India to host first Commonwealth Basketball Championship

New Delhi, Jul 7 (PTI) India will host the inaugural
Commonwealth Basketball Championship in July 2010, the
International Basketball Federation (F.I.B.A.) has announced.

F.I.B.A. President Bob Elphinston, announcing this at a
glittering function here yesterday, said, "the tournament,
with top eight commonwealth teams, is going to be a wonderful
opportunity for the Indian basketball to grow further."

"With this championship tournament the Commonwealth
nations will get a very good opportunity to improve their
performance by competing with each other," Elphinston added.

Besides India, England, Nigeria, Canada and New Zealand
are the probable participants in the tournament to be held
just before the Delhi Commonwealth Games scheduled in October
that year.

"At a time, when Basketball is not in 2010 Delhi
Commonwealth Games, this tournament is the best possible thing
India could have got," Harish Sharma, Secretary General of
Basketball Federation of India (B.F.I.) said.

"We will try to organise this tournament in best possible
manner. As the Indian government has put basketball under
special category, we will have no problem in providing the
best facilities, including quality stadiums," Sharma, who is
also the President of Commonwealth Basketball Commission,
added.

The B.F.I., after consultation with the F.I.B.A., will
finalise the venue for the tournament later. PTI