Co-op bank sides risk axe from league

Co-operative Bank team player Job Byron (left) challenges KPA's Evans Leting during their Kenya Basketball Federation Men's Premier league play-off match at Makande Gymnasium on February 4, 2017. PHOTO | KEVIN ODIT |

What you need to know:

  • Amoko said he has received unconfirmed reports that the women’s team, which failed to show up for their match against United States International University (USIU-A) last weekend, has been disbanded but will have to wait for the official communication from the club managers.
  • The women’s team also skipped their fixture against USIU-A at USIU grounds at the weekend.

Cooperative Bank of Kenya men and women basketball teams will automatically be thrown out of the National Classic Basketball League if they miss the third round fixtures, Kenya Basketball Federation competitions secretary Joseph Amoko has warned.

The bankers have failed to show up for their games since the league tipped off a fortnight ago.

The men’s side, which has won the county’s top league four times, skipped games against Trail Blazers and Equity Bank and will axed from the fixtures list if they fail to honour their match against Thunder.

Amoko said he has received unconfirmed reports that the women’s team, which failed to show up for their match against United States International University (USIU-A) last weekend, has been disbanded but will have to wait for the official communication from the club managers.

The women’s team also skipped their fixture against USIU-A at USIU grounds at the weekend.

“We cannot have a league where walkovers are the order of the day and will therefore have to play by the rules where a team is thrown out if they miss three fixtures. It is therefore up to the affected teams to turn up for their matches or risk being locked out altogether,” Amoko said.

Amoko said the federation’s efforts to meet the Cooperative Bank officials, the team sponsors, have been in vain.

Meanwhile, Kenya Ports Authority men and women teams have taken an early lead in the standings as the National Classic basketball league entered week two at the weekend.

After two matches, the dockers are patched at the top of the league with four points same with Equity Bank men and Umoja but are separated on basket difference.

KPA women, who got a walkover against Masaku before outplaying Footprints in the other fixture, are on top of the log with four points followed by former champions Eagle Wings and Zetech University - who are second and third respectively.

Elsewhere, the league matches which were slated for Mombasa this weekend have been postponed at the request of Zetech University.