Ghana basketball news from the school courts to the leagues abroad
Every report on file, newest first: the Sprite Ball, the schools, the Ghanaians playing abroad and the game across Africa.
What the news desk covers
Ghana basketball does not run on one stage. A season can start on a concrete court at a senior high school in the Western Region, pass through a regional qualifier in Koforidua or Accra, and end with a player signing for a club in Greece, China or the United States. The news desk follows all of it, and every report carries the city it was filed from and the date it was reported.
The school game is the base. The Sprite Ball, the national championship for senior high schools, produces most of the names that later appear in the other desks, and its finals, disputes and surprise runs are covered edition by edition. Next to it sit the school courts themselves: when a school opens a new floor, it changes what its teams can do for years.
Players, clubs and the continent
The second strand is the Ghanaian players abroad. Some came through Ghanaian schools, others grew up in the diaspora and chose to represent Ghana; all of them are followed through signings, debuts, injuries and retirements, from US college basketball to the NBA and the European and Asian leagues.
The third is the game across Africa: the Basketball Africa League and its qualifiers, AfroBasket and its qualification windows, and the clubs and national teams Ghana measures itself against. Reports on these competitions sit next to the school stories on purpose, because the distance between a school final and a continental tournament is the story of Ghana basketball itself.
Older reports keep the date they were first filed. Where a report has been revised, the revision date is shown next to it on the page, so a reader can always tell how current a figure or a result is.
Sprite Ball seasons in the reports
The school championship fills more of the list than any other subject. In January 2014 the girls of T.I. Ahmadiyya in Kumasi won the title, and Inspector General of Police Mohammed Ahmed Alhassan, an old boy of the school, rewarded them with GH¢1,000. A year later Bompeh SHS, first-time entrants from Takoradi, beat the holders Ketasco in their group and reached the last four before Mfantsipim stopped them.
St. Augustine's College beat Mfantsipim 37-22 in the 2016 boys' final at the El-Wak Stadium, and PRESEC-Osu went through the 2018 edition unbeaten, beating Mfantsipim 25-22 in the final. The 2020 edition ended without a boys' champion: the Ghana Education Service found that five Ketabusco players were not qualified, the school was banned indefinitely and the title was left vacant. The 2021 final returned to Accra, at the Aviation Social Centre, with teams from six regions.
Careers abroad, report by report
Ben Bentil signed for Xinjiang Guanghui in China in November 2016, a month after the Boston Celtics released him, and in March 2017 he became the first Ghana-born player to appear in an NBA game, with four minutes for Dallas against Atlanta. Nathan Mensah missed seven straight San Diego State games in early 2020 with a blood clot in his lungs. Alhaji Mohammed entered the CSP Limoges Hall of Fame in April 2020 and retired in late 2021 on his 40th birthday. Amida Brimah rejoined Mets de Guaynabo in Puerto Rico in June 2022.
Courts, tournaments and the continent
At home, Pope John SHS in Koforidua opened a new court at its 60th anniversary in 2018, and Mfantsipim commissioned a GH¢1 million court in Cape Coast on 13 November 2020, built in about two months. The Game of Threes 3x3 tournament moved to the Semanhyia Golden Mall in Kumasi for its second edition in January 2022.
On the continent, Al Ahly beat Smouha 68-67 in Dar es Salaam in 2018 to win the Zone 5 qualifiers, Egypt beat Angola 71-50 in Kigali in 2019 to reach the U16 women's final, and in February 2021 five Uganda players tested positive for COVID-19 in Monastir, which halted their AfroBasket qualifiers. The Basketball Africa League put $150,000 on its first title.
All Ghana basketball news
Guaynabo —
Amida Brimah returns to Puerto Rico's Mets de Guaynabo for 2022
Ghana center Amida Brimah signed with Mets de Guaynabo in June 2022 to see out the Puerto Rican season, returning to the club he had taken to the BSN finals a year earlier.
Kumasi —
Semanhyia Golden Mall partners Clockwork Brand for Game of Threes
The second Game of Threes 3x3 basketball tournament moved to Semanhyia Golden Mall in Kumasi under a new name, Game of Threes Golden Jam.
Accra —
List of regions to compete in the 2021 Sprite Ball final in Accra
Teams from six regions, led by Greater Accra, were set to contest the 2021 Sprite Ball Championship final in December at the Aviation Social Centre in Accra.
Veteran Ghana guard Alhaji Mohammed retires from basketball
American-born Ghanaian guard Alhaji Mohammed retired from professional basketball in late 2021, announcing it on his 40th birthday with a letter addressed to the game itself.
Monastir —
Five Uganda players test positive, AfroBasket qualifiers suspended
Five members of Uganda's national team tested positive for COVID-19 in February 2021, and FIBA postponed all of Uganda's games in the AfroBasket 2021 qualifiers in Monastir.
Cape Coast —
Facts about the new Mfantsipim basketball court and the school
The new Mfantsipim basketball court was commissioned in Cape Coast on 13 November 2020, paid for by old boys and finished in little over two months.
Accra —
Basketball Africa League prize money for the winner, seen from Ghana
Basketball Africa League prize money has a figure: the club that wins the first season will pocket $150,000.
Ghanaian-Canadian star Laeticia Amihere speaks on the BLM protests
Laeticia Amihere, the Canadian forward with a Ghanaian father, described the Black Lives Matter protests of 2020 as an eye-opening experience for people in Canada.
Alhaji Mohammed regrets not playing more for CSP Limoges
Veteran Ghanaian guard Alhaji Mohammed marked his induction into the CSP Limoges Hall of Fame in April 2020 by saying he wished he had played his whole career there.
San Diego —
San Diego State's Nathan Mensah diagnosed with blood clots
Ghana forward-center Nathan Mensah missed seven straight San Diego State games in early 2020 because of a blood clot in his lungs.
Accra —
No winner for the 2020 Sprite Ball after KETABUSCO stripped of title
The boys' division of the 2020 Sprite Ball Championship officially has no winner: Keta Business College lost the title, and the organizers declined to hand it to anyone else.
Accra —
KETABUSCO banned indefinitely from the Sprite Ball Championship
Keta Business College was banned from the Sprite Ball Championship indefinitely on 14 January 2020, after the Ghana Education Service established that five of its players were not qualified.
Accra —
Ketabusco basketball team called to GES over its Sprite Ball title
Ketabusco SHS, the new Sprite Ball champions, were summoned by the Ghana Education Service in January 2020 after rival schools questioned the players who won the title.
Kigali —
Egypt shock Angola to set up an Under-16 women's final against Mali
Egypt knocked out tournament favorites Angola 71-50 in the semi-finals of the 2019 FIBA U16 Women's African Championship and earned a final against defending champions Mali.
Athens —
Ben Bentil's Peristeri add Chris Flemmings for the Greek playoffs
Peristeri, the Athens club where Ghana forward Ben Bentil played in 2018-19, brought in American shooting guard Chris Flemmings for the end of the Greek season.
Dar es Salaam —
Al Ahly win Zone 5 and return to the African club stage in 2018
Al Ahly of Egypt won the FIBA Africa Zone 5 qualifiers in October 2018 by a single point over Smouha, earning a return to Africa's top club competition after a year away.
Bamako —
Siriman Kanouté, the Mali guard tipped as Africa's next big star
Siriman Kanouté, a 16-year-old point guard from Mali, closed the summer of 2018 with a second continental MVP award and the scoring lead at the Under-17 World Cup.
Koforidua —
Pope John gets a new basketball court for its 60th anniversary
Pope John Senior High School and Minor Seminary in Koforidua unveiled a new basketball court during its 60th anniversary celebrations in February 2018.
Accra —
PRESEC-Osu perform a miracle to win the Sprite Ball male division
Presbyterian Senior High School, Osu won the boys' division of the 2018 Sprite Ball Championship unbeaten, defeating Mfantsipim School 25-22 in the final in Accra.
Koforidua —
Pope John win the Eastern Region qualifiers ahead of the Sprite Ball
Pope John Senior High School and Junior Seminary won the 2017 Eastern Region basketball qualifiers, beating rivals KSTS 31-30 in the final game.
Ben Bentil makes NBA debut, plays for the Dallas Mavericks
Ghana forward Ben Bentil became the first Ghana-born player to appear in an NBA game when he played four minutes for the Dallas Mavericks against the Atlanta Hawks in March 2017.
Ben Bentil signs for CBA side Xinjiang Guanghui Flying Tigers
Ghana forward Ben Bentil signed with Chinese Basketball Association side Xinjiang Guanghui Flying Tigers in November 2016, a month after the Boston Celtics let him go.
Accra —
St. Augustine's dethrone Mfantsipim in the 2016 Sprite Ball final
St. Augustine's College won the 2016 Sprite Ball Championship, beating defending champions and old rivals Mfantsipim School 37-22 in the boys' final at the El-Wak Stadium.
Accra —
Surprise package Bompeh SHS silence the doubters at the Sprite Ball
Bompeh Senior High Technical School, a first-time entrant from Takoradi, won its group ahead of the defending champions and reached the last four of the 2015 Sprite Ball Championship.
Kumasi —
Rising star of Ghana basketball: Emmanuel Ekow Amoako of KNUST
Emmanuel Ekow Amoako, a forward who first stood out at Koforidua Senior High Technical School, had become one of KNUST's leading players by March 2014.
Accra —
IGP Mohammed Alhassan donates cash to Real Amass for Sprite Ball win
Inspector General of Police Mohammed Ahmed Alhassan rewarded his old school, T.I. Ahmadiyya of Kumasi, with GH¢1,000 after its girls won the Sprite Ball Championship in January 2014.
Basketball TV: from a 2009 Ghana highlights show to streaming today
Basketball TV was a weekly highlights program on TV Africa in 2009; today, Ghanaian fans follow continental basketball mainly through FIBA's Courtside 1891 service and the Basketball Africa League's streams on the NBA App.