Accra Polytechnic emerged champions of Zone F in the 2016 Universities, Polytechnics and Colleges (UPAC) Basketball Championship by beating Blue Crest College 27-23 in the last round of preliminary games.
The host team and defending champions cruised to three straight wins and preserved a storied feat of never losing a competitive game at home. Accra Poly always looked the side to emerge out of the zone considering the massive pedigree it has in Ghanaian and West African circles.
However, it was one of two debutants in the zone, that gave Accra Poly its’ toughest test yet as Blue Crest matched the two time champions with every ammo it had in its’ arsenal. Blue Crest proved a hard nut to crack all game with the likes of Kofi Otu and Cecil Arthur proving a handful for their opponents.
The frustration of Accra Polytechnic players was visible and it boiled over when star Shooting Guard Abdul Mutaleeb Alhassan got ejected from the game after committing a second intentional foul. What happened after was a frantic and uncoordinated change of style from Accra Poly as it tried to get back into its’ groove. They found it in a collected team effort with Center Suleman Alhassan leading the charge.
In the end, Accra Polytechnic’s more experienced hands did the trick to give them a vital win to complete yet another wonderful run. The team will represent Zone F in the last eight at the University of Ghana on April 14 with the likes of University of Development Studies-Tamale, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology and Takoradi Polytechnic.
Blue Crest College coach Kofi Agyemang Kwarteng was pleased with the effort of his players despite the loss and was very confident in his team’s bright future. Blue Crest College were making its’ debut appearance in the Championship.
Accra Poly’s starting Center Suleman Abubakar was declared Most Valuable Player of the tournament; ending the streak of Point Guard’s winning the coveted award.
The 2016 UPAC Championship is supported by MTN, CAL Bank and Fanyogo in partnership with Basketballghana.com, TV3, YFM and Ghana Sports Newspaper.
