Abuakwa State College and Nkawkaw Girls power to glory in the Eastern region

Abuakwa State College (Abusco) produced an unrivalled performance to beat highly fancied Koforidua Secondary Technical School (KSTS) 18-16 in the finals of the boy’s 2010 Eastern Regional Sprite Ball Championship on Saturday.

It was a massive game in the region which was characterised by huge disappointments from powerhouses Akosombo International School and Pope John’s Seminary who failed to find their rhythm and for the first time in three years failed to qualify for the National event in Accra in the boys’ category.

Arguably the championship best player Charles  together with Kelvin and Jeddy were the star performers on the day as they exhibited great team spirit and chemistry to silence the vociferous home supporters who were left dumbfounded after the end of the game.

Charles Wolf who was the power forward for Abusco once again proved to be the catalyst for the home side as his individual brilliance on the day drew applause from the even the home fans and the dignitaries alike. His sublime piece of skills and character against opposing teams was a delight to watch as he missed only two of the numerous free throws he had in the one-day championship.

The Kyebi –based side looked a totally transformed side and the addition of Charles and Kelvin who played for the Legon community during the 2010 U-18 basketball championship among communities in the Greater Accra region dubbed Community Dunks played a critical role for the school who ended up producing matchless displays against teams right from the onset.

They beat Okuapeman boys 28-16 in their opening game before accounting for Kukurantumi -based St Paul Technical Institute (SPASS) 23-13 at the quarter final stage.

Their semi-final clash with powerhouse Pope Johns Seminary (Pojoss) was expected to be explosive and closely contested due to their previous meetings and it indeed lived up to it pre-match hype as both teams produced an end to end action in the game. Chief sniper for Pojoss, Phelim Owusu, lost the individual battle against Charles in the game and Abusco’s resilience and power play earned them the right to play in the finals after a nerve-racking 18-16 victory over their nemesis.

The home side found their voices at the semi-final stage against defending champions Akosombo International School who only qualified for the knockout phase on technical grounds and as their head coach pointed out it was clearly a disjointed performance from the Akosombo –based side due to the absence of three key players of the side.

‘We knew it was going to be tough against KSTS and so I wasn’t really shocked we lost the game because three of our key players were not part of the team due to circumstances beyond our control’. Head coach of AIS told basketballghana.

KSTS’s captain Emmanuel Ekow Amoako was the pivot around which the team evolved as he powered his side to record a rather easy 22-13 victory over the champions, denying them the right to play in the grand finale for the first time in three years.

Abusco’s debut meeting with KSTS in the finals was a shocking one for many pundit but in the end it was a de ja vu performance from the Kibi-based side who produced a comeback display to triumph 18-16 in the final to the disappointment of the home fans who were left speechless after the final whistle had gone for the end of the game.

So for the record Abusco has created some piece of history by winning the prestigious Eastern Regional Championship for the first time in the school’s rich and golden history and will represent the region alongside KSTS in the grand finale next month.

It was business as usual for defending champions in the girls division as Nkawkaw Senior High (Nkawsec) who won their round-robin format against last year’s bridesmaid Akosombo International School (AIS) and Aburi Girls.

Star player for Nkawsec, Hilda Koranteng, stole the show for the second year in a row with another sublime performance that caught the attention and the admiration of spectators who witnessed the games over the weekend.

She virtually tore the opposing teams apart with her sweet flowing fast breaks and had eye for field goals despite been a victim of many travels on the day.

AIS’s Emefa Agbeli Wortortsi, Gift Anokyewaa, Salma Dubire and Evelyn Ampadu upped their must win game against Aburi Girls to book their place in the grand finale at the El-Wak stadium for the third time in a row.

The next stop of the regional Sprite Ball Championship is the Greater Accra region on Thursday November 18, 2010 at the El-Wak stadium where the likes of Accra Academy, St Thomas Aquinas, Presbyterian Boys’ Senior High, Ebenezer Senior High, Armed Forces, Sacred Hearts, Achimota Senior High, Tema Senior High among others battle for the right to play in the super grand-finale on December 22-23 at the same venue.

 Sprite Ball Championship 2010 is brought to you by Sprite-  Freedom from thirst and supported by Indomie Instant Noodles- tastes great and DDP Outdoor. Media partners TV Africa, Graphic Sports and basketballghana.com Sprite Ball 2010 Championship is powered by Rite Multimedia.