By CAXTON APOLLO and PHILIP ONYANGO from http://www.nation.co.ke
Sprite Storms edged out Flames of the United States International University - Africa 50-49 in a low scoring but entertaining women’s basketball Premier League tie at Nyayo National Stadium on Sunday.
In another women’s match, Strathmore University registered a narrow 49-48 win over coach Charles Goro’s unlucky Kenya College of Accountancy University.
Samba Mjomba and Linda Sirma used their experience to hit three-pointers at an early stage of the duel which saw Flames go up 15-7 in the first quarter against Storms, who never relaxed their game and their hard work earned them a 14-6 second quarter advantage thanks to through Sylvia Omollo and Anjella Luchivya.
The teams locked the game 21-21 at halftime. On resumption, Storms dictated terms, with Mjomba calling the important shots while Luchivya improved her defense as they denied their opponents access to the ‘D’.
In another closely contested tie, Grace Wanjiku scored 16 points while Faith Owichi shot 14 to help Strathmore pip hard-fighting KCA-U 49-48. The men’s top match, between champions KCB Lions and University of Nairobi’s Terrorists, was in the last quarter by the time we went to press. Lions were leading 49-38.
On Saturday, Kenya Ports Authority taught Africa zone five champions Co-operative Bank some lessons, hitting them 86-65 in Mombasa.
It was, however, a different story in the women’s category as Eagle Wings became the second women’s team to give KPA a second consecutive walkover after the dockers failed to travel to Mombasa for the match. Last weekend, Mennonites also skipped the Mombasa match against KPA.
Lack of funds
Both teams blamed their failure to travel on lack of funds. “We could have really wished to travel to Mombasa for the match, but after failing to raise funds for transport we had a consolation in the fact that we are already in the playoffs,” Olumbo said on telephone.
The Co-op loss was a sweet revenge for the dockers, who narrowly lost to the bankers in the semi-final stage of the regional event in Uganda.