68th Junior National Basketball Championship for Men and Women to tip off in Noida, UP

• The 68^th Junior National Basketball Championship for Men and Women will be held at Shiv Nadar University in Gautam Budh Nagar District, Noida, Uttar Pradesh from 4^th to 11^th June 2017.

• The Championship will feature 25 men’s teams and 24 women’s teams in the U18 age group, from various Indian States and Union territories, and will be played in a league cum knockout format.

• Tamil Nadu boys and Karnataka girls are the defending champions from the previous edition held in Puducherry in May 2016.

File photo: Karnataka Girls - winners of the 67th Junior National Basketball Championship for Men and Women. Image credits: Basketball Federation of India

Bengaluru, 3^rd June 2017:  The 68^th Junior National Basketball Championship for Men and Women will be held at Shiv Nadar University in Gautam Budh Nagar, Noida, Uttar Pradesh, from 4^th to 11^th June 2017.

The fixtures and groupings were announced today at a press conference at Shiv Nadar University, that was presided over by Mr Chander Mukhi Sharma, Secretary General, BFI; Dr Mrs Seema Sharma, President, UP Basketball Association (UPBA); Mr Bhupendra Shahi, Hon. Secretary, UPBA and Mr Alok Sharma, Additional Director General, Sashastra Seema Bal.

The prestigious Championship will feature 25 men’s teams and 24 women’s teams in the U18 age group, from various Indian States and Union territories, and will be played in a league cum knockout format.

The teams are grouped into two levels –Level 1 features the top 10 teams from the previous championship divided into two groups of five teams each (Group A and B), while Level 2 features the remaining teams divided into four groups (Group C, D, E, F).

In the league stages, all the teams play each of the other teams in their group once. The top three teams from each of the groups in Level 1 advance directly to the quarterfinals, while the fourth placed teams play pre-quarterfinal games against the top two teams from Level 2.

The competition is expected to be fierce beyond the immediate prospect of glory, because the teams that finish last in each of the groups in Level 1 are relegated to Level 2 for the next edition of the tournament, while the Level 2 teams that qualified for the pre-quarterfinals will replace them in Level 1 in the next edition.

Over the years, this Championship has provided a platform for the country’s best players in the U18 category to showcase their talents. This allows selectors to identify and shortlist the most promising players and coaches to parachute into national team training camps with an eye towards participation in international events.