The 2012-13 basketball season gets underway this weekend with the inaugural pre-season tournament for women, sponsored by St James Hospital, and the first official competition for men which pits together the traditional rivals in the men’s game – Pembroke A-Z Elec-tronics and BUPA Luxol.

Plans for the new campaign were being implemented and right on schedule by the Malta Basketball Association (MBA) in summer until the storm that hit the islands early in September which flooded the pavilion and caused serious damage to the playing surface.

This week it was confirmed that matches from the men’s and women’s top MBA divisions will be shifted to the University Sports Complex, in Tal-Qroqq, until the new flooring and other works are completed at the basketball home in Ta’ Qali.

This season, the women’s league will be contested by seven teams with champions Luxol looking to stave off the challenge coming from Depiro, Loyola, Hibs, Athleta, Starlites and Qormi.

The pre-season tournament starts today with a series of matches involving all seven teams from the women’s top flight.

The competition resumes tomor-row with classification matches and the final.

Also this afternoon, men’s league champions Pembroke will again lock horns with Luxol for the first official title of the MBA season – the men’s Super Cup.

As happened last season, the 2012-13 men’s championship will have six teams in competition.

Pembroke, again, look to be the team to beat but besides Luxol, who will parade a new foreigner to replace Jeron Belin, they will also have to be wary of the challenges coming from Depiro, Floriana, Siġġiewi and Loyola.

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