Head coach of Akosombo International School, Frederick Osei, believes his side were unlucky following their defeat to Roman Catholic Basic School in the finals of the 2012 Milo Junior Ball in the Eastern region.
The Akosombo-based school got off their campaign to a flying start with resounding 28-0 victory over fellow debutant Koforidua RISS in the opening game.
They extended their fine form with another roller-coaster performance to beat Soul’s Harbour 17-1 in their second group game before narrowly accounting for defending champions Anglican Junior High 19-17.
The side however played arguably the best game of the tournament in the finals against Roman Catholic but eventually surrendered the title to their opponent in a nervy and rib-smacking encounter at the centre court of the Koforidua Secondary Technical School.
But they did their chances of qualifying to the grand-finale no harm in one of the most thrilling games at the one-day championship.
Kojo Attafuah, the AIS rebounding machine, was a delight to watch as he stole the show with individual brilliance that caught his opponent catching up for breath.
The youngster dribbled from beyond the top of the key past an Anglican defender and went up for an easy basket but left the ball short and the buzzer sounded.
He was terrific in most games and despite his failure to guide them to the title, he’ll be the player to watch on April 13 at the El-Wak stadium in the grand-finale and their boss insists they’ll come out good in the capital.
“My boys were very impressive and good. It was just that luck wasn’t on our side,” Osei said.
“We know we lost to a better side and hope to come stronger next year. The competition was a god platform to develop basketball in Ghana.
“Thanks to the sponsors and the organizers for putting together a wonderful competition,”
The 2012 Milo Junior Ball is brought to you by Nestle Milo-the food drink of future champions and powered by Rite Multimedia-leaders in basketball development and promotion in Ghana.
