University of Ghana beat PUSAG champions Marshalls to clinch the trophy
Basketballghana.com highlights major happenings in the 2017 basketball season.
OWASS, Wesley Girls make history at Sprite Ball Championship
Exactly a year ago, Opoku Ware School clinched the Sprite Ball Championship Male division with Wesley Girls High School clinching the women’s division title.
Both schools did so in historic fashion as Opoku Ware (OWASS) became the first male school from the Ashanti Region to lift the coveted trophy.
The team beat Mfantsipim School 27-25 in dramatic fashion as Mfantsipim stormed back from a 10 point deficit to take a 25-24 lead before a three point play from (OWASS) Captain Harris Amuzu clinched the win.
It was a perfect response from OWASS following a heartbreaking loss to Mfantsipim in the semifinals of the previous edition.
By beating Kumasi Girls High School in another Central Region v Ashanti Region final matchup, Wesley Girls became the record winners of the female division.
The title was Wesley Girls third overall and puts them ahead of Aggrey Memorial Zion Senior High School and T.I. Ahmadiyya Senior High School.
The upcoming edition takes place from January 4-6, 2018 at the El Wak Stadium in Accra.
UENR top Braves to win GSP League
The focus on this piece is University of Energy and Natural Resources (UENR) big win over Suncity Braves to clinch this year’s Global Sporting Platform (GSP) League.
With the tertiary side trailing the defending champions by a point in the standings heading to the final game of the campaign, UENR needed a win to win the trophy.
The Robert Fiifi Brew-led side did just that in the wee hours of the Sunyani night in Ghana’s Brong-Ahafo Region on the final day of competition.
Brew was named Most Valuable Player of the Year and the league title ended Braves quest for back to back title wins.
UENR leads the standings midway through the ongoing season which is on a break allowing the team and other tertiary sides competing in the league to participate in the upcoming Ghana University Sports Association (GUSA) Games.
Adding to a successful season was UENR’s fourth place finish at this year’s Universities, Polytechnics and Colleges (UPAC) Basketball Championship.
UG clinch back to back UPAC Titles
Following up on a historic 2016 season where Ghana’s premier university’s male basketball team was simply imperious, the team followed it up with more winning performances.
In 2016, UG won the Ghana University Sports Association (GUSA), Universities, Polytechnics and Colleges (UPAC) amd Africa University Games (FASU) Championships respectively.
This year, the team retained the UPAC title, won the mini GUSA title and maintained its unbeaten run in all competitions.
UG topped University of Cape Coast in the mini GUSA Final game with a relatively new team including Point Guard Lankai Blankson-Mills.
Despite losing quality players during this successful period, UG still ranks high among favorites to win the next GUSA Games.
Next year’s GUSA Championship takes place from January 4-20 at the University of Development Studies in Tamale with the host team looking to improve on a surprise third place finish at the Mini GUSA.
The team has undergone further changes with Dr. Baba Samora replacing Meme Falconer as Head Coach.
Community 4 lifts Tema League
Tema Community 4’s shock win in this year’s Tema Basketball League is one of the top draws of the ended season as the underdogs upset the odds.
Community 4 beat title favorite Ashaiman Lions in two straight games in the final series to clinch the league title with a fine display in the postseason.
Despite posting one of the best records in the regular season, C4 was considered an outsider in the title race with many writing them off.
However, tough balanced play from the team had it record eye catching wins over Ghana Navy, Tema Heat and the much fancied Lions side to win the trophy.
Winning the title required herculean effort and Community 4 pulled that off particularly in the first round playoffs against Navy with the team battling from a double digit deficit in Game 2 to progress to the next stage.
Point Guard Aninagyei Osei was named the league’s Most Valuable Player.
