Equity Hawks eye improvement at continental showpiece

Equity Hawks shooting guard Seline Okumu made it two in a row when she led three other Kenyans into the Fiba Africa Zone Five All Star team at the end of the club championships in Dar es Salaam on Sunday.

Okumu, who was voted Most Valuable Player (MVP) at the 2016 edition, joined Kenyans Melisa Akinyi and Vilma Akinyi of Uganda Christian University (UCU) in the dream team.

Rwanda Patriotic Army (APR) point guard Sandra Kantore and her team mate, power forward Nicole Urwibusto complete the list.

Hawks' Belinda Okoth was voted the championship's MVP as Kenya once again scooped the top two positions in the women's competition, as the Hawks dethroned compatriots Kenya Ports Authority (KPA).

While the bankers won their maiden trophy unbeaten, their rivals KPA though with slim victories against APR and UCU, still managed a second place finish in the competition which was played on round robin format.

Speaking after their win, Hawks head coach David Maina praised the team’s resilience, noting that at their second appearance at the regional championships, the team was able to show the world what it is capable of.

“This championship was a true test of strength for the ladies and it pushed the team to display their best form ever. Emerging as winners in our second outing has left us energized and ready to perform in any upcoming championships,” Maina said.

Hawks captain Joyce Nabwire noted that the residential training the team underwent in the last couple of weeks in the run up to the tourney gave them the much needed mojo to face their opponents on the continental stage.

“We learnt our lessons from the last tournament and were ready to show East and Central Africa our growth as a team. We went to Tanzania in high spirits and made the country proud, just as we had intended,” Nabwire said.

Belinda Okoth attributed their win to the decision to play a more defensive game during the tournament.

“Our decision to change tactics from what we usually do is what made us unpredictable to the competition.  We decided to bolster our defence and work on counter attacking which paid off in all our matches," she said.

She also heaped praise on Maina's decision to add more players to the team, which she noted was also a factor in their victory.

“The addition of Betty Kananu and Seline Okumu to the team alongside the already established core team definitely strengthened us. This was made evident when we picked up two player awards at the end of the tournament,” she added.

Maina believes the team management’s hands on approach on the team has motivated his charges to work even harder on the court.

“We went to Dar es Salaam by air while our arch-rivals KPA and Uganda Christian University had to endure several hours on the road to and from Dar es salaam. A majority of our players are employed by the bank and thus play with a lot of motivation," Maina said.

Maina said the team will go straight into training for the Fiba African Club Championship to be held in Mozambique in November and has predicted a podium finish in Maputo after finishing seventh in Angola last year.