Armed Forces young enterprising coach Charles Annan insists his side have learnt their lessons and will make the best out of it during the next edition of the Sprite Ball Championship.
The Burma camp-based side were a pale shadow of themselves during the hugely attended 5th edition of the Sprite Ball competition in early January at the Aviation Social Centre.
For a side that won the heart of many crazy basketball fans with sublime performances to clinch the deal in 2009 at the regional and national level, it was hugely anticipated they were going to be one of the dark horses of the competition.
But at the end of the two-day competition, they failed to glitter as poor defensive work coupled with indecisiveness on the attack broke the heart of their teeming fans on their home court.
They managed to scale the hurdle to the knockout phase but defeat to Eastern regional champions Koforidua Secondary Technical School (KSTS) at the quarter-final stage meant their dream to reclaim the title was curtailed.
Annan was an influential part of the side that won the crown for the side in 2009 and after taking stock of what happened to his side, he admits he got some of tactics wrong.
“We played well at some point but some of the players are new and so were inexperienced on the day,” Annan said
“I must also say that there is more room for improvement for me as a coach as well and seriously we have learnt our lessons but hope to bounce back strongly the next time,”
“We have always played well at the tournament and a lot of the side have total respect for us. But we just didn’t get it right this year,”
“We need to go back to the drawing board and start preparing now for the next championship,”
He added: “This competition is growing stronger and bigger and the schools are improving year after year and so it’s imperative we put house in order before we can lay claim to the title again,”
The likes of James Aryee, Samuel Obuobi and Patrick Duncan have still got a lot to grind out in the future despite their huge potentials.
