NBA's women camp: Nagpur's Siya Deodhar named Most Improved Player award

The first-ever NBA Academy Women's camp concluded on Tuesday with a championship game played between Team Liberty and Team Sparks at The NBA Academy India in Greater Noida.

Team Sparks eventually came out victorious with an 18-8 win over Team Liberty.

Sanjana Ramesh from Bengaluru and Vaishnavi Yadav from Allahabad were announced as the Co-MVP for their exceptional skills exhibited during the three days of camp, as well in the championship game.

Meanwhile, Siya Deodhar from Nagpur was awarded the Most Improved Player.

Reflecting on her experience in the first-ever NBA women's camp, Co-MVP Sanjana Ramesh said, "These three days have been the best of my life. Honestly, every player here is an MVP. We all have improved and I am really grateful to win this award. The camp has taught us so much about team spirit and unity and that's something that I am going to take back from here."

Meanwhile, Co-MVP Vaishnavi Yadav echoed similar views. She said, "It's a dream come true to win this award, especially in a camp organised by the NBA. The three days here have taught me so much more than I have learnt in past. I am pretty sure I will only improve as a player from here on."

Grishma Niranjan from Bengaluru was awarded the sharp shooter award while Rajvi Desai from Madhya Pradesh was named as the best defensive player.

Pushpa Senthil Kumar from Kerala received the coaches award for exhibiting true sportsmanship and leadership skills on and off the court and Khushi Dongre from Maharashtra got the Best Teammate award.

For the past three days, the 18 top female prospects from across India received training from 1996 Olympic Gold Medalist and Women's Basketball Hall of Fame member Jennifer Azzi, 2004 Olympic Gold Medalist and two-time WNBA Champion Ruth Riley, former WNBA player Ebony Hoffman and former college coach Blair Hardiek, along with former Indian women's basketball team captain Divya Singh.

The 18 prospects will also participate in the Basketball Without Borders Asia 2018 camp which will begin tomorrow May 30 at The NBA Academy India.