The sixth edition of Ghana’s most prestigious tertiary basketball competition-Universities, Polytechnics and Colleges (UPAC) Championship-ended at the University of Ghana (UG) Central Court with host UG winning the title.
The title is UG’s fourth in the history of the competition after beating Takoradi Technical University (TTU) 37-32 with Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST).
Despite the changes witnessed in the just concluded tournament, some incidents recurred in this year’s tournament.
Controversies
Controversy is never far from the UPAC Championship and the sixth edition was the same as Accra Technical University (ATU) forfeited a game.
The two time champions boycotted the bronze medal game against KNUST after losing 50-51 to UG in the semifinals. ATU forfeited the game to register its displeasure over what the team deemed wrong calls from game officials.
“Bloody” Finals
The final game of the championship has over the years grown synonymous with blood as players have been bloodied up in the big matchups. In the 2016 Final, UG Guard Joshua Akai sustained a head injury that needed medical attention.
The same injury befell Muhaimin Guba and Kwame Opoku in the subsequent editions. In the 2019 final, TTU’s Richard Donor and UG’s Johnson Okoe bumped heads and both players sustained cuts that were fixed.
Debutants
Every edition of the UPAC Championship national stage has institutions compete for the first time. In previous years, the likes of Sunyani Technical University, All Nations University College and Marshalls University College have made maiden runs at this stage.
In 2019, three teams made their debuts in the quarterfinals-Catholic University College, Radford University College and Koforidua Technical University.
By Yaw Adjei-Mintah
@YawMintYM on Twitter
