Finance, Union Bank, HSBC, Seylan Bank, NDB Bank, Standard Chartered Bank and David Pieris Motor Co.

‘D’ Division (eight teams) in two groups:

Group ‘A’: MAS Holdings ‘Blacks’, LOLC, Hirdaramani Group and JAT Holdings

Group ‘B’: Softlogic Holdings, Amana Bank, Commercial Bank HSBC Global Services.

‘E’ Division (11 teams) in two groups:   

Group ‘A’ – WNS Global, IFS International, Airport and Aviation, Moulana Travels, Hayleys Group and Aitken Spence Group.

Group ‘B’ - London Stock Exchange, Abans Group, Citizens Development Business, SriLankan Airlines ‘B’ and Virtusa Polaris

Women’s teams

‘A’ Division (three teams): Commercial Credit and Finance Plc, HNB and Seylan Bank.

‘B’ Division (six teams): Nations Trust Bank, David Pieris Motor Co., Mobitel, MAS Holdings, John Keells Group and IFS International.