UPSA SPORTS ROUND UP

Finally the semester has come to an end , there were some high points and low points in sports across the four corners of UPSA. First of all a big thanks to the UPSA sports directorate for seeing to the successful end of the competition. Here is a breakdown of all the action through-out the semester.

First we start off with football, the boys turned out in their numbers to ensure the competition was a success. There are 7 teams in the UPSA league however, TEAM GRASAG fell out at the start of the competition due to lack of preparation.  League commenced, 20^th February , 2015 with all 6 teams ready a fired up to annex this year’s bragging rights.  In all 14 matches were played between producing  31 goals , the league proved quiet entertain as per goal count , but the cheers from the ROYAL BOBO GROUP was what spared the boys to deliver. Marketing boys (BAMSA) proud to be the team to beat and really put up a challenge for the title and for me was the Fair play team of the league. They unfortunately ended the dreams when they lost to eventual winners Banking (BaFSA) two goals to one. That lose was enough to send Marketing boys hearts crushing, but as the saying “ one man’s meat is another man’s poison “ BaFSA however took that to their advantage to earn this year’s bragging right.     

For our female counter parts they failed to turn up again even though everything was in place to host their games. Again showing a lack of interest, or perhaps there’s not enough motivation for them?

TEAMS	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	PT	POSTION
BANKING	5	2	2	1	7	6	+1	8	1ST
ACCT.	5	2	2	1	5	4	+1	8	2ND
MKT	5	2	1	2	5	4	+1	7	3RD
ADMIN	5	1	3	1	6	6	0	6	4TH
PROF.	5	1	3	1	4	4	0	6	5TH
INFO TECH.	5	0	3	2	4	4	-3	3	6TH
GRASAG

HERE ARE THEIR STANDINGS;

Basketball

Early at the start of this semester, we could smell all the good stuff TEAM UPSA’s Basketball team was cooking. Starting with the call-up of Coach Emmanuel Essel an experienced Coach in Ghana basketball , and also some successful friendly’s over Wisconsin and other schools just to get in shape for the UPAC Basketball games. Not to talk of the qualification to the UPAC finals, beating Central and Wisconsin in the Accra zone during the warm-up games.

These were all signs of good things to come for TEAM UPSA and UPSA sports enthusiast, I for once bet my last on UPSA to cause an upset in the tourney and even dreamt of holding my camera, capturing the moment. Sadly my dream didn’t see the light of day, Yes, even though we qualified for the Finals TEAM UPSA failed to represent some key players instrumental to Coach Emmanuel Essel’s Philosophy due to academics. Again it interfered with the sporting activities, which shouldn’t be the case. I personally fill the sports for credit agenda should be tackled with precision by the UPSA SRC to ensure UPSA not only competes but show up to the party with its very best, because if you really want to be the best you compete with the best.

It therefore resulted in UPSA’s poor showing at the tournament and our early exit; it was really a worry not only for Captain Delvin and his squad but also for Coach as one can only imagine the frustration on his face during the game and pressure put on the UPSA sports directorate trying so hard to make things work.

Well, let’s scrub all that and put it behind us, the UPAC games was however successful even for the highs and lows. Accra Polytechnic won their third successive UPAC tournament on a high note by beating KNUST in the final. Coach Brimah Lawal’s side managed a comeback after losing the first three quarters to win 57-40. As usual  A. Poly’s super stars  Farat , Romeo and Varanda were up to the task once again after some pep talks from the technical bench. This feat currently makes Accra Polytechnic the most successful in the tournament.

Looking into the future preparations for the main GUSA games are prepping up, also the Inter –departmental games will have an early kick-off this time around to ensure we have and even better and longer season this time around.

TEAM UPSA QUALIFIES AT THE LAST GAP

University of Professional Studies (UPSA) rallied from behind to beat Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) 25-20 to qualify for the finals of the 2015 UPAC Basketball Championship over the weekend.
Inspired by captain Delvin, UPSA delivered another masterful performance to beat their rivals in front of their home fans.
Led by experienced trainer Emmanuel Wobil, UPSA recovered from the first two quarters to deliver the sucker punch and ensured their passage to their first final.
The two teams entered the final stretch on the back of two successive wins and needed to win their decisive game to progress in the competition.
In the end UPSA displayed a little more experience and strong physical display to bag victory and sent their supporters jubilating deep into the night.

UPSA started the journey on a blistering fashion, beating Pentecost University 29-28 in overtime before accounting for Ho Polytechnic 28-13.
It was full of swing moving action but UPSA lad the last laugh by rallying from behind to beat their opponent and sent them crushing. UPSA has thus qualified from the Greater Accra zone 1 ahead of the finals next month.

                                                  Coach Emmanuel Wobil in action

Coach Emmanuel Wobil (UPSA) , in an interview per BASKETBALLghana.com stated he is aiming for the title.
Coach Emmanuel Wobil, whose experience came to hound GIMPA, says his side is ready to challenge for the crown.



“People did not believe in us but I kept saying we should keep our cool,” he told BASKETBALLghana.com
“We have achieved our first target of qualifying to the finals and so let’s wait and see how things go.
“Nobody should make mistake. We are a very strong side and capable of winning the ultimate.
“There are few areas we need to work on. But we showed tremendous character and we hope to build on that going forward.”
 



The next phase of the qualifying campaign takes place at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology on Saturday March 21 ahead of the Ashanti regional championship which includes KNUST, Kumasi Polytechnic, Garden City University College and Christian Service University College.

UPSA INTER- DEPARTMENTAL LEAGUE

MATCH DAY 1

BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION (ABAS) - PROFESIONALS (PROF)  1-2

Match day one was intense as expected with both teams coming to the party. ABAS  took on PROF. looking to secure three points. To their dismay PROF. proved to be a better side than last year, handing ABAS their first defeat of the season.

BANKING AND FINANCE (BAFSA) - BUSINESS ADMINSTRATION (ABAS) 3-1

In the second game ABAS took on BAFSA and made up for the points they lost by hammering their opponents by three goals to one. For ABAS it’s just an indication they mean business and are in for the cup.

MATCH DAY 2

BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION (ABAS) – MARKETING (BAMSA) 1-1

Match day two produced fewer goals but the stacks were high as no team came drop points. ABAS played BAMSA in the first game the game ended a draw with both teams sharing the spoils. However the result favored ABAS as it takes them to four points.

MATCH DAY 3

PROFESSIONALS (PROF.) – INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (INFO) . 0-1

In the first game PROF  played INFO , with the aim of going on top of the league but Info had other plans as the began their campaign with what some fans call a ‘one goal project’. PROF were handed their first defeat but promise to bounce back hard in the next game.

For the men from Info it a big boost as they tasted victory in their opening game.

BANKING AND FINANCE (BAFSA) – MARKETING (BAMSA) 2-1

Match day 3 second game was played between BAFSA AND BAMSA which undoubtedly lived up to expectation and produced goals. At the end of the day BAFSA took all three points and handed BAMSA their first defeat of the tournament.

For the bankers they made up for the points they dropped in match day 1 and will be looking to push on from there.

MINI GUSA GAMES REPORT

The MINI GUSA GAMES is a miniature of the main GUSA competition and is held every year. The competition is a platform for Universities in Ghana to show chases their athlete capabilities aside studies. This year the event will also serve as a platform for the athletes to be selected to represent the country at the World University Championships in Seoul – South Korea in June this year.

                                                               100 METER FINAL

The just ended Mini GUSA GAMES hosted at Kumasi was a success with five Universities representing at the games. Defending champions University Of Ghana  got off to a slow start after when their men’s football team struggled to beat UPSA (University Of  Professional Studies) in their first game , a one all draw resulted in a penalty shootout ending 4-2 in their favor , indeed it was a sign that things weren’t going to be easy for the defending champions.  This year five schools instead of the usual seven participated in the games, the University of Mines and Technology (UMAT) and University of Development Studies (UDS) failed to honor their slots due to various factors.

In the Men’s football category although UPSA failed to clench Bronze after their hopes were dashed away when the game between UG (University Of Ghana ) and KNUST (Kwame Nkrumah University Of Science And Technology), ending in UG favor and subsequently winning them bronze.  For the female team their performance was nothing to write home about after their poor performance, which has often been the case due to lack of competition and training. 

                                                       UPSA PENALTY MISS    

                              

                                                       UG WINS 4-2 ON PENALTIES

TRACK EVENTS

                                                         200 METERS HEAT

In the track events UPSA recorded their first medal from the women’s department, as Andoh Helina came in third in the 1500M women’s final, with a record time of 5:27:88seconds.  A true talent she is and will definitely be one to watch come the Main GUSA games.

FIELD EVENTS

The teams second medal came in the field event surprisingly also from the women’s department. In the Discuss Women’s final Female Athlete Adjong Mary recorded 16.55m to secure Bronze. Mary is a level 300 student offering Banking and Finance and would also be a great prospect come the Main GUSA games.

Assistant Director of  Sports , Mr Turkson gave his remarks about the competition, in his statement , he said, " I believe the organization of the games was great and all participating teams were also well organized". 

  Speaking to Blow Your Horn Sports, Mr Turkson stated that the recent performance by the team was an improvement from their previous campaign. He also shed light on the performance of the ladies and furthur stated the team will definitely be Dark Horses in the Main Event.

From BLOW YOUR HORN GHANA we say kudos to the team for their hard work and participation and God willing we hope to see a much better performance. 

                                             UG VS UPSA SHOWING SPORTSMANSHIP

MEDAL TABLE

INSTITUTION	GOLD	SILVER	BRONZE
UCC	18	14	9
UEW	12	5	10
KNUST	6	12`	6
UG	3	6	10
UPSA	0	0	2