NBA league from July 21
The second edition of Mahindra NBA Challenge will be held at Kochi from July 21 to September 2. The community-based league, held in Thiruvananthapuram last season, will be organised in collaboration with the Basketball Federation of India (BFI), the Kerala Basketball Association, the Regional Sports Center Kochi and the Ernakulum District basketball Association.
The Kochi league will feature 120 teams, and the games will be played at the Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium. The league has already been held in Mumbai and Delhi, and after the Kochi stop, it will go to Bangalore and Ludhiana.
The five-city league features eight divisions in total for males and females: sub-junior for ages 12 to 13, youth for ages 14 to 16, junior for ages 16 to 19 and adults for ages 19 and above.
Another major characteristics of the league is that it will feature a national championship in Delhi from October 4 to 7. The winning teams from the senior and Under 18 divisions, for both men and women, from each city, will travel to Delhi to compete for the championship. They will have an opportunity to train with an NBA Legend.
The programme has expanded since its introduction in 2009 with the number of participating teams doubling in Season Two. The programme has helped identify and develop top basketball talents, with the Indian National Team extending training camp invitations to 20 players, both male and female, who participated in the Mahindra NBA Challenge.
Until now, six NBA stars and legends from the US league have run clinics for the participants. The current edition will also feature NBA legends. Another add-on to the league this year is a development programme.
Altogether, 40 players in the boys and girls under 13 and under-14 categories will be selected to the programme that will be held in Kochi from August 17 to 30. The top eight players from the programme will receive one year of specialised training and Adidas basketball gear.
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