KPA, Equity eye knockout stage in Zone Five tourney
Rose Kigen (centre) of Storms dribbles the ball during their women's Premier League match against KPA at the KPA Makande Gymansium in Mombasa on June 12, 2022.
What you need to know:
- Elsewhere, hosts Vijana Queens will also be under pressure when they lock horns with Ethiopia's Wolkite in their last Group "B" match from 6pm.
- Vijana Queen's were humiliated 64-40 by APR of Rwanda on Monday.
Kenya's Equity Hawks Wednesday face Nile Legends of South Sudan in a make-or-break tie in the women’s Fiba-Africa Zone Five Club Championship qualifiers.
After losing their opening Group "A" match 51-49 to Alexandria of Egypt on Monday night, David Maina's charges have no choice but to win their final match at the Mkapa Indoor Stadium in Dar es Salaam from 4pm.
With each of the three groups having three teams, only the top two teams and two best losers will advance to the quarter-finals.
The top two teams at the end of the competition will represent Zone Five at the Fiba-Africa Club Championships in Maputo, Mozambique later this year.
Nile Legends will later Tuesday play group leaders Alexandria in their opening match of the competition.
Equity Hawks will bank on the experienced Samba Mjomba, Annerose Mandela, Betty Kananu and Silalei Shani to help them secure the needed win.
Defending champions Kenya Ports Authority (KPA), on the other hand, are not under so much pressure like their counterparts after winning their first match 69-42 against Young Sisters of Burundi in pool "C".
KPA face Regional of Rwanda in their final pool match, and though a loss could still get them through, the dockers will want to finish top of the pile.
In Monday's match, stars Selina Okumu, Vilma Owino and Natalie Akinyi rose to the occasion as KPA outscored their opponents 19-8 in the crucial fourth quarter to emerge winners.
The trio will look to continue their fine form to help Anthony Ojukwu's charges claim their second victory.
KPA whitewashed rivals Equity 83-40 in last year's all-Kenyan final.
The 2021 tournament attracted seven clubs which competed on round robin basis.
Both KPA and Equity failed to represent Zone Five in the 2021 Fiba Club Championships in Cairo, Egypt due the Covid-19 pandemic restrictions.
Elsewhere, hosts Vijana Queens will also be under pressure when they lock horns with Ethiopia's Wolkite in their last Group "B" match from 6pm.
Vijana Queen's were humiliated 64-40 by APR of Rwanda on Monday.
Wednesday Fixtures:
Nile Legends (South Sudan) v Equity Hawks (Kenya) 2pm, KPA (Kenya) v REG (Rwanda) 4pm, Wolkite (Ethiopia) v Vijana Queens (Tanzania) 6pm.
