Elite Pro Basketball League

Elite Pro Basketball League (EPBL) is a professional franchise basketball league in India. Elite Pro Basketball Pvt Ltd was incorporated in February 2022 under the directorship of Sunny Bhandarkar and Pranav Prabhu. It is owned and operated by Elite Sports India (ESI).[1][2]

Elite Pro Basketball League (EPBL)
Founded2022; 2 years ago (2022)
First seasonTBA (TBA)
CountryIndia
Number of teams16
Level on pyramid1
CEOSunny Bhandarkar
WebsiteEPBLeague.com

Elite Pro Basketball League replaced UBA Pro Basketball League from 2022.[3][4]

Teams

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The league currently has sixteen franchised teams.[5][6]

Team Representing city/state
Ahmedabad Aces Ahmedabad
Bengaluru Stallions Bengaluru
Chandigarh Conquerors Chandigarh
Chennai Turbos Chennai
Delhi Dominators Delhi
Eastern Tigers Kolkata
Goa Waves Goa
Hyderabad Hoops Hyderabad
Jaipur Giants Jaipur
Kochi Pachers Kochi
Lucknow Swarm Lucknow
Mumbai Stars Mumbai
Nagpur Knights Nagpur
Pune Pythons Pune
Punjab Gladiators Punjab
Surat Diamonds Surat
 
 
Ahmedabad Aces
 
Bengaluru Stallions
 
Chandigarh Conquerors
 
Chennai Turbos
 
Delhi Dominators
 
Eastern Tigers
 
Goa Waves
 
Hyderabad Hoops
 
Jaipur Giants
 
Kochi Pachers
 
Lucknow Swarm
 
Mumbai Stars
 
Nagpur Knights
 
Pune Pythons
 
Punjab Gladiators
 
Surat Diamonds
Location of EPBL teams

Try-outs

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EPBL's first try-out took place at Kotla Vijaya Bhaskara Reddy Indoor Stadium, Hyderabad on 12 May 2022. Over 250 basketball players took part in the try-out, and 150 players were selected by the twelve franchises which includes players from the Indian basketball team including Jagdeep Singh Bains, Pratham Singh, K. Ravikumar, Vinay Kaushik, Rachit Singh, Prakash Mishra and Arshdeep Singh.[7][8][9]

Jaipur Giants have been acquired by Bradshaw Capital, an American company led by former Montblanc USA CEO, Bill Brown.[10][11]

Top players

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In June 2022 the league announced its first round of marquee player signings for some of the participating franchises.[12][13]

Player Team
Jagdeep Bains Mumbai Stars
Pratham Singh Pune Pythons
Prakash Mishra Jaipur Giants
Basil Philip Kochi Packers
Vinay Kaushik Chandigarh Conquerors
Arvind Krishna Hyderabad Hoops
Ram Gopal Lucknow Swarm
Ravikumar Chennai Turbos
Rachit Singh Punjab Gladiators
Karan Pal Singh Ahmedabad Aces
Arshdeep Singh Delhi Dominators
Visu Palani Bengaluru Stallions

Board members

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  • CEO – Sunny Bhandarkar[14]
  • COO – Pranav Prabhu
  • Chief advisor – David Pross[15][16]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "India's Elite Pro Basketball League to feature 12 teams". Ekalavyas. 16 April 2022. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
  2. ^ Imtiaz, Md (11 June 2022). "Elite Pro Basketball League signs top Indian national players as marquee signings". thebridge.in. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
  3. ^ R, Gopalakrishnan. "UBA's Original Promoters to launch new Indian Pro Basketball League". Ekalavyas. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
  4. ^ "5x5 Pro Basketball League to be launched in India later this year". The Times of India. 2 May 2022. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
  5. ^ "Elite Pro Basketball League adds four new teams ahead of pre-season camp in March". ThePrint. 18 February 2023. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
  6. ^ "Elite Pro Basketball League to organise its preseason from March 11-20". News Room Odisha. 16 February 2023. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
  7. ^ Subrahmanyam, V. V. (13 May 2022). "Try outs conducted for EPBL". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
  8. ^ "Indian 5x5 Basketball League Tryouts held in Hyderabad". Ekalavyas. 19 May 2022. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
  9. ^ "Try out for EPBL - News for All | Jai Mahakaal". 13 May 2022. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
  10. ^ ANI (19 July 2022). "American Investment Group acquires Jaipur Giants team in Elite Pro Basketball League". ThePrint. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
  11. ^ "Bradshaw Capital obtain rights to Jaipur Giants of Elite Pro Basketball League". SportsMint Media. 20 July 2022. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
  12. ^ "Elite Pro Basketball League signs top Indians as marquee players". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
  13. ^ "Elite Pro Basketball League Signs Top Indians as Marquee Players". News18. 9 June 2022. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
  14. ^ up18news (12 August 2022). "The youngest CEO of Elite Sports India- Mr Sunny Bhandarkar". Up18 News. Retrieved 12 August 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  15. ^ "David Pross joins Elite Pro Basketball League as Chief Advisor - Exchange4media". Indian Advertising Media & Marketing News – exchange4media. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
  16. ^ "David Pross joins Elite Pro Basketball League as chief advisor". www.adgully.com. Retrieved 11 August 2022.