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.

UPAC BASKETBALL WARM UP TOURNAMENT 2014

                                                                 TEAM UPSA

Believe it or not basketball has come a long way in the country and the UPAC warm up games was a testament to the fierceness and competitive tactility of basketball teams to be displayed  at the main UPAC games.
The warm up games was fruitful with four teams  consisting of the University Of Professional Studies (UPSA) , University Of Ghana (UG) , Accra Polytechnic and Central University (CUC) all turning up to compete in this event.
When TEAM UPSA was balloted to play Accra Polytechnic most pundits concluded a routing on TEAM UPSA. However TEAM UPSA gave A. Poly a scare when the first minutes of the first quarter saw UPSA lead A. poly 8-6 neither A.Poly nor UPSA dominated the first quarter. However prior to the game A.Poly leveled the playing field after two of their star players in the names of  Dodzie Baniba and Doggy were rested.

                                                    DELVIN IN FOR A DRIVE



A.Poly got back in the game second quarter with some fine play and panache from Farhat and "Big time" who start to manifest themselves in the game , showing their class with so well worked drives, pull -up jumpers and a couple of three pointers. TEAM UPSA stuck to the two guard play which proved efficient on the offensive with Delvin of UPSA have a few drives down the paint to keep his team in the game. As the game progressed into the fourth quarter UPSA began using their shooting guard Kwarteng who made a couple of back to back three points. However A.Poly were quick to ensure they didn't lose their resounding lead with key player Farhat responding with his own. The game ended 50-42 in favor of A.Poly to ensure they booked a place in the final.


UG eases pass Central

                                                       UG VS CUC
The UG - Central game was tipped to be a walk in the park for the host. UG came with their shooting guns scoring 8 straight points before Central had a response with Francis and Joel leading the charge. The game took a dip in tempo in the second quarter , but picked up again in the third and fourth quarter. UG led most parts of the game and at some point led as many as 10 points. Central however managed to claw back into game with just a half basket between them and leading the game. However the fourth quarter proved to be the decider with Centrals big man fouling out and legon capitalizing on that with some drives down the paint. The game ended on a low scoring note as compared to the UPSA -A.Poly game with UG winning 35-21.


Accra Polytechnic emerges victors

                                                       TEAM A.POLY
There was no doubt that the final was between reigning champions A.Poly  and host UG would be exciting and riveting. Before tip off time the court was crawling with fans from both institutions and even though UG were the hosts their fans were over shadowed by the upbeat chanting fans of A.Poly showing their enthusiasm. A.Poly start with fire and all guns blazing going a scoring spree from tip off, being very cautious not to underestimate UG like they did against UPSA. UG didn't concede defeat and came back strong with great possession attacking the rim. Kofi turned things around with a couple of threes and jumpers and so did their senoir forward chronic. Their point guard Joel played to the delight of the pundits and undermined the fact that he was a freshman as the game wore on UG started matching A.Poly boot for boot and at the end of the third quarter UG was leading by a half bucket. In the fourth quarter A.Poly came out strong cause they knew it was the deciding moment. UG took their feet of the pedal which cost them points after A.Poly took advantage by feeding Farhat and Romeo who used their height and speed to  make drives  into the UG paint. At the tail end UG woke up from their slumber and responded with back to back three pointers to mitigate the point gap  only for Farhat to respond with his own to maintain the point gap just as he did against UPSA. The game ended 60 -54 in favor of A.Poly.

Even though the tournament was dubbed as a warm up , a lot of positives were taking from the organizers of the competition. An example is the use of a time clock, buzzer beater and score board to help improve the game. Participants of the competition showed a lot of team effort co-operation and discipline from the players down to the fans. This definitely got pundits  and fans riled up and just shows what to expect from the main tournament.


Romeo of A-Poly was adjudged the tournament MVP. The 6-10 forward/centre recorded almost every stat during the tournament. He was dominant under the rim, cleaning the board on the offensive and defensive end, dunked it a couple of times and occasionally nailed a 3 pointer.
UG’s Joel was arguably the most promising player of the tournament. Despite being only 18 and fresh out of Presec Legon, he handled the ball with dexterity, made smart plays, had great court vision and drove into the paint of opposing teams without the fear of getting blocked.