Birthplace of the Sprite Ball Championship- the highly rated high school basketball tournament in Ghana-the Greater Accra Region has the enviable record of having the most representatives at the competition since its maiden edition in 2007.
The West African country’s capital city boasting a stellar collection of top rated secondary educational institutions that have excelled in multiple fields over the many decades since their creation. Presbyterian Boys Senior High School (PRESEC-Legon) is a forbearer in this regard as the school has thrived in the class and out on the field.
The school holds the record number of wins at Ghana’s highly competitive educational platform “National Maths and Science Quiz” but has also replicated its excellence in sports by winning the Sprite Ball Championship in 2008. One of such schools that has emerged over the years as an epitome of such dual brilliance is Accra High School popularly known as AHISCO. The coed school with the striking black and white uniforms was founded on August 17 1923 Reverend James Thomas Roberts and recently celebrated its 93rd anniversary amid massive celebrations as a long lasting emblem of the storied history of the school.
Accra High School made headway in 2014, when the school’s male team qualified ahead of stalwarts including Accra Academy and St. Thomas Aquinas to make the final 16 team roster for the main championship.
Drafted alongside Mfantsipim School, St. Augustine’s College and St. John’s School in Group D at the 2014 edition, Accra High School’s male side were in the big leagues.
For starters, Mfantsipim at the time was a three time winner of the competition whilst St. Augustine’s was a finalist in the first edition of the tournament and St. John’s has been a near constant feature in the competition since 2009 when the format was expanded to include more schools in the tourney.
However, making the national roster doesn’t necessarily guarantee success and Ahisco found out about that all too well as the side failed to qualify out of the group.
Unfortunately the learning curve did not have the required effect as it has for other schools that use the experience of playing in the championship as a propeller to greater things.
Accra High has since failed to qualify for the main championship missing out on the eighth and ninth editions in 2015 and 2016 respectively.
Things are much dire in the women’s division as the female basketball team of the school has failed to qualify for the championship including 2016’s version where they crashed out in the zonal competition at the regional level.
As the school continues to shine qualities of the great men and women whose character is intertwined with that of Ghana in the days of struggle for independence including George Nanka-Bruce and John Bukman, Accra High School is ready to make hay while the sun shines just like its motto Latin says “Redimentes Opportunitatem”.
