ACCRA (Ghana) - The emergence of Mongolia as champions of the FIBA U17 Skills Challenge in the men's category brought an end to the battle for supremacy in the competition, but it sure did not end for Ghana's Samuel Atiapah.

The young Ghanian insists that the Skills Challenge provided him an opportunity he never expected would come so soon and, as such, says that he is now inspired to make a great impact in the game.

Just four years into playing basketball actively, Samuel says he was chanced to learn about the Skills Challenge through his coach Mike Davies at the Royalties Sports Academy.

"I was really excited to be picked because it was an honor for me to be selected to represent my country, Ghana," he shared to FIBA.basketball.

"I PRAY GHANA MAKES IT TO THE WORLD CUP ONE DAY WHERE WE'LL PLAY AGAINST STRONG TEAMS LIKE TEAM USA AND WE GIVE A GOOD ACCOUNT OF OURSELVES."
Samuel Atiapah

With Ghana being eliminated in the Semi-Final stage to Uganda at the African Qualifiers, which prevented the side from proceeding to the Global Challenge, Samuel expresses sadness that his dream ended too early.

"Yes, I was really disappointed that we didn't get to the Global Challenge but there were many factors that made it difficult for us. For instance, we had to keep our distance from each other and also wear face masks which weren't that comfortable.

"My teammates did their best but I think we would have done better if we were camped because some of my teammates came from far and they couldn't even rest before the games due to the short notice. The coaches did their best to brief us about the challenge but we didn't make it far.

"I knew we would have made it to the global event if we had more techniques about the Skills Challenge and time to prepare but having to just compete virtually due to the lockdown was not easy."

While not crying over the disappointment, it is Samuel's dream to someday represent Ghana on the big stage. "I pray Ghana makes it to the World Cup one day where we'll play against strong teams like Team USA and we give a good account of ourselves," he said.

Standing at 6ft 3in (1.92m), Samuel says he would keep working out to get better and someday get to play in the NBA, with the Philadelphia 76ers on his mind in particular. "They need a guard like me," he smiled.

Though, still young, Samuel, who holds Russell Westbrook in high esteem and would love to play like him, identifies funding as a major challenge to the growth of basketball in Ghana given that football is number one in the country.

"I think basketball should be more accessible, because of what it brings to us and how it benefits the country, as it would help lots of youths out there," he said.

"At first the support wasn't there but now, I think it's better. My parents always tell me to add studies to basketball because the game of basketball is for some time but education would to be needed after my career."

FIBA