Top Indian men’s and women’s teams will go head to head as New Delhi gets ready to host 64th National Basketball Championship from Feb 26 to March 5 at the Thyagaraj Stadium.

The Basketball Federation of India organised and IMG-Reliance supported event will feature many of the players who made the country proud by winning the gold and bronze medals in the senior men and women’s basketball events, respectively, at the recently concluded 2014 Lusofonia Games held in Goa.

Defending men’s champions Uttarakhand will hope for a repeat of their last year’s performance. In the women’s category, Indian Railways with an unblemished record of last six years will look to maintain their dominance once again.

In all 51 teams, 27 of men and 24 of women, will participate in the country’s top most competition played on League-cum-Knock-out basis.

Top 10 teams of the previous year ranking are grouped in Pool A and B (Level I). The winner will take home Rs.1 lakh while the first and second runners-up will receive Rs.75,000 and Rs.50,000, respectively.

The rest of the teams will be playing the qualifying league in the Pools C, D, E, F for a chance to be promoted to Level 1 for the 65th Senior National Basketball Championship.

The competition will take place on three indoor basketball courts of Thyagaraj Stadium.