Hosts Vijaya Bank win 3rd Mulki Sunder Ram Shetty All India Basketball Tournament in Bengaluru

A tantalizing finale between two 'bankmen' settled the 3rd Mulki Sunder Ram Shetty All India Basketball Tournament, a prestigious, invitational club basketball meet, in Bengaluru on Sunday, October 23rd. The host team Vijaya Bank (Bengaluru), a young squad that grew up leaps and bounds as the tournament progressed, defeated Indian Bank (Chennai) 86-82 in a tightly-contested finale. The victory gave the hosts their first every victory in the third edition of this tournament.

Held at the Kanteerava Indoor Stadium in Bengaluru from October 19-23, 2016, the tournament marks the memory of the Late Mulki Sunder Ram Shetty, a longstanding former Chairman of Vijaya Bank, who was instrumental in the growth of the bank through the 60s and 70s. There were 7 teams in the fray in this tournament, divided into two Groups. The top two teams from each Group progressed to the semifinals followed by the finals. Several top Indian international players took part, both from the senior and junior teams.

Two of those rising young international talents made their mark in a memorable back-and-forth competition in the final, Vijaya Bank's Arvind Arumugam and Indian Bank's Hariram Ragupathy. Indian Bank held a slight advantage earlier in the game, as his team led 45-43 at halftime. But a crucial third-quarter run turned proceedings in Vijaya Bank's favour, who outscored their opponents 23-14 in the period to take a lead. Ragupathy (34) and A. Surya (20) led a comeback for Indian Bank, but they fell short as Vijaya Bank won the final 86-82. Arumugam finished the final with a cherry on top of his fantastic performances all tournament with a game-high 38.

Earlier in the day, during the third/fourth place clash, Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu (SDAT) from Chennai relied on 28 points by Justin to defeat Kochi's Customs and Central Excise, who were led by international talent Basil Philip (18).

For his dominant performances, the winning squad's star Arvind Arumugam was named the tournament's MVP. Guruprasad Nayak of President's 11 (Karnataka) was named the Most Promising Player of the tournament. Vijaya Bank’s MD and CEO Kishore Kumar Sansi was the chief guest for the finale and he distributed the team and individual trophies and cash prizes.

Final Standings

• 1. Vijaya Bank
• 2. Indian Bank
• 3. Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu

SDAT Clinic in Chennai with JD Walsh

A lot has changed in basketball in India over the last three years, from the new massive IMG-Reliance sponsorship deal to the NBA expanding its operations in the country. But throughout the highs and lows of the development of the game in India over this period, the one constant has been the persistent efforts of American basketball coach JD Walsh in bringing India to the world of basketball... And bringing the world of basketball closer to India!

Over the past week, Walsh completed another crucial four-day clinic in Chennai at the SDAT Stadium from February 2-5. Walsh worked with about 75 youngsters in three different groups: U18 Girls, Boys from all over the state of Tamil Nadu, and a local boys' college team.

"I have been coming to Chennai a couple of times every year for a long time now," said Walsh, "I think the city has a very organised sports culture, especially ingrained in basketball. They have done well in organising events for the whole state of Tamil Nadu. There is a sense of professionalism there, and I'm sure Tamil Nadu's efforts in improving its basketball will continue to show results on the national level."

One of the highlights of the camp was the work that Walsh did with many Tamil Nadu coaches on concepts such as offensive and defensive strategies and helping developing players with their post game.

Walsh contacted Don Casey, former New Jersey Nets, Los Angeles Clippers, and Temple (college) basketball coach from the USA over Skype. Casey spoke to the coaches about zone defense and answered their questions. Walsh said: "The Tamil Nadu coaches are very knowledgeable. They were excited about this opportunity and receptive to Casey."

"These are small things necessary to make a difference for basketball in India," Walsh added, "I think we are finally beginning to turn a corner and change is coming to the game here."

Nike Basketball sponsored Walsh's clinic with gear for the coaches.

JD Walsh is the founder of the JDBasketball School, a global enterprise with a mission to each the fundamentals of basketball to youngsters around the world.