UGKK Inter-Church Basketball C’ship on June 16
KOTA KINABALU: The 4th UGKK Inter-Church Basketball Championship will take place at the Kota Kinabalu Community Hall starting June 16.
A total of 18 men and women teams from 10 churches around the Kota Kinabalu area will be involved in the annual championship.
Organising chairman Tai Ket Hau said with this year’s theme of “Rise as One”, the organiser reminded all participants of the importance of having team spirit, unity and complementing attitude to achieve a common goal.
Tai said some changes have been made for this year’s tournament to make it fair among the teams while adding much excitement in the competition.
In order to raise the standard of the tournament, the organiser has rearranged the men’s competition into two divisions based on the teams’ ranking from the last edition of the championship.
“New teams are automatically categorised in Division B of the competition.
“With such a setup, there will be two champions, first runner-up and second runner-up to be crowned at the end of the championship,” he said referring to the top three teams in both divisions.
Tai also said that the two top ranked teams in Division B will be promoted to Division A, replacing the two bottom teams who will be relegated to the lower division next year.
“The organisers hope that this new setup will create fairer competition while also further increasing the competitiveness of the tournament,” he said while adding the women’s category will see a four-team competition.
Meanwhile, Tai said, apart from the basketball games, the championship will have various cheerleading teams and mini games such as “Skill Challenge” and “three-point shoot-out” to provide the best experience of basketball for the audience’s viewing pleasure aside from just supporting their favourite teams.
There will also be “half-time games” for the crowd to have a chance to step onto the court for some simple games and a chance to win some souvenirs.
“The organisers welcome the public, especially from around the city, to come and watch the games and experience the excitement of the event,” he added.