The stage is set for a historic three-way national final of the eighth edition of the Tertiary Business Sense Challenge (TBSC), with three former national champions securing their places in the grand finale.
The University of Cape Coast (UCC), the University of Ghana Business School (UGBS) and the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Ghana’s foremost public universities, will meet for the first time in the same national final for the ultimate crown on Saturday.
UCC produced the semi-finals' biggest victory as it amassed 45 points in the straight contest with the Ghana Communication Technology University (GCTU), which garnered 15.5, while UGBS obtained 32.5 points, with Pentecost University (PU) obtaining 17 points in the other semi-final contest.
KNUST completed the line-up after edging Accra Technical University (ATU) 27-26 in a thrilling contest.
The TBSC is organised to test tertiary students' knowledge of business, finance and economics while developing critical thinking, teamwork, quick thinking and practical business judgement.
It is supported by professional and corporate institutions, including the Institute of Chartered Accountants, Ghana (ICAG), the Chartered Institute of Human Resource Management (CIHRM), Standard Natural Mineral Water, GLICO, Papaye, PwC and EPP Books Services, with Alhassan Yusif Trawule as Quiz master.
Contest one
For the first semi-finals contest, UCC dominated GCTU from the opening round, winning 17-3 before taking the quantitative round 5.5 to 1.5 and the Graphic Business round 13.5 to 8 based on an article on falling inflation and rising food prices.
University of Ghana Business School
UCC also won the true-or-false round 6-3 and the riddles 3-0 to seal a 45- 15.5 victory to book its place in the final in pursuit of a third title.
Contest two
In the second contest, UGBS took an early 11-3 lead over PU, and extended it with a 4-0 win in the quantitative round.
PU narrowed the gap slightly in the Graphic Business round, based on an article on assisting small and medium enterprises in Ghana's agricultural value chain, but UGBS still won 11.5 points to 11 points.
After a 3-3 draw in the true-or-false round, UGBS won the riddles 3-0 to complete a 32.5 points to 17 points victory.
KNUST
The final contest saw KNUST secure the day's closest victory, edging ATU 27 points to 26 points to reach the final for the sixth consecutive year.
ATU led 11-7 after the opening round, but KNUST recovered to win the quantitative round 2.5-1.5 and the Graphic Business round 14.5-13.5, based on an article on MTN's mobile money float.
KNUST lost three points in the true-or-false round, but ATU failed to capitalise, allowing KNUST to seal victory with six points in the riddles round while ATU scored none.
The result has set up a historic final between the three universities.
UCC will seek to add a third title to its record, UGBS will aim to retain its national title, while KNUST will enter the final, seeking to convert its long-standing consistency into another championship.
