KOCHI: St Joseph’s Basketball Lovers, a group which was recently formed by former basketball players of St Joseph’s HSS, Palayam, aims to promote the sport in the city. The group is also organising the ongoing St Joseph’s Basketball League (SBL) which features top basketball teams from the state such as Kerala Electricity Board (KSEB), Kerala Police and Kuriakose Elias College (Mannanam). “The need for forming a group of former basketball players had first come about during the launch of the school’s basketball academy in January 2019.
We wanted to develop a platform for players by conducting an All Kerala Tournament,” said Manoj Xavier, coach of St Joseph’s basketball team and secretary of Trivandrum District Basketball Association. Presently, the group has more than 150 members of which around 70-80 are involved in organising the basketball tournament. “The fund for arranging the cash prizes for the state and district-level tournaments was mainly sourced from our members. The school authorities allowed us to conduct the matches at the basketball court on the premises,” said Sreenath S R, secretary of the group. The members of the club are hoping that the tournament will encourage kids to take up the game.
“Principals and teachers who come to the tournament will also be motivated to start a basketball team in their respective schools,” said Sreenath. Apart from promoting the game, the group also has a eponymous team which is competing in the four-day basketball tournament. The team comprises a few former national-level players such as Anish A S, Vineeth Mohan and Shyam S in its ranks. St Joseph’s Basketball Lovers also plans to organise a similar tournament next year. “The second edition of the league will feature more teams apart from the 14 that are playing currently.
We are thinking of organising the tournament between July and September 2021 as a continuation to the Fr Ephrem Trophy, an all Kerala tournament that is conducted at the school level every year,” said Sreenath.
A summer coaching camp for finding local talent is also in the pipeline. “The coaching classes which will be held under the basketball academy of the school will be aimed at training young players into professionals over a period of one year,” said Manoj.