Ghana Secondary Technical School (G.S.T.S.) and St.John’s once lived up to their reputation as regional heavy weights as both triumphed once in Western Region’s qualifiers for Sprite Ball 2016.
G.S.T.S. or “The Giants” as they are affectionately called, placed first ahead of St. John’s Senior High School to qualify for the Sprite Ball championship whereas Shama Senior High School girls’ basketball team stampeded their way to another appearance.
The 2016 Sprite Ball Championship will take place between January 3-7 at the El-Wak Stadium in Accra next year. The competition will be the ninth edition in its’ storied history and is set to feature 16 schools in the boys division and 10 schools in the girls’ division.
Lauded as the biggest and best organized basketball competition in the West African sub-region, Sprite Ball has over the year’s been the template of basketball excellence in Ghana. The qualified school’s have been drawn from six regions in the country.
Unlike their “Oil City” rivals G.S.T.S. who have been a constant feature in the tournament, St. John’s have missed out on some previous editions with last year’s absence being the latest addition to the school’s inconsistent run in the main competition.
“The Saints” made amends for that miss by tucking away their opponents without breaking stride until they were handed a defeat by the host school G.S.T.S.
The female division had little surprises as well, as perennial favorites Shama Senior High School laid a flat out dominant display to pick the region’s sole ticket to the main tournament.
The ladies from the fishing town will hope for a repeat of 2013’s heroics where they dazzled their way to consecutive wins over familiar names St. Mary’s and Akosombo International School in the preliminary rounds.
