Mulki Sunder Ram Shetty Tournament: Karnataka teams open with wins
Vijaya Bank General Manager Mr AC Swain presents a cash award to their bank's international player Arvind Arumugam.
Bengaluru, 19th October 2016: The Vijaya Bank organised 3rd Mulki Sunder Ram Shetty All India Basketball Tournament for Men 2016 has tipped off at Kanteerava Indoor Stadium in the city. The tournament is being conducted under the aegis of the Basketball Federation of India and the Karnataka State Basketball Association.
Vijaya Bank’s General Managers Mr AC Swain, Mr Sidheswar Patra and Deputy General Manager Mr A Sridhara Murthy were present as special guests closely watching the first game between hosts Vijaya Bank and Integral Coach Factory, Chennai.
Vijaya Bank’s India international forward Arvind Arumugam was presented a cash award from Mr Swain, prior to the tip off of the first game.
Vijaya Bank bt Integral Coach Factory, Chennai 78-52
The opening match between Vijaya Bank (in red) and ICF, Chennai tips off at Kanteerava Stadium, Bengaluru.
Hosts Vijaya Bank got off to a dream start in the tournament beating Integral Coach Factory, Chennai 78-52.
The first quarter began deceptively close, with the teams locked at 20-20. Vijaya Bank’s Big Three of point guard Rajesh Uppar, centre Arvind Arumugam and shooting guard Anil Kumar showed glimpses of their class in various ways. Rajesh was able to slash into the paint and dish it to his teammate Arvind, while Anil impressed with his scoring in transition. Young forward S Karthickeyan was able to use his athleticism to rise over his opponents for multiple tough left hand layups. For ICF, the undersized bigs passed excellently inside to make up for their lack of size. ICF also showed great hustle to score on second chance opportunities.
But like a matchstick that flares brightly when lit, before fizzling out, ICF got overwhelmed in the second quarter, as Vijaya Bank’s reserve Big Men Sanjay Raj (former Indian men’s team captain) and Roby Thomas kept up the pressure on the glass. Vijaya Bank had outscored ICF 21-8, to take a 41-28 lead at halftime.
In the second half, both teams seemed to have accepted the result, as they went through the motions. Arvind had topscored for Vijaya Bank with 27 points while shooting guard Mukunth had 14 for ICF.
Vijaya Bank will next face Indian Bank tomorrow for a spot in the semifinals, while ICF will face Indian Bank day after in a bid to stay alive in the competition.
Vijaya Bank (Arvind Arumugam 27, S Karthickeyan 10, Anil Kumar 9) bt ICF, Chennai (Mukunth 14, Seenivasan 12) 78-52 [20-20, 21-8, 22-15, 15-9]
Customs and Central Excise, Kochi bt SDAT, Chennai 65-63
Former India International Eudrick Pereira of Customs, Kochi spots up for the corner three against SDAT, Chennai
In an epic battle between two contrasting teams, the experienced Customs and Central Excise, Kochi held on to beat Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu (SDAT), Chennai by two points.
The young SDAT side exploded in the first half and at one point led 22-6, before the Customs veterans made their inevitable comeback. Guard Manoj was money from deep, hitting three straight three pointers in the second quarter to bring Kochi with 5 points, 22-27, of the Chennai lads. However, at halftime the score still read 36-27 in favour of SDAT.
The third period saw more dominance by Customs, as they outscored SDAT 23-12 to wrest a slender 50-48 lead going into the final 10 minutes.
For SDAT, small forward Justin was spectacular with his supreme strength and athleticism. Led by Justin’s 20 points, SDAT rallied in the fourth to match Customs shot for shot. However, former international centre Eudrick Pereira and current international Basil Philip came good in the clutch. Pereira in particular had multiple blocks to deny SDAT any easy points as his side pulled off the tricky 65-63 opening win.
Customs will next face Kerala State Electricity Board tomorrow at 4:30 pm, while later the same day SDAT will take on Karnataka President’s 11 at 7:30 pm.
Customs and Central Excise, Kochi (Manoj 18, Basil 17) bt Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu (SDAT), Chennai (Justin 20, Karthik 14) 65-63 [6-16, 21-20, 23-12, 15-15]
President’s 11, Karnataka bt Kerala State Electricity Board 72-59
Akash Subbaiya of Karnataka President's 11 dribbles the ball between his legs against Kerala State Electricity Board.
In an unexpected result, President’s 11 (i.e. Karnataka State team) beat Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) in the final match of the evening 72-59. Coming into this match, KSEB were favourites since the squad comprised an experienced and set lineup that has regularly featured in national level tournaments over the last few years. However, the upstart Karnataka boys must have missed the memo.
Karnataka led 23-20 at the end of the first quarter before KSEB won the second and third periods by a single point each. Leading by 1 point going into the final 10 minutes, junior India point guard Guruprasad Nayak (who was part of the Indian U18 team that won the South Asian Basketball Association (SABA) Qualifiers earlier this year) came into his own for Karnataka. The 18-year-old was able to get to the foul line repeatedly and knocked down majority of his freethrows to lead Karnataka to a decisive 20-8 scoring differential in the fourth quarter.
Tomorrow, President’s 11 will next take on SDAT, Chennai from 7:30 pm, while KSEB will battle fellow Kerala rivals Customs & Central Excise, Kochi (4:30 pm tip off).
President’s 11, Karnataka (Guruprasad Nayak 17, Mufeez Ahmed 11, Vijay 8) bt Kerala State Electricity Board (Tony K Mathew 15, Arun Babu 11) 72-59 [23-20, 11-12, 18-19, 20-8]
About the Tournament
Venue: Kanteerava Indoor Stadium in Bengaluru
Dates: 19th to 23rd October 2016
The tournament is being held in the memory of the Late Shri 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.
Matches are being played every evening from 5:00 pm onwards on a league cum knockout basis. There are 7 teams in the fray in this tournament, divided into two Groups. The top two teams from each Group will progress to the semifinals followed by the finals.
This edition of the tournament is featuring some of the nation’s top men’s club sides such as hosts Vijaya Bank, Central Excise & Customs-Kochi, Indian Bank, Integral Coach Factory (ICF)-Chennai, Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB), Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu (SDAT)-Chennai and Karnataka State team (‘President’s 11’).
The following are the 13 international players who are participating: Indian Bank (Hariram- Senior India; Moses Jeevananth- Junior India; P Baladhaneshwar- Junior India), Vijaya Bank (Arvind Arumugam, Rajesh Uppar, Sanjay Raj- Senior India; S Karthickeyan- Junior India), Kerala State Electricity Board (Sreerag N Nair- Junior India, Arun Harikumar- Youth India), Cochin Customs (Eudrick Pereira, Basil Philip, Monish Wilson- Senior India), President’s 11, Karnataka (Guruprasad Nayak- Junior India).
Past Edition Details
The inaugural edition of the tournament was held in 2014 in Malleshwaram, with Indian Overseas Bank (IOB)-Chennai, ONGC, Vijaya Bank and Karnataka State finishing as the top four teams respectively.
The 2nd edition was held in 2015 at the Kanteerava Indoor Stadium, Bengaluru. Income Tax-Chennai emerged winners, with ONGC, Vijaya Bank and Kerala State Electricity Board rounding off the top four.
Vijaya Bank- A proud heritage in basketball
Notably, Vijaya Bank is the only recruiter of basketball talent in the state of Karnataka, and has contributed 10 international players to the country, starting with Olympian Gurumurthy Dileep, who joined the bank way back in 1984. Other international players honed by the bank are former India captain BS Gautham (1986), A Rajkumar (1988), S Stalin (1993), G Murali Mohan (1995), Roshan Thankachan (1999), Sanjay Raj (2002), Arvind Arumugam and Rajesh Uppar (both in 2012). Including these international stars, in all, the bank has recruited 25 national level players, who have represented their bank and the state of Karnataka with great pride and gusto.
FIXTURES OF THE 3RD MULKI SUNDER RAM SHETTY ALL INDIA BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT, BENGALURU
19th to 23rd October 2016
Kanteerava Indoor Stadium, Bengaluru
LEAGUE FIXTURES
GROUP A GROUP B Vijaya Bank Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) Indian Bank Karnataka State team (‘President’s 11’) Integral Coach Factory (ICF)-Chennai Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu (SDAT)-Chennai Central Excise & Customs-Kochi
S.No Date/Day Time Team Name 1.
2.
3.
19.10.16/Wednesday 5:00 pm
6:30 pm
8:00 pm
Vijaya Bank Vs ICF
SDAT Vs Central Excise & Customs-Kochi
President’s 11 Vs KSEB
1.
2.
3.
20.10.16/Thursday 4:30 pm
6:00 pm
7:30 pm
Central Excise & Customs-Kochi Vs KSEB
Vijaya Bank Vs Indian Bank
President’s 11 Vs SDAT Chennai
1.
2.
3.
21.10.16/Friday 5:00 pm
6:30 pm
8:00 pm
ICF Vs Indian Bank
KSEB Vs SDAT
President’s 11 Vs Central Excise & Customs-Kochi
KNOCK-OUT FIXTURES 22nd October 2016 - Saturday 5:30 pm I Match - Winner of Group A Vs Runner of Group B
7:00 pm II Match - Winner of Group B Vs Runner of Group A
23rd October 2016 - Sunday FINALS