As Basketballghana.com celebrates the sixth month anniversary of Ghana’s grandest high school basketball competition Sprite Ball, Pope John School Coach James Okine gives us his take on the championship.
“It’s a great achievement for me as a coach and the school as well, it feels great to look back for that. Though a lot of the elite players have graduated, (I) am still doing my best to get the intermediate players in shape before next year. I feel proud for being the first coach to win bronze for such a big school in the history of basketball.”
Pope John Senior High suffered a close 22-24 loss to eventual champions St. Augustine’s College in the semi final but recovered to beat Opoku Ware 26-19 to claim the bronze medal. It was the highest place finish by the school since the competition’s inception in 2007. However, the team will have a new look should it make it to the main competition next year as several key players including Shooting Guard Emmanuel Dery have graduated.
The 2017 edition of Sprite Ball will be the tenth anniversary of the competition and the stakes will be much higher in the upcoming tournament. St. Augustine’s College beat staunch rivals Mfantsipim School 37-22 in the final game to win the title for the first time.
