64th Junior National Basketball Championship for U-18 Boys and Girls tips off in Odisha

It has begun! The Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium, Cuttack, one of the key venues of the 64th Junior Nationals.

The nation’s best under-18 basketball players will go head to head when they represent their respective States in the 64^th Junior National Championship in Cuttack, Odisha. The matches will be played simultaneously on three courts; at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium, Cuttack and the two outdoor courts of the Barabati Stadium Complex.

The Championship, which has begun today, will conclude on Sunday, September 08, 2013. This Junior Championship is being organised by the Basketball Federation of India is association with the Odisha Basketball Association. Matches will be played daily on all three courts, starting from 7:00 am and continuing till late evening.

The winners and runners up will take home trophies and cash prizes. Last year, in the 63^rd Junior Nationals, the Chhattisgarh team had emerged winners in both the boys and girls divisions.

Tournament structure

23 teams are participating in the boys and girls sections each. Both the sections are divided into two Levels, 1 and 2. Level 1 consists of Group A and Group B. Level 2 comprises Groups C, D, E and F. The tournament is being played in a league cum knockout basis.

League matches will be played within each group and the top three teams from Level 1 (i.e. Group A and B) will qualify for the quarterfinals. The four top ranked teams from Level 2 (i.e. Groups C to F) will first play each other in an elimination game. The two winning teams from this elimination will then play against the fourth ranked teams from Level 1 in a pre-quarterfinal match.

GROUPS BOYS LEVEL 1 LEVEL – 2 GROUP “A” GROUP “B” GROUP “C” GROUP “D” GROUP “E” GROUP “F” Chhattishgarh Punjab Uttar Pradesh Odisha West Bengal Haryana Kerala Madhya Pradesh Gujarat Chandigarh Bihar Assam Delhi Karnataka Himachal Pradesh Jammu & Kashmir Jharkhand Pondicherry Maharashtra Tamil Nadu Uttrakhand Rajasthan Andhra Pradesh GIRLS LEVEL 1 LEVEL – 2 GROUP “A” GROUP “B” GROUP “C” GROUP “D” GROUP “E” GROUP “F” Chhattishgarh Maharashtra Karnataka Pondicherry Jharkhand Assam Tamil Nadu Kerala Gujarat Chandigarh Bihar Andhra Pradesh Uttar Pradesh Madhya Pradesh Himachal Pradesh Jammu & Kashmir Rajasthan Uttrakhand Delhi Punjab West Bengal Haryana Odisha

All the match results along with the upcoming schedule will be posted on the BFI website. Regular updates can also be viewed on BFI’s Facebook and twitter pages.

Note: This article has been published with permission from the Basketball Federation of India. The original article, on the BFI website, can be accessed here.