Former Kenya Basketball Federation Women’s Premier League champions Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) yesterday dismissed University of Nairobi (UoN) Dynamites 74-41 in a match played at Makande Hall, Mombasa.
The victory wrapped up a fruitful Madaraka Day weekend for the dockers who raked six points from their three outings.
KPA are seeking to reclaim the title they lost to Equity Bank Hawks last season and have so far won 14 matches and lost one.
Dynamites won the first quarter 19-18 but could not keep up with the pace, losing the second 10-21. They were totally outplayed in the second half with the dockers taking the third quarter 25-6 before slowing down to take the fourth 10-6 and register their 14th win.
In the men’s Premier League, National Bank of Kenya (NBK) Phoenix edged out Umoja Basketball Club 79-75 to keep their top tier dreams alive.
Phoenix are among bottom-placed teams that are facing the relegation threat. Others are Strathmore University Blades who were not in action at the weekend and United States International University of Africa (USIU-A) Tigers who lost 53-65 to former champions KPA on Saturday.
Collins Kwata top scored for Phoenix with 18 points with Geoffrey Obuya adding 12. Umoja on the other hand seemed to have relied on three men; Thomas Kiiko, Derrick Olang and Job Byron who sank 20 points each for a total of 60 while Victor Bosire scored 11.
Former titleholders Ulinzi Warriors and KPA registered victories in their respective encounters. Warriors hammered Eldonets Platinum 81-65, while KPA thrashed Equity Bank Dumas 74-49. This was Equity Dumas’ ninth defeat this season though they are safely within the top eight which guarantees them a play-offs slot.
Against Platinum, Warriors recovered from a slow start that saw their guests take the first quarter to dominate the second win it 29-9 and take a 46-33 half-time advantage.
On resumption, Ulinzi remained in control of the game even as Eldonets improved from their dull second quarter show to score 12 points against the opponents’ 16. The final quarter was evenly contested with Platinum snatching 20-19 but that was not good enough to save them from their second weekend loss.
The Eldoret-based side had lost to defending champions Nairobi City Thunder 68-70 on Friday night. Platinum’s Meshack Oloo was the star of the match with 20 points while Elisha Odhiambo led Ulinzi with 19.
By Elizabeth Mburugu
