Tigo, one of the country’s giant telecommunication networks, partnered Rite Multimedia to bring an unforgettable basketball experience to students of the University of Ghana as Akuafo hall clinched the prestigious 2010 Legon Dunks on Thursday night.
The much-talked about tournament lived up to its billing as the participating halls and hostels exhibited sublime piece of basketball skills and character to thrill the thousands of crazy-basketball fans who thronged the main basketball court.
Akuafo hall which is tagged as the hall of excellence lived up to their accolade by running riot over the other halls and hostels to clinch the ultimate diadem at the expense of defending champions, Legon hall, beating them 12-6 in the final game.
It was evident from the entrance of the University that the one-day tournament was going to be hugely successful as the road leading to the main basketball court was given a first –class branding by Tigo.
Thousands of crazy basketball fans who thronged the venue were held spell- bound through out the 8 – hour period where other interesting activities like Tigo 2 minutes of fame (free throw by ladies), Tigo fan of the day and dance competition among others took place during the interval to send the crowd into rapturous mood.
The winners were given a hamper and an Ipod from Tigo as fans continued to identify themselves with arguably the country’s finest telecommunication network on campus.
Akuafo hall were deserving winners after they dismantled all teams en route to be crowned champions for the first time. They started their ambition on a whirlwind fashion in pool B beating arch rivals Mensah Sarbah hall 10-14 in a highly entertaining opening game.
Subsequent victories over Pentagon and last year finalist Commonwealth hall (vandals) underlined their credentials as a serious contender for the title and they exhibited that when they beat Evandy hostel at the semi –final stage before seeing off favourite Legon hall.
The defending champions looked disjointed in the final game and that accounted for their unimposing display even though it was not evident in their previous games against International student hostel (ISH), Bani and Pentagon.
They looked out of sort as their opponent took the game to them and it was as if nobody knew what had hit the premier hall. They resorted to faulty passes and the frailty of their defence was exposed which allowed Akuafo to capitalized on and in the process dethroned them as champions to send their supporters into euphoric mood.
Meanwhile Pentagon hostel posted a narrow 5-4 win over Evandy to pick bronze after a close contest.
Also, for the first time in the history of the growing competition National Polytechnic champions, Accra Polytechnic showcased enough firepower to beat the Institute of Professional Studies (IPS) 14-6 in the curtain raiser.
Present at the venue were the Marketing Director of Tigo, Nana Ampratwum, Business Intelligence Manager of Tigo, Ms Rosy Fynn, Director of the Sports Directorate of the University of Ghana, Dr Owusu Ansah, some of the top echelon of the Ghana Basketball Association that included its vice – Chairman Emmanuel Baafi alongside the Chief Executive Officer of Rite multimedia, Yaw Sakyi Afari.
For the records, Tigo has become the first telecommunication network in the West African region to support the development and promotion of basketball in Ghana and has etched its name in the history books.
Legon Dunks 2010 has left an indelible mark in the minds of thousands of people who witnessed the tournament at the University of Ghana campus and continue to earn rave reviews on campuses of other tertiary institution in Accra.
Legon Dunks 2010 is brought to you by TIGO, the network that actually works and supported by Indomie noodles, Voltic, Forever Eazy and produced by Rite Multimedia –leaders in basketball development and promotion in Ghana.
