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Basketball: Coronation Cup 2006
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Basketball
Coronation Cup
The DHL team play against Gravity
Going by the number of teams participating and the large number of spectators at the only indoor basketball court in the capital, the fervour for basketball seems to be picking up.

About 30 teams are taking part in the ongoing annual coronation tournament and seven are women teams. There are players as young as 14-years and as old as 57-years.

A number of teams are new, comprising mostly of school students and a few young office goers who still take time out from their work for the love of the sport.

"People from all walks of life are taking part in this tournament," said one of the organisers and sponsors, Soenam Dorjee. "There are also a good number of spectators for every game. About three matches are played every day, from five pm to eight pm.

"I think the game is picking up," Soenam Dorjee said.

To attract participants and spectators alike, the organisers said they had to create a buzz that they were going to have great music, dance shows and even cheer leaders for the finals. "It worked," he said.

The organisers have also bought about 40 basketballs, three pairs of boards and five pairs of rims, which they intend to distribute in other parts of the country as a start to popularise the game.

A few balls will also be kept at the swimming pool court so that basketball enthusiasts needn't worry about bringing their own ball.

"All this is a part of our strategy to encourage people to play," Soenam Dorjee told Kuensel. "We want to keep this sport in continuity among the youth."

A few expatriates who went to watch a game were, however, taken aback by the name of one team who called themselves 'Nazis'.

The league round of the tournament has reached its second round and 16 teams are out. The finals will be played on June 3, 2006.

Contributed by Samten Wangchuk , Kuensel 2006
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