KPA close in on Equity Bank after perfect weekend
What you need to know:
- After easily seeing off Kenyatta University Oryx 78-45 on Saturday evening, the dockers concluded a successful weekend with another deserved 74-38 victory over Eagle Wings
- The second half was evenly contested but it was KPA who came out best with 13-08 and 15-10 scores in the third and fourth quarters respectively
- They however stepped up in the second half outscoring the students 21-13 in the third and 23-5 in the fourth quarter to put the game beyond reach
Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) women basketball team registered two crucial wins at the weekend to move to second place on the MadGoat National Classic Basketball League standings.
After easily seeing off Kenyatta University Oryx 78-45 at KPA Makande Hall on Saturday evening, the dockers concluded a successful weekend with another deserved 74-38 victory over Eagle Wings to take their tally to 34 points, three behind league leaders Equity Bank who have played a game more.
Against Eagle Wings, KPA women - who are using the league matches as part of preparations for the Fiba Zone Five Club Championships to be staged in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania - took a huge 29-10 lead in the first quarter and stretched further ahead for a 46-20 lead at the break. On-form Hilda Indasi, Becky Nkatha, Vilma Achieng and Beryl Aoko did much of the damage while Silale Shani starred for Eagle Wings.
The second half was evenly contested but it was KPA who came out best with 13-08 and 15-10 scores in the third and fourth quarters respectively.
Indasi scored a game high 21 points to lead the scorer's list for KPA who also had Vilma Achieng and Nkatha contributing 13 and 12 points respectively while Shani had 16 points for Eagle Wings who now move to position five with 32 points.
Against KU Oryx, KPA were stretched in the first half taking a 20-13 first quarter lead but were restricted to 14-14 second quarter score line for a narrow 34-27 half-time score.
They however stepped up in the second half outscoring the students 21-13 in the third and 23-5 in the fourth quarter to put the game beyond reach. Achieng and Donasana Obonyo top scored with 20 points and 10 points respectively while Sharon Odera and Teresa Ekise had 11 points each for the students.
“We have had a very successful weekend as the players continue to gel which gives me a lot of satisfaction as far as our preparations for the Zone Five Championships is concerned," KPA coach Mike Opel said after the match. His KU counterpart Gitau Waringo blamed the loss on fatigue and lack of depth in his team.
In the Division One match at the same venue, Coastal Kings came from behind to beat visiting Nairobi Business Institute (NIBS) 55-39 after trailing 24-25 at the break while Baobab were awarded a walkover after Upper Hill School failed to show up.
