Overseas cagers for NTB tourney

Dubai will have one more basketball event added to its calendar when the inaugural NTB Basketball League, which will see overseas players taking part, gets going at the Salah Al Deen indoor hall in Mamzar from September 25 to October 30.

The weekends only event is the first tournament of its kind to be approved by the UAE Basketball Association and will feature 30 teams in the senior men and women, and boys U-19 and U-13 categories.

During the Press conference announcing the event, Nazir CTK, a former state cricketer and owner of Nucaf, the main sponsors, said: "We are pleased to be involved with the promotion of basketball especially at the grassroot level. Nucaf has been promoting sports in the UAE for a long time now with cricket as a lead sport in the agenda.

"Beatrice Sports Club (BSC)-Tellicherry will be celebrating its 40th anniversary this year and this event is being staged as a tribute to its long running success," said Joseph Thomas, BSC global secretary. He added: "The inclusion of overseas players by different teams will add to the competitive level in the tournament.

"The League is promoted by Nucaf and Beatrice Sport Club with the aim to create the best possible experience for players, fans and supporters during the upcoming games," said tournament convener, Siddique Oliyath.

Former Indian international Tom Thomas, and pioneers of the sport at the grassroot level here - Rajan Job, Ali.T (DPS-Sharah) and Vijay Kumar (NIMS-Sharjah), will be honoured during the championship.

The Indian Basketball Society is into it's 11th year when their event takes place later in the season, and after them the NTB event will add more purpose to the cause of developing grassroot basketball among the schools and at the junior training programmes of the leading expat clubs in the UAE.

moni@khaleejtimes.com