The Osu Hawks maintained their winning streak by thumping the Teshie Lions 69-59 in the Rush Community Basketball Tournament.
The Hawks are currently the only undefeated team in the tournament. Emmanuel Dickson reiterated his team’s selfless play and discipline as the reasons for their winning run. Teammate Mohammed Yakubu put up 29 points to fall just a pair of points behind the tournament’s record set by Dickson. Reigning player of the week, Emmanuel Dickson who also plays for the Ghana Police Service put up 31 points in Osu’s match against Ashaiman Tigers in week five.
The Hawks came into the game with high hopes after defeating an Ashaiman side that had yet to suffer defeat in the tournament.
The Lions looked to get back to winning after surprisingly losing to the Sakumono Chargers who before then had yet to win a game. Losing to Osu means the Lions will have to beat a wounded Ashaiman Tigers side in their next match to have a chance of making it into the semifinal stage of the competition.
The Hawks attacked Teshie from the start and managed to score early points from the paint. Mohammed Aziz and Dickson combined beautiful passes to carve into the Teshie defense anchored by Center Joseph Boye and score.
Next up, Nii Aryee and Benjamin Debrah had a nice little exchange of passes to put Osu up 16-12. Lions Point Guard Kingsley Quist reduced his team’s deficit to two points by nailing a three pointer before the end of the first quarter that ended 18-16 for Osu.
The second quarter began with an emphatic block from Hawks Yaw Ackom. The Teshie Lions could not find a solution to wonderful pass sequences from the Hawks as they left open spots for their opponents to exploit.
Gabriel Numarworse of Teshie responded by making a no look pass to Emmanuel Ocquaye to score from inside the paint. Emmanuel Dickson in a rare solo move scored a jumper by going coast to coast.
Substitute Ekow Abaidor made an immediate impact by going coast to coast and scoring in the highlight of the third quarter. He completed a three point play by scoring from the resultant free throw.
James Boye exploded in the game’s final quarter to score 10 points. The Teshie Center had remained quiet in the previous quarters but made crucial buckets that put Teshie in contention for the game’s lead. However, Mohammed Yakubu and Dickson scored late in the quarter to make their lead safe.
Great tournament so far, Big Ups to the organisers and sponsers of the tournament not forgetting the good works of those who update us with this info.