Vijaya Bank clinches title

 Vijaya Bank emerged champions in the 3rd Mulki Sunder Ram Shetty All-India basketball tournament at the Sree Kanteerava Indoor Stadium here on Sunday.

In a closely fought final, favourites Vijaya Bank, led by Arvind Arumugam, made a late comeback to edge out a gritty Indian Bank 86-82.

Arumugam, with 38 points, top scored for the hosts while Anil Kumar (14 points) and Roby Thomas (14) also made vital contributions for their team. For Indian Bank, R Hariram and A Surya scored 34 and 20 points respectively. M Puvaneshwaran and D Sandeep netted 13 points each.

The game started in a frenetic manner with both teams going toe-to-toe in the first quarter.
Although Vijaya Bank drew the first blood through Arumugam, it was Indian Bank who surged ahead 6-2 in the first four minutes and led narrowly 19-18 at the end of the first quarter, thanks to impressive plays from Sandeep, Puvaneshwaran and point guard P Baladhaneshwar.

Indian Bank continued to pile on the pressure in the second quarter and led 37-30 at one stage. However, Arumugam, waging a lone battle for Vijaya Bank, made sure they stayed in the hunt as they cut short the lead by two points to 43-45 at the end of the first half.

Vijaya Bank then came back roaring in the second half and went ahead 53-47 in the first three minutes, courtesy Anil’s accurate three-pointers, Roby’s strong rebounds and Rajesh Uppar’s sharp passing. The third quarter finished with Vijaya Bank leading 65-59.

In the final quarter, Vijaya Bank surged ahead at 70-60 but Indian Bank fought back well to trail 70-72. However, Vijaya Bank regained their composure to seal an 86-82 win.
Vijaya Bank received a cash prize of Rs 1,00,000.

Results: Final: Vijaya Bank: 86 (Arvind Arumugam 38, Anil Kumar 14, Roby Thomas 14) bt Indian Bank, Chennai: 82 (Hariram Ragupathy 34, A Surya 20, M Puvaneshwaran 13, D Sandeep 13). Third-place play-off: Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu (SDAT), Chennai: 66 (Justin 28, Karthick 13) bt Customs and Central Excise: 53 (Basil Philip 18, Monish 11).