Nepal Basketball League (NBL) Pvt Ltd is set to organise men's and women's basketball league events after a hiatus of two years.

The men's league—Nepal Basketball League—-will take place from May 21 and the Women's Nepal Basketball League is set to kick off on June 1, the organisers announced at a press conference on Sunday.

The two events had not taken place for the last two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Like the last two editions, the tournament will be a double round robin event to be played on a home and away format,” said Arun Karki, vice president of NBL. The men's event will see participation of eight teams and the women's event will have five teams. The top four teams after the completion of the league will enter the playoffs in either category.

"We had initiated the event with a group of passionate basketball fans at a time when there was not a single event of this kind. And the event has made significant contributions to the development of domestic basketball," said Karki.

The men's league will have a total of 56 matches and the women's event will have 20 games. The top two teams at the end of the league will vie in a qualifier and the winner between them will secure a direct final berth.

The qualifier will be a three-match event, with the side winning two matches being eligible for the final.

The losing team will get a second chance for a place in the final through the second qualifier as they will meet the winners between the third and fourth placed sides. While the losing team between the third and fourth places will be out from the race, the winner between them will vie in the second qualifier. All the games in the playoffs will be played in the best of three formats. But the final will be a single match event.

The playoffs will begin on July 16 and the finals will take place on July 23. Each team should register 14 players and could name four foreign recruits in a squad. However, they could also play without overseas players.

The Times International Club, Tribhuvan Army Club, Golden Gate International Club, Royal Basketball Club, Budhanilkantha Municipality Basketball Club, Kirtipur Basketball Club, Bishal Milan Kendra and Campion Solo are the participating teams in the men's category. Times are the defending champions.

Four teams—Nepal Police Club, Lalitpur High Club, Royal Basketball Club and ISA Nepal—have confirmed participation in the women's event while the fifth one is yet to be finalised. Police are the defending champions.

The last edition of the league took place from April to June in 2019 with the women's event included for the first time while the men's event was organised for the second year in a row.

The winners and runners-up in the men’s team will get Rs200,000 and Rs100,000 cash, respectively, while the top two finishers in the women’s category will take home Rs100,000 and Rs50,000, respectively. The expected expenditure of the event is around Rs10 million, according to the organisers.

Meanwhile, Nepal Basketball Association (NBA), the basketball governing body, has already announced plans to host a franchise league this year.

National captain Sadish Pradhan said the upcoming events will benefit players greatly.