Thunder and Tigers open semis action

Thunder will lock horns with USIU-A Tigers in a tough Game One of the men’s Premier League play-off best-of-five series semi-final at Nyayo National Stadium Gymnasium on Friday at 8pm.

The new fixtures released on Tuesday by Kenya Basketball Federation (KBF) fixtures secretary Joseph Amoko also show that the second semi-final will pit Ulinzi Warriors against defending champions Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) with Games One and Two at KPA Makande gymnasium, Mombasa, on Saturday and Sunday.

Co-op Bank face Mombasa-based KPA in the women’s category in Nairobi at 6pm on Saturday as USIU-A Flames play newcomers Equity Bank but the date is yet to be confirmed.

Earlier, KBF had announced that Thunder would play Warriors in the semis Wednesday at 8pm; however, it has not given any reason for the changes.

Several coaches however complained about the changes.

South Africa-trained Thunder coach Fuastin Mgendi claimed the draws had been manipulated and did not conform with the play-off quarter-finals pairings.

He said Thunder were to meet Warriors while champions KPA were to face Tigers but organisers changed that at the last minute without a genuine reason.

Despite finishing a lowly fourth in the Western conference, Tigers have found their form at a crucial time in the post-season. Inspirational captain Kelvin Kigotho is unfazed by their previous performance and feels that the playoffs offers a totally different ball game.

“I believe that we have a good squad that will be able to deliver. We are preparing well and working on our shots. We are aware that they have very sharp shooters from beyond the arc but we are also are going to defend well,” Kigotho told Daily Nation Sport on Tuesday.

The KPA-Warriors clash will be a repeat of last year’s final, which the Mombasa-side won 3-1.

Warriors continued with their campaign to recapture the league title they last won eight years ago with a 2-1 quarter-final win over Equity. KPA, who finished second in the Eastern Conference with 42 points to qualify, easily eliminated self-supporting Nakuru Club 2-0 at home in the best-of-three quarters play-off.

Nakuru Club came third in the eight-team Western Conference in regular season with 40 points to join the play-offs.

Warriors had easily demolished Equity 90-43 in Game One of the best-of-three series but the bankers stunned them 59-49. With the two locked at 1-1, Warriors got the semis berth when they beat Equity 69-54 in a make-or-break Game Three.

Thunder qualified after they eliminated Blades 2-1 while Tigers shocked former six-time champions Co-op Bank 2-0.