The King of the Akyem Abuakwa Kingdom Osagyefuo Amoatia Ofori Panin II received the 2016 Sprite Ball trophy on Wednesday.

The highly-respected king is the first high-profile personality in Ghana to associate himself with the prestigious competition this year.

In a massive show of support, the iconic Ghanaian figure expressed his delight at the rapid growth of the game in the West African nation and called for massive support from all stakeholders for its sustenance.

The royal king is a crazy basketball fan and played the game during college in the United States of America.

Beaming with smiles, the head of the widely-respected Akyem Abuakwa Kingdom received the trophy at his office in Ghana’s capital, Accra and charged the qualified schools to go for the full haul in the true spirit of competition.

“I am particularly happy with the nice gesture. It’s great and what I like about it (competition) is its energy and the enthusiasm from the schools,” he said on TV3’s Fast Break expected to be aired on Sunday December 20 (1-2:30pm)

“If we open up and give the young people the chance to play, I think we’ll go places.”

The trophy tour, first of its kind this year, has seen the trophy visit several schools in Greater Accra and Eastern regions.

Sixteen (16) boys and 10 girl schools will slug it out for the prestigious trophybetween January 3-7, 2016 at the El-Wak Sports stadium.