School Games: Day of upsets as championship ends in Eldoret
Moses Alier (left) of Laiser Hill School from Rift Valley Region goes for a dunk as Allan Ouma of Dagoretti School from Nairobi Region attempts to block the ball during their basketball finals match at the Brookside Kenya Secondary Schools Sports Association Term One National Games played at NOVA Pioneer School in Uasin Gishu County on April 29, 2023. Laiser Hill School won 45-42.
What you need to know:
- New champions were crowned in basketball, hockey, rugby 15s and girls’ handball, with only Nairobi Region’s Hospital Hill retaining their boys’ handball crown on a day of drama at Hill School and Nova Pioneer International School.
- Coast Region’s Kaya Tiwi High School relinquished their girls’ basketball title to Butere Girls High School of Western Region after they lost 51-41, while Laiser Hill Academy reclaimed the boys’ title after a breathtaking 45-42 victory over Nairobi Region’s Dagoretti High School at Nova International School.
Upsets on Saturday charactersied the last day of the Brookside Kenya Secondary Schools Sports Association Term One National Games in Eldoret.
New champions were crowned in basketball, hockey, rugby 15s and girls’ handball, with only Nairobi Region’s Hospital Hill retaining their boys’ handball crown on a day of drama at Hill School and Nova Pioneer International School.
Coast Region’s Kaya Tiwi High School relinquished their girls’ basketball title to Butere Girls High School of Western Region after they lost 51-41, while Laiser Hill Academy reclaimed the boys’ title after a breathtaking 45-42 victory over Nairobi Region’s Dagoretti High School at Nova International School.
St Joseph’s Girls Secondary School, Kitale finally got their hands on the handball title after dethroning champions Moi Girls Secondary School, Kamusinga 16-15 in a pulsating final. Hospital Hill have the rains to thank as they also edged Mbooni Boys Secondary School of Eastern by the same scoreline.
At Nova, Butere finally exacted revenge on four-time champions Kaya Tiwi who beat them in the preliminary stage and in the 2018 final.
Butere coach Chrispine Odeke said they were happy to end their poor run against Kaya and clinch their maiden title.
“They have beaten us twice and it feels good to finally get one over them after years of heartbreak. Last year, we missed out on the nationals due to overconfidence, but I am glad this year we have worked on our mistakes and are now reaping the results,” Odeke said.
“My team has shown that basketball is not about height, but skill-based. We now turn attention to the East Africa Games and I know we will do well,” he added.
Butere’s Terrence Hill Musimba and Elizabeth Alicia starred for their side with 12 and 10 points with Musimba voted the Most Valuable Player.
Kaya point guard Miriam Wangari scored a game-high 19 points, but it wasn’t enough to help them win their fifth title.
Newbies Our Lady of Mercy Secondary School from Nairobi finished third as they saw off Loreto Girls High School, Limuru 49-28.
In the boy’s final, Laiser Hill finally got their mojo back after losing their title last year.
Their win saw them claim a record ninth title, but it wasn’t easy as Dagoretti railed in the last two quarters only to fall short. Deng Wieu led Laiser’s offence with 12 points.
It was sweet revenge for Laiser who lost 59-51 to Dagoretti in last year’s semi-finals in Nakuru.
Laiser Hill coach Eric Mutoro praised his charges for digging deep to win the title, adding that their mental strength carried them through.
“It was a tough game and we had to use all our reserves to secure the victory. We started brightly and our offence was fantastic as we pinned the back. The lads deserve this after the disappointment of last year,” the Kenyan international said.
Former winners Dr Aggrey High School finished third as they held on to beat Lukenya School from Eastern 58-54.
