Elite Pro Basketball League
Indian basketball league
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Elite Pro Basketball League (EPBL) was 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]
| |
| Founded | 2022 |
|---|---|
| First season | TBA |
| Country | India |
| Number of teams | 16 |
| Level on pyramid | 1 |
| CEO | Sunny Bhandarkar |
| Website | EPBLeague.com |
Elite Pro Basketball League replaced UBA Pro Basketball League from 2022.[3][4]
Teams
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 |
Try-outs
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
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 |