Parklands Arya crush St George's to retain title

What you need to know:

  • The win completed a successful title defence for the Godfrey Mwaloma-coached side, who alongside St George's qualified for the Nairobi West Sub-Region Games.
  • The tactician admitted that he will only count the season a success if he can take his team to the national games.

Nairobi County Secondary Schools Girls basketball champions Parklands Arya on Saturday retained their Westlands Sub-County Term One Games title after crushing St George's 85-10 in the final.

The win completed a successful title defence for the Godfrey Mwaloma-coached side, who alongside St George's qualified for the Nairobi West Sub-Region Games.

The tactician admitted that he will only count the season a success if he can take his team to the national games.

"We were the best team in our division and the final score proves that. St George's played well but I think we had enough ammunition to see it through," Mwaloma told Nation Sport.

"We have got two weeks to prepare for the next stage but I think we are on track to go all the way this season," he added.

Arya humiliated their opponents 103-25 in last year's final and that explained why St George's started on a defensive note probably trying to avoid getting picked out by the home side.

Arya were however not to be kept quiet for long as forwards Mercy Mumo and Dorsilla Anyango found their groove. The duo combined to see Arya lead 21-5 at the end of the first quarter before also outscoring their opponents 15-3 in the second quarter to lead 36-8 at halftime.

St George's played deep and their offensive play was clearly affected as they struggled to reach double figures with the champions having a commanding lead.

There was little change in the last two quarters as Arya pressed home their advantage to lead 14-2 and 35-0 in the third and fourth quarters.

Mumo was her team's highest scorer, sinking 26 points, while Anyango chipped in 20 points in another impressive display by the deadly duo.

Dorcas Nyalando scored four points for St Georges and later admitted her team will need to improve in the next stage.

"I think we showed them too much respect and did not fully make use of the court. We have got to dust ourselves and ensure we are better in the Sub-Regions," she said.

The two teams alongside the two boys' finalists will represent Westlands Sub-County at the Nairobi West Sub-Region Games due the weekend of March 4-5. The games will feature teams from Kasarani, Starehe and Westlands Sub-counties.

In the play-offs, Nairobi School and State House Girls triumphed to finish third in the boys’ and girls' competition respectively. Nairobi School beat Makini School 48-21, while State House overcame Kenya High School.

State House put the disappointment of last weekend's semi-final loss to St George's to win bronze in a closely fought encounter.