The Event That Launched
India's Pro Basketball Era
When Elite Pro Basketball League — India's first and only professional 5×5 basketball league — needed a production partner to stage the country's biggest-ever open basketball tryout, they turned to Refuge Events. On 12–13 May 2022, we brought that vision to life at the Kotla Vijaya Bhaskara Reddy Indoor Stadium, Hyderabad.
The two-day event served as the foundational talent-selection moment for the entire EPBL ecosystem — a league backed by American franchise owners and featuring twelve city teams from across India. Day one was an open tryout welcoming all registered athletes. Day two staged a series of exhibition games showcasing the 107 players shortlisted for professional contracts. The event drew national media coverage and established EPBL as the most credible professional basketball platform India had ever seen.
What We Were
Up Against
Unprecedented Scale
Managing 250+ registered athletes from across India simultaneously — each requiring check-in, evaluation zoning, coaching assignments and selection tracking across two full days.
National Spotlight
EPBL's biggest names — including Indian national team players like Jagdeep Singh Bains and Pratham Singh — were attending. Every detail had to reflect the professional standard the league was built to represent.
Complex Logistics
Coordinating 12 franchise representatives, coaching panels, media teams and live evaluation systems across a 2,000-capacity indoor stadium — with real-time player data flowing to franchise owners.
Media & Broadcast
Producing a live, broadcast-ready experience for Day 2 exhibition games — setting the tone for how professional basketball would look and feel to Indian audiences and franchise investors.
How Refuge Events
Made It Happen
We embedded with the EPBL team from the outset to understand not just the operational requirements of running a large-scale sports tryout — but the significance of this moment for Indian basketball. This was a sport launching itself professionally for the first time at scale, and we treated the event with the weight it deserved.
Event Architecture & Flow Design
Mapped the full two-day athlete journey — from registration and warm-up zones to evaluation courts and exhibition match staging — ensuring smooth movement of 250+ participants without congestion or confusion.
Venue Preparation & Court Setup
Transformed the Kotla Vijaya Bhaskara Reddy Indoor Stadium into a professional-grade arena — full EPBL branding, multi-court tryout configuration, scoreboard systems and spectator-ready exhibition layout for Day 2.
Technical & AV Production
Deployed professional AV and lighting rigs, commentary infrastructure, live scoring systems and broadcast-quality camera positions for the Day 2 exhibition games streamed to franchise stakeholders.
Athlete & Franchise Hospitality
Curated a professional-standard experience for all 250+ athletes and 12 franchise representatives — from dedicated accreditation and briefing zones to locker room arrangements and post-event reception.
Media Management & Press Coverage
Coordinated national sports media access, press positions and spokesperson scheduling — resulting in widespread coverage across national basketball publications and sports news platforms.
Captured Moments
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Results That
Speak for Themselves
The EPBL Hyderabad Tryout became the single most talked-about moment in Indian basketball in 2022 — and the foundation upon which India's professional basketball ecosystem was built.
The Hyderabad tryout was the moment EPBL became real for Indian basketball. The professionalism of the event — the setup, the energy, the organisation — told every player and franchise owner that this was the real deal. Refuge Events understood exactly what this moment meant and delivered accordingly.
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