KPA switch focus to league after losing Zone Five crown

Seline Okumu

Kenyatta University's Sylvia Chacha (left) attempts to steal the ball from Kenya Ports Authority's Selina Okumu during their Kenya Basketball Federation women Premier League match on October 2, 2021 at Nyayo National Stadium.


Photo credit: Chris Omollo | Nation Media Group

What you need to know:

  • Vijana Queens finished sixth, Young Sisters of Burundi were seventh, while Nile Legends of South Sudan and Ethiopia’s Wolkite finished in the last two positions.
  • New champions Alexandria will now represent Zone Five region in the Fiba Africa Club Championship in Maputo, Mozambique later this year.

Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) women’s basketball team will now turn their attention to defending their league title after they relinquished the Fiba-Africa Zone Five Club Championship crown on Saturday night.

KPA were defeated 78-67 by Alexandria of Egypt in the final in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

The Dockers had beaten rivals Equity Bank Hawks 80-43 in an all -Kenyan final at the same venue last year to be crowned champions.

On Saturday, Alexandria, who finished the championship with an unbeaten record, recovered after they trailed the Kenyans  23-22 at end of a closely-contested first quarter.

Alexandria, who had eliminated REG of Rwanda 49-45 in the semi-final, had Amer Hagar and Ahmed Giza raiding the leaking KPA defence to score easy baskets.

After leading 20-16 in the second quarter, the Egyptians were up 42-39 at the break.

KPA, who booked their ticket to the final after knocking out APR of Rwanda 61-39 in the second semi-final, had Reynolds Victoria and Kings Kristina battling bravely to turn the game around in the last two quarters without luck.

Alexandria, who did not participate in last year's competition, were unstoppable, leading 19-15  and 17-13 in the third and fourth quarters respectively.

Amer Hagar scored a game high 22 points  and Ahmed Giza chipped in with 18 points for the North Africans. KPA’s Victoria Reynolds and Kristina Kings replied with 21 and 18 points respectively.

KPA head coach Anthony Ojukwu said: "We played well but the final scores did not favour us. It is a learning lesson for the team and we will come back stronger next time.”

Kenya's second team in the championship, Equity Bank Hawks whitewashed hosts Vijana Queens of Tanzania 62-36 in their classification match to finish fifth.

APR of Rwanda won bronze in the six-day day championship after they beat counterparts REG 42-39 in the play-off.

Vijana Queens finished sixth, Young Sisters of Burundi were seventh, while Nile Legends of South Sudan and Ethiopia’s Wolkite finished in the last two positions.

New champions Alexandria will now represent Zone Five region in the Fiba Africa Club Championship in Maputo, Mozambique later this year.

On the local scene, guard Griffin's Ligare scored 18 points  to help Thunder rock Eldonets 89-66 in their Kenya Basketball Federation men’s Premier League match at the Nyayo National Stadium Indoor Gymnasium.

It was a see-saw contest from THE start and the scores stood at 39-39 at the break.

In another men's Premier League tie, Titus Musembi sunk a game-high 25 points to steer Equity Bank Dumas to a 83-57 victory over Lakeside.

In the women's Premier League matches at the same venue, Strathmore University Swords beat Oryx 66-20, while on-form Africa Nazarene University hit Jomo Kenyattta University (JKUAT) Lynx 53-43.

Kenya College of Accountancy University (KCA-U) went down fighting 55-46 to Shoot 4 Life, Scarlet pipped KCA-U 36-32, NBK beat Hope 70-60 and Absa Bank beating Mustangs 63-4 in the lower-tier league.