Basketball: Teams taking part in this year’s Pepsi A-league basketball tournament will play a total of 18 games in the league round of the championship. This is double the number of games each team played in the last tournament.

A total of 108 games will be played over the two-month long tournament at the Swimming Pool Complex in Thimphu.

The format of the tournament this year has undergone a few changes following the addition of two new teams from the B-division. After winning the B-league tournament last year, team Crossovers and RBA will now match up against some of the most elite teams in Bhutan.

A total of 10 teams will compete for over a month in the league round. Each team will play against each other twice where the winners will take two points. At the end of the league round, two teams with the minimum scores will be relegated to the B-division. The top eight will then enter the playoffs of the tournament, which will be a best-of-three format for another month.

The match commissioner for the tournament, Michael Andrew Behnke (Coach Mike) said that the reason for allowing the teams to play a maximum number of games in the tournament is to create a “league-feel” for the players and the teams.

Bhutan Basketball Federation’s (BBF) General Secretary, Kuenga Gyeltshen, said that the reason for organizing such tournaments is to promote the game of basketball and consistently improve the level of the game in the country.

The first A-league basketball tournament took place in 2013 where Wizards were crowned the first A-league champions. Pazaps bagged the title in the second year followed by Jachung, who comfortably defeated Jaguars 87-71 in the third and deciding game of the finals last year.

In the first game, Drukpas will take on Wizards at 4pm at the Swimming Pool Complex tomorrow. Defending champions Jachung will also be in action against the newly promoted team of Crossroads at 6pm.

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