Junior Sharks 9 grand finale: ‘Mighty’ Manna defeats Ancilla to win trophy no. 3

As soon as Manna International School booked a date with Ancilla Prim & JHS at the grand finale of Junior Sharks 9, the refrain on everybody's lips was a “repeat or revenge” mission.

What made this encounter even more enticing was the fact that aside from the opportunity to win the ultimate, these two schools were chasing their own individual records.

A win by Ancilla would put them in the same league with Ghana Christian Int., DPS Int. and Manna Int. as the unique schools with back-to-back trophies in Junior Sharks.

On the other hand, a win by Manna Int. would also tie them with Ghana Christian Int. as the only schools with three trophies in the competition.

As a result, both teams had confidence in spades going into the grand finale, and unsurprisingly, the contest was to become a harvest of intellectual supremacy.

With sharp wit, great timing, and incredible execution, the two finalists justified why all co-curricular activities in the country had to be put on hold for this mega match.

The two teams went band-for-band, toe-to-toe, and tit-for-tat from Round 1 to Round 4 to Manna Int. flipped the contest on Ancilla’s head.

Head-To-Head Record

Ancilla, having made their maiden appearance in Junior Sharks 7, have met Manna Int. only once in the competition and coincidentally it was at the grand finale of Season 8.

It was the Haatso-based school which went into the history books as the first winner of this historic encounter.

Road To The Grand Finale

En route to the finals, both schools faced tricky opposition but came out with their heads held high.

Manna Int. began their march towards the final by sweeping aside St. Monica’s JHS and Girls boarding, Asante-Mampong at the Round of 16.

Against Queens Court School, Manna once again proved their top-tier acumen, becoming only the second school after Ayikuma Methodist to win a contest with over two hundred points.

But like wine of good vintage, the best was yet to come for Manna as they upped their performance against GIU to record the second-highest score of the competition with two hundred and forty (240) points.

Without a shred of doubt, Manna Int. had established itself as the frontrunner to lay hands on the trophy.

Ancilla, had equally a quality line-up of teams to grapple with, Angels’ Ridge being their first opponents at the Round of 16.

After dispatching with Angels’ Ridge, Ancilla met record holders in Junior Sharks, Ghana Christian High International at the quarterfinals. It was a tough assignment, given the reputation of Ghana Christian High but that did not deter the defending champions. 

And in a repeat of their crunch encounter at the semifinals of Junior Sharks 7, Ancilla carried the day once again.

After outlasting Ghana Christian High, Ancilla had to be at their elite level to keep Vine Christian in the vineyard.

Snapshot Of Grand Finale

With just five (5) points separating Manna from Ancilla, this grand finale had proven to be the best in recent memory.

The contest started in euphoric fashion, with both teams scoring a colossal sixty (60) points at the end of Round 1.

Keep in mind, Manna Int. has not lost a single Round in the whole of Junior Sharks 9, but that proud record was soon to be shredded.

In the Reading, Writing and Arithmetic round, Ancilla pipped Manna, relying on their strength across competencies.

Manna Int. could not afford to let this slip by, memories of Season 8 fresh in mind.

They stepped up the ante and took the STEM round before a stalematic one-on-one round concluded a brilliant session by two exceptional schools. Congratulations to both schools.

Fun Fact!

On account of their performances, the two finalists have the best record in the last five editions of the competition.

Manna Int. has been to three finals (Season 5, 6, 8, and 9), winning three (Seasons 5, 6 and 9) while Ancilla has also been to three finals (Season 7, 8, and 9), winning one (Season 8)

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