Equity Hawks stun holders KPA to win basketball league title
Aminata Semassekou of KPA (left) attempts to go past Equity's Melisa Akinyi (right) during Game Five of their Kenya Basketball Premier League playoff finals at the KPA Makande Gymanasium in Mombasa on July 22, 2024.
What you need to know:
- KPA will have themselves to blame as they conceded a foul in the overtime period which the visitors took advantage of with Maryann Nyagaki scoring a basket and a free throw to make it 73-71 in their favour, before the hosts rallied to make it 74-74. Defensive lapses by the Dockers enabled Equity Hawks to score the last basket with 33 seconds remaining to claim the title.
- In the first quarter, both teams played a cautious game as they exchanged leads, before the Equity Hawks offense led by Betty Kananu, Melissa Akinyi outwitted KPA's defence in the final minutes to enable their side to take a 21-16 lead.
Equity Hawks are the new Kenya Basketball Federation women's Premier League champions after dethroning Kenya Ports Authority 76-74 in a tense match that went into overtime at the Makande Hall in Mombasa.
The win saw the bankers win the best of five series 3-2 after the Dockers had rallied from losing Game One and Two. It is Equity's fourth league title after their exploits in 2016, 2018 and 2019.
The two teams were tied 66-66 after the end of a tense fourth quarter, which had been briefly stopped after a disagreement on a foul that had been awarded to KPA before the issue was resolved by match officials and play resumed.
KPA will have themselves to blame as they conceded a foul in the overtime period which the visitors took advantage of with Maryann Nyagaki scoring a basket and a free throw to make it 73-71 in their favour, before the hosts rallied to make it 74-74. Defensive lapses by the Dockers enabled Equity Hawks to score the last basket with 33 seconds remaining to claim the title.
In the first quarter, both teams played a cautious game as they exchanged leads, before the Equity Hawks offense led by Betty Kananu and Melissa Akinyi outwitted KPA's defence in the final minutes to enable their side to take a 21-16 lead.
The second quarter was closely fought as the KPA offensive led by veteran captain Natalie Akinyi, Grace Irebu, and Selina Okumu coordinated well inside the paint to ensure they narrowly led 20-19
In the third quarter, Equity Hawks were on the offensive with Nyagaki and Valerie Kemunto's combination ensuring the visitors led 54-42 in the first five minutes forcing the KPA technical bench to call for a timeout.
Two three-point shots by KPA's Akinyi reduced Equity's lead, who in turn called for a timeout, before resuming play and going on to outscore their opponents 16-12.
The fourth quarter was fast-paced as both teams were aggressive on the offensive, though the Dockers had an upper hand as they scored baskets to level the scores at 56-56. In the last 53 seconds of the quarter, both teams tied 63-63, before KPA conceded a foul with 40 seconds remaining. Nyagaki scored two free throws to take Equity Hawks to 65-63 before Natalie Akinyi's three-pointer made it 66-65 in favour of KPA.
However, KPA conceded a foul with Elizabeth Okumu scoring one of the two free throws to give Equity a lifeline as they levelled at 66-66.
Equity Hawks coach Ben Oluoch said it is a milestone for his young side to win the title against a good KPA side.
"We employed all the tactics, those girls have worked hard throughout the year," said Oluoch.
On his part, KPA coach Anthony Ojukwu termed the game as tough and commended his players for fighting till the end.
