Play for Deprived Children Nepal is set to bring Nepal’s biggest and longest basketball tournament in Nepal Basketball League beginning from April 20.

The 55-day league will be played in a double round robin league home and away format with eight teams vying for the title. The tournament was played as Kwiks Basketball League last year under the same format and went for one and half months.

Golden Gate International Club, Tribhuvan Army Club, Nepal Police Club, Budhanilkantha Municipality Basketball Club, Royal Basketball Club, Kirtipur Basketball Club, Times International Club and South Siders Basketball Club. The champions and runners-up of the tournament will get Rs 200,000 and Rs 100,000.

A total of 68 matches will be played in the tournament including nine in the playoffs and one final match. The top four teams after the double league will qualify for the playoffs where the first and second placed teams will meet each other in a best of three Qualifier. The winners of the Qualifier will directly enter the final.

The losers will take on the winners of the best of three Eliminator match between third and fourth placed teams in the second Qualifier to book a place in the one-match final. The playoffs and final will be played at the National Sports Council covered hall.

National team skipper Sadish Pradhan was excited to play a long league. “We felt that this was the best domestic tournament we ever played when we participated last year. We are expected it to get even better and bigger this time,” said Pradhan who represents the Army Club.

PDCN President Arun Karki said they will also announce Women’s Basketball League soon on the sidelines of the tournament. “We want the women’s league to be followed in the same pattern as the men’s league. We are thinking of holding the women’s league during the

men’s playoffs. We will announce it in a due course,” said Karki.

Women’s national team captain Sadina Shrestha expected the league to competitive. “I am very happy that the organisers are coming up with the women’s league this time. We are very eager to compete and make it equally competitive like that of the men,” Shrestha told a press conference. The organisers also claimed that for the first time players, referees, volunteers and officials were insured for the first time in Nepali basketball.

According to PDCN, Sanima General Insurance has insured a total of 200 individuals involved in the tournament with a total of Rs 100 million — Rs 500,000 each. While every man-of-the-match will get gift vouchers worth Rs 3,000 from KTM City, the tournament MVP and highest scorer will also get their share of prizes.

During the mid-season an All Star game involving the best players of the tournament will also be played and a celebrity match will also take place during the playoffs. National basketball team coach Dinesh Chandra Nakarmi lauded the effort from the organisers.

“A tournament of this magnitude will help bring the best out of our players.

We are hopeful that it goes well pretty smoothly,” said Nakarmi. Golden Gate had claimed the title of the inaugural edition defeating Army in a thrilling final at the NSC covered hall last year.