Organizing a press conference in the capital on Monday, Narendra Thapa, the senior vice-president and tournament coordinator, said the qualifying rounds for boys´ section will be held in Kathmandu, Lalitpur, Kaski, Sunsari, Kavrepalanchowk and Bhaktapur. There will be no qualifiers for the girls´ section as no team from outside the capital will compete in the event.[break]
The event to be held in league-cum-knockout format will select one team each from Kaski, Sunsari, Kavrepalanchowk and Bhaktapur districts for the final round of boys´ section to be held in the capital from February 19 to 26.
Meanwhile, Kathmandu and Lalitpur districts have been divided into four zones in the boys´ section from which the winner and runner-up will qualify for the final round. The best third team among all four zones will also go through to the final round. One school each from the departmental schools -- Nepal Police, Armed Police Force and Nepal Army School -- will get direct entry into the final round.
According to Thapa, NeBA expects a total of 100 schools, including 60 from Kathmandu and Lalitpur, to participate in the event. In the girls´ category, 16 schools are expected to compete in the event.
Speaking on the occasion, NeBA President Lama Tendi Sherpa said the tournament is being organized to attract young players to basketball. "Though various schools are organizing school basketball events, U-14 players were barred from participation due to age restriction. They could not compete in senior level (U-16) and as well as junior level (U-5 ft)," said Sherpa.
The event, being organized in the memory of late Ram Kumar Basnet, is expected to cost Rs 580,000.
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