Nissanka Senadhipathi, Chairman, Avant Garde Group and Colombo District Basketball Association address the gathering (centre). Others in the picture from left: Mafaz Mohideen,Director of Tournament Committee – Avant Super Cup 2022, Tharindu Rupasibghe, Secretary of Colombo District Basketball Association, Manjula Yapa, Managing Director of Avant Garde Security Services (Pvt) Ltd and Gamini De Silva, Coordinator of the Foreign Players of Tournament, Avant Super Cup 2022
The ‘Avant Super Cup 2022’ tournament organized by the Colombo District Basketball Association began on March 19. The Avantgarde Group is organizing this. It will be held at the Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium and the Royal College Indoor Stadium, Colombo until April 02. These competitions will be held under four categories as men and women. Both local and foreign athletes are expected to compete. Players from four European countries participate in two foreign teams. The main goal is to uplift the professionalism of basketball players. Major Nissanka Senadhipathi,Commander-in-Chief of the Avant Garde Group, said that some media outlets were trying to create a wrong image of the Sri Lankan economy in European countries.
He said that this is a non-profit sports tournament which is being held at a cost of Rs. 50 million to Rs.60 million. Through this, his hope is to make every local basketball player a player with good playing ability and to further develop this game of basketball in Sri Lanka by bringing the experience and knowledge gained from playing with international players. He said that although some teams had taken over the future of the game after 2014, it had gone to the abyss day by day and he would not criticize them and would create the necessary environment to revive the game and take it to the international arena as much as possible.
Something should be left to those who can do it. He said that official appointments were made in the hope of making money, which would not make any progress in the game and that he had no desire to see such things happen to the game of basketball.
Nissanka Senadhipathi, Head of Avantgarde Group, further said that no one will be charged for participating in the tournament and that all this will be done for the betterment of the game in Sri Lanka and the support of all is expected.