Mfanstipim forward Mishael Jamani Salifu may have scooped the top individual award as the overall best player during the 2015 Sprite Ball finals, but BASKETBALLghana.com editor Patrick Akoto thinks otherwise.
According to the technical team, the youngster scaled above his peers to emerge the MVP after the two-day event in Accra.
In as much I respect the decision of the men with the ‘technical eye’ to bestow the honour on Jamani Salifu, I hold the humble view that veteran Adusei Poku and his men got it wrong.
Salifu is a huge potential who must be encouraged rather than discourage and on that basis will thread cautiously while congratulating him for catching the eye of the technical men.
But his teammate Daniel Owusu is the gold standard for a basketball player.
The Mfantsipim captain was the most electrifying athlete and had every niche in his game down to the cliff hanger against Keta Senior High. He is a kind of player we will look back in 10 years and say, wow, why didn’t we appreciate him more?
When it comes to being complete, Owusu is the ultimate match. Since 2010, we’ve all seen him dominate during his title-winning feat with Cape Coast-based Kawanopado in 2012, and this 2015 is no different.
Big players rise up to big occasions and that’s exactly what Owusu exhibited during an enthralling Sprite Ball final against Keta Senior High.
He separated himself from the pack in stats by averaging more points and rebounds per game than every player.
The competition brought about Owusu’s best field goal percentage, best three-point shooting percentage and best rebound rate at the El-Wak stadium.
If we’re talking about stats, Owusu’s toolbox is full. Usually this is a bullet point to winning the MVP but surprisingly eluded him as the accolade went to his colleague.
For a team which was crafted around young and emerging talents, they stomped to their fourth title in a fabulous fashion, beating highly-rated Ketasco in an epic final.
The manner in which they delivered the sucker-punch was sweeter for a side which displayed an excellent tactical performance against a physical Ketasco side.
Owusu was undoubtedly the star man on the day as he singlehandedly carried the flag of Mfantsipim on his shoulders and cemented it during the final.
Yeah, that’s Daniel Owusu; his presence was the one significant difference between Mfantsipim and the title.
He engineered such a massive turnaround during the final with Jamani being left out of the influence.
Salifu Jamani is work in progress but Owusu was the most efficient in both offense and defense with an enviable character on the court to have stolen the individual award.
The loud silence of the Mfantsipim fans when Salifu’s name popped up as the MVP, sums up my believe and suspicion that the technical team got it wrong and me muffled, at least.
Please feel free to agree or disagree with me by posting your comments in the box below.
yes i think owusu deserve the mvp
Jamani Mishael Salifu the MVP also known as Fbaby(court name) really deserves the MVP award because the guy is a dream chencer. He trains like doesnt hav the feelings of tiredness. He trains all day long. Could you believe he was the basketball player of the year 2014 in his school. He really deserves it thank you…
Owusu was not the MVP. He did not deserve the 2015-SpriteBall MVP title. Please Note,Basketball is a team sport.It takes the collective efforts of team members to win a Basketball game. Owusu is a good dribbler, yes, but he is selfish when it comes to ball distribution (simply put, passing. Rebounding? Where? Offencive or defensive? Pse. check your video. You will see that most of Mfantsipim lost-balls/offencive turn-overs were caused by Owusu.
He deserves it