MELBOURNE - SportingPulse International and FIBA have been shortlisted as a finalist in the second annual Sports Technology Awards in the category of Best Use of Technology by a Governing Body, Federation or Rights Holders.

The finalists were announced by the awards' organiser, R3 Events and ENS Ltd, on Monday in London.

The SportingPulse/FIBA entry was for the FIBA Live Stats application that enables basketball administrators to record game statistics online and webcast matches in real time.

Nick Maywald, SportingPulse International Founder and CEO said: "In 2014 FIBA Live Stats was used in 65 countries and by many of the top professional basketball leagues around the world including the PBA (Philippines), NBL (Australia), BSN (Puerto Rico), LNBP (Mexico), ABL (SE Asia), BBL (UK). We covered over 23,000 basketball games viewed by an annual online audience of over 2.5 million basketball fans. We also distribute data in real time to TV broadcasters, media, coaches and fans, helping to create interest, understanding and awareness of basketball."

Patrick Baumann, FIBA Secretary General and Member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said: "FIBA Live Stats is making a major impact on the sport of basketball around the world. It enables the first time capture of detailed team and player statistics from grassroots to professional games and results in a better understanding of team and player performance. FIBA Live Stats has become the default first and second screen basketball experience for basketball fans around the world."

The winners of each award category will be announced at the lunchtime Awards Ceremony to be held at The Brewery, London on Friday 27 March.

SportingPulse International has developed a suite of integrated technology solutions to power basketball, making it easier for national federations, professional leagues and amateur associations around the world to manage membership, competitions, communication and live scoring.

Since 2005, SportingPulse has worked with FIBA, the world governing body for basketball, providing more than 80 FIBA member federations with the tools they need to manage basketball.

FIBA Live Stats was first launched in 2008 and allows basketball administrators to record basketball game statistics and webcast matches in real time. The webcast experience has been optimised so that fans can follow games on their preferred mobile device and is available in 25 different languages.

FIBA Live Stats is available for download for free from www.fibaorganizer.com.

FIBA