8th Savio Cup – featuring ex-NBA players – kicks off in Mumbai today!

One of the most-respected club basketball competitions in India – the Savio Cup – is set to tip off for its eighth edition at the Don Bosco School in Mathunga, Mumbai, on Sunday, December 2. The finale of the eight-day long tournament will be held on December 9th. Organised by the Don Bosco Recreation Centre, the tournament will feature some of the best teams and players from all across India in both the Men’s and Women’s divisions. In addition, for the first time this year, a Men’s team from the USA will take part featuring three former NBA players – Jerome Williams, Paul Grant, and Anthony Bonner.

Five Men’s teams – including the American team ‘Sportspower’ – and four Women’s team – including a ‘Rest of India’ team – will be taking part in the competition this season.

In addition, the Savio Cup will be getting bigger in this edition as they will also host an Under-20 Men’s basketball tournament featuring six top local teams from in or around Mumbai. This move will help bring more exposure to young talent from the city.

The Savio Cup is an annual tournament held in Mumbai and has regularly featured some of the best basketball talent in the country. This year’s tournament is being held at the end of the calendar year and before the Senior National Basketball Championship, unlike the tournaments in the past which were usually held after the Nationals. ONGC (Men) and Southern Railway (Women) won the 7th Savio Cup in January this year.

Unlike recent years, the American team ‘Shooting for Success’ won’t be coming to India this year.

The following teams are taking part in the tournament for the 8th Savio Cup:

Men: ONGC, Indian Railways, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Sportspower
Women: Southern Railway, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Rest of India.
Under-20 Men: Savio Club (Don Bosco), Indian Gymkhana, Nagpada, Mastan YMCA, Fr. Agnel (Vashi), Ghatkopar YMCA.

The full roster of the Sportspower team will also feature several other American players who have made a name for themselves playing around the world. Other Indian national/international stars participating will include including Vishesh Bhriguvanshi, Riyazuddin and Yadwinder Singh from ONGC, Geethu Anna Jose and Anitha Pauldurai from Southern Railway, Anju Lakra from Chattisgarh, and Mihir Pandey and Abhilek Paul from Tamil Nadu.

The tournament is being sponsored by Tridhatu Realty India and United Phosphorous Ltd. Winning teams stand to win 1 lakh rupees. This year, too, the tournament shall be played on State-of-the-Art Terraflex courts and held under floodlights in a specially erected stadium on a round robin basis.