Marshalls University College completed the pack for the 2015 UPAC Basketball final after securing qualification in the final qualifying lap.
In a keenly contested game held at the University of Ghana centre court over the weekend, Marshalls secured the surprise slot on points.
The game was decided on points after three teams- Marshalls, University of Ghana and Central University were tied after the round-robin game.
The three teams cancelled each other out after they won two games and lost one to accrue five points. The winner was then picked based on the number of goals scored which went in favour of Marshalls.
Marshalls University College, playing in the competition for the first time lost to Central University 36-30 in their opening game. However they returned to the court re-invigorated and re-energized to deliver a famous 32-26 win over host University of Ghana.
That win inspired them to thrash whipping boys Wisconsin University 42-27 to open an eight point gap, helping them edge University of Ghana who scored 89 goals and conceded 79.
University of Ghana will feel depress as their late surge was not enough to secure them a place in the final.
They started on a positive note beating Wisconsin in the opener before losing grounds against debutant Marshalls. They needed to score more goals against Central University to stand any mathematical chance of progressing but in the end they could only a garner a seven point difference in their 29-22 win.
On the other hand, Central had the simplest task of beating the University of Ghana to qualify after seeing off Marshalls and Wisconsin but failed to come to the party when it mattered most.
Marshalls had their destiny in their own hands when they clashed with Wisconsin and delivered the sucker punch by recording a staggering 15 points difference as they won 42-27 to seal their qualification in a blistering fashion.
Marshalls thus join University of Professionals Studies (UPSA), Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi Polytechnic, Takoradi Polytechnic, Accra Polytechnic, University of Cape Coast (UCC) and University of Development Studies (UDS) in the final from April 23-25 in Accra.
The 2015 UPAC Basketball Championship is brought to you by Dynamite Energy Drink and supported by Access Bank, EV Oil, Premier Cool, Airtel Ghana and Everpure.
Media partners include TV3, Starr FM, Asempa FM, Joy FM, Peace FM, Basketballghana.com and Labaari.com.
