Lourdes Basketball Club edged past Ecoclean Ninjas 18-16 in an exciting final to win the first-ever 3×3 Goa Basketball League organised by Goa Basketball Association in Goa under the aegis of Basketball Federation of India and registered as a FIBA event. DBO Panjim and DBO Fatorda played the major role in conducting the GBL Season 1.
In the thrilling title-clash at the DBO indoor court, Panaji, on Sunday; Lourdes got the better of Ecoclean in a high-voltage battle by just 2 points. LBC’s Jeshua Pinto (11 points) and Shubham Shiva Singh (5) really kept the pace and check on Ecoclean Ninjas, who were no less skilled with Ashley (7) and Jaden Vas (6).
Shaun Aranjo was awarded the ‘Best Offensive Player’, Shubham Shiva Singh was awarded the ‘Best Defensive Player’, Ashley Monteiro the Highest Scorer, and Jeshua Pinto was awarded the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the event.
Earlier in the semi-finals, Ecoclean Ninjas beat Panjim Thunderbolts while Lourdes Basketball Club defeated Naroo Panthers.
Siolim Basketeers, Season’s Dribblers, Rim Rulers and Celtics lost in the quarter-finals.
Fr. Avin Carvalho, Rector of Don Bosco Panjim was the chief guest and gave away the trophies, medals and cash prizes. Others guests and dignitaries were, Shane Dias -GBA President, Fr. Ralin De Souza -GBA Secretary & BFI Vice President, Luis Gomes and Maria Helena Pinto.
3×3 GBL – A GAME-CHANGER!
The 3×3 GBL debuted as the first of its kind basketball event in Goa where 12 owners of clubs picked up players from a pool of registered ballers, including 1 outstation player in a team of 4. The GBL drew a big number of fans with its electric brand of Basketball creating a spectacle unfold infront of the energetic spectators, who cheered wholeheartedly.
In its premiere season, a minimum of 15 thousand rupees were invested by the owner, which included a minimum payment of 2000 to every player in the GBL. The player registration process was done online, with over 60 players registering for the event. To ensure that the results of the games were of value, every match was conducted as per FIBA regulations of events, and the performance of the players would be recorded on the FIBA Stats and award ranking to the players both at the National and the International level. The league was organised on 3 weekends of April 2024, concluding on Sunday, 21st April.
The event protocols were explained to the sponsors of the teams, in a bid to promote the game in a professional manner, and GBA hopes that similar events would invite more interested sports enthusiasts to invest in the fast growing game in Goa, states a press release.
