Strathmore, Hospital Hill to clash in Westlands basketball final
Deng Aijing of Nairobi School (left) tries to shoot past Allen Njuguna of Strathmore School during their Westlands Sub-County boys' semi-final match at Upper Hill School on February 18, 2017. PHOTO | MARTIN MUKANGU |
What you need to know:
- Strathmore beat Nairobi School 78-48 in the first semi-final at Upper Hill School.
- Hospital Hill saw off Makini School 37-24 in the other semi-final.
Strathmore School and Hospital Hill Secondary School on Saturday advanced to the finals of boys’ basketball in the Westlands Sub-County Term One games in Nairobi.
Strathmore beat Nairobi School 78-48 in the first semi-final at Upper Hill School, while Hospital Hill saw off Makini School 37-24 in the other semi-final.
The two winners sealed places in the Western Sub-Region Games and will also contest the Sub-County final next weekend.
Nairobi County girls’ basketball champions Parklands Arya trounced Kenya High 101-31 to set up a final clash with St George’s, who defeated State House Girls 50-46.
With last year’s champions St Austin’s Academy opting out of this year’s competition, the race was open for all four teams to contest the title.
Strathmore, who lost 56-36 to St Austin’s in last year’s final, outplayed Nairobi School in the lopsided encounter.
Strathmore’s shooting guard Philip Mutiso, who top-scored for his team with 26 points, urged his teammates to complete the job in the final.
“The disappointment of missing out on the title last year motivated us to work hard and today’s result showed how much we want to go the final,” Mutiso told Nation Sport.
“This result will count for nothing if we do not win the final and we have got to now ensure that we prepare well and finish the job."
Strathmore outscored their opponents 12-6 in the first quarter before taking the second quarter 22-12 to take a 44-18 at halftime.
There was no stopping Strathmore and they continued the onslaught in the third quarter scoring 19 points to Nairobi School’s 10 before they took the fourth quarter 25-16 to complete the emphatic result.
Nairobi School’s Nick Paul was his team’s highest scorer with 10 points. In the second semi-final, Hospital Hill had to wade off a strong challenge from Makini to seal their place in their maiden final. They were outscored 9-8 in the first quarter but dug deep to nick the second quarter 10-6 to lead 18-15 at the breather.
The third quarter was tightly contested ending 8 all before Hospital Hill reigned supreme in the final quarter 11-1. Dafaa Ali led Hospital Hill with 10 points while Abdicazak Mohammed’s 14 points for Makini were not able to help his team win.
