The 27th edition of the Mercantile Basketball League is set to commence on the second week of June it was postponed from the original date due to adverse weather conditions. As the top corporates battle each other outside of the leather seats and fancy carpets; let`s take a look whether they have what it takes to win the battle.
Peoples Team of the MSBA League 2017 – Vote
The 27th Edition of the Mercantile Basketball League will commence during the third week of June…
Six men`s teams and three women`s teams will compete in the A Division of the tournament. Out of the nine corporates in competition here`s a look in to DFCC Group Basketball Team.
DFCC Bank ended the tournament in the previous edition as the semi-finalists and is coming in with high hopes to take it all home this year. They are confident that this year’s experienced team that consists of national players will have what it takes to win the tournament.
The team line-up includes Roshan Fernando, who led Sri Lanka in the recently concluded SABA Championship 2017 and also Prageeth Pushpakumara who is an ex-national captain. Apart from them the rest of the team is filled and drilled with experience by being top ranked players in the club basketball arena.
Photo Album: DFCC Group Basketball Team | MSBA League 2017
The only disadvantage for DFCC Group comes with the number of players. Even though they are enriched with the factors to claim the championship, DFCC only possess ten of them. The adversities don`t stop there as a couple of players out of the nine, Roshan Fernando and Kasun Uyangoda both have ankle problems and require rehabilitation going into the tournament.
DFCC Group`s prime focus will be in developing individual fitness, which is a right strategy to adopt first-up in the practices considering the fact they have only ten players. Each player will have to play extended minutes of game-time.
Apart from developing fitness, DFCC Group believes that the best offense is the good defence. Hence, after their fitness factor they will spend more time in focusing in their defensive aspects. Possessing six players who are six feet and above in the team they will have the height advantage for the rebounds and also they could come handy in defence.
Coach Ajith Kuruppu speaking to ThePapare.com said, “We’re hoping to win the tournament this year especially since we came so close last year. But I must say the tournament is wide open and we expect to face fierce competition from Commercial Credit, HNB and Fair First. We’ve prepared for this fierce competition focusing more on improving the defensive aspect of our game to be prepared for any type of offensive tactic our opponents may use.”
Skipper Prageeth Pushapakumra speaking to ThePapare.com said, “We made it to the finals last year and lost because we panicked during the crucial moments of the match although we were an experienced team. This year we’ve focused on fixing all those mistakes and I think our chances at winning the tournament are better. We’ve been practicing with the correct mind set this year that we definitely can win the tournament and we hope that everything will go well for us this time.”
While Prageeth leads the team, Terrance Neydoff will play alongside him as the Vice-Captain. Roshan Fernando is not in the best of form as he had a nightmare in the recently concluded SABA Championship. The team will need him to step-up. Rebounding should not be a problem to worry about considering DFCC has the height but only if they get the formula right in practicing.
Even though with ten players, DFCC Group looks a tough side to compete against especially as they have adapted the practice strategies in the right manner to exploit their weakness and to develop their strengths.
DFCC Group Team: Prageeth Pushpakumara (Captain), Terrance Neydoff (Vice-Captain), Roshan Fernando, Kasun Uyangoda, Rajitha Hettiarachchi, Tharindu Sankalpa, Thivanka Perera, Kapilan Sothilingam, Kisal Cooray, Jared Fernando.
