24 October 2006
KENYA : KPA bounce back to win second game
After losing their opening match 48-59 to hosts Somo "B" from Gabon, Kenya Ports Authority recovered to beat ISPU from Mozambique 62-57 in a tough African women's Championship game in Libreville, Gabon yesterday.
It was a sweet victory for the Kenya dockers who trailed in all the three quarters and took the lead only when it mattered the most in the last minutes of the game.
Miriam Awuor who top scored with 22 points scored the opening basket for KPA after the Mozambicans had taken a 5-0 lead.
Four more points from Gladys Wanyama and Caroline Arato helped the dockers to close the gap as ISPU led 8-6 .
The closely contested game saw KPA pile the pressure on their opponents in the second quarter trailing by only a point at 28-29 by the break.
A late rally by the dockers, who applied their traditional pressure defence, saw their opponents crack in the last quarter as they went ahead to win with a five points difference.
Speaking to the Daily Nation from Gabon, team manager Edward Oduor praised the players for a job well done and blamed the first defeat on the heavy rains.
"We are used to playing in indoor courts. Playing in an open roof court made life difficult for the ladies, a situation which was made worse by the heavy rains," Oduor said.
Personnel manager Salim Chingabwe who is leading the delegation said he had been impressed by the Kenyan performance so far. He singled out the organisation of the team as particularly outstanding. and predicted they will finish in a respectable position.
"We arrived in Gabon safely and it looks like the players have now adjusted to the conditions here. It makes me think that we are as good as title contenders," he said.
KPA return to the courts today for a match against Inter - Club from Angola from 4pm East African Standard time.
In other matches today, defending champions Djoliba from Mali will take on Ferroviario of Mozambique in the first match at 10am Kenyan time, immediately followed by the First Bank (Nigeria) v Arc (Cote d'Ivoire), Dolphins (Nigeria) v Hatari (DRC), Somo B v ISPU (Mozambique), ABC (Cote d'Ivoire) v Primiero de Agosto (Angola).
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Sprite Storms will take on Yana Club in the Kenyatta Day women's Cup final at Nairobi's Nyayo National Stadium today from 2pm.
Storms led by Angela Luchivya, Hilda Luvandwa and Faustina Mandu eliminated Flames of the United States International University of Africa 42-23 while John Chasimba's Yana knocked out Telkom 39-37 in the semi-finals at Kenyatta sportsground, Kisumu over the weekend.
It was a sweet victory for the Kenya dockers who trailed in all the three quarters and took the lead only when it mattered the most in the last minutes of the game.
Miriam Awuor who top scored with 22 points scored the opening basket for KPA after the Mozambicans had taken a 5-0 lead.
Four more points from Gladys Wanyama and Caroline Arato helped the dockers to close the gap as ISPU led 8-6 .
The closely contested game saw KPA pile the pressure on their opponents in the second quarter trailing by only a point at 28-29 by the break.
A late rally by the dockers, who applied their traditional pressure defence, saw their opponents crack in the last quarter as they went ahead to win with a five points difference.
Speaking to the Daily Nation from Gabon, team manager Edward Oduor praised the players for a job well done and blamed the first defeat on the heavy rains.
"We are used to playing in indoor courts. Playing in an open roof court made life difficult for the ladies, a situation which was made worse by the heavy rains," Oduor said.
Personnel manager Salim Chingabwe who is leading the delegation said he had been impressed by the Kenyan performance so far. He singled out the organisation of the team as particularly outstanding. and predicted they will finish in a respectable position.
"We arrived in Gabon safely and it looks like the players have now adjusted to the conditions here. It makes me think that we are as good as title contenders," he said.
KPA return to the courts today for a match against Inter - Club from Angola from 4pm East African Standard time.
In other matches today, defending champions Djoliba from Mali will take on Ferroviario of Mozambique in the first match at 10am Kenyan time, immediately followed by the First Bank (Nigeria) v Arc (Cote d'Ivoire), Dolphins (Nigeria) v Hatari (DRC), Somo B v ISPU (Mozambique), ABC (Cote d'Ivoire) v Primiero de Agosto (Angola).
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Sprite Storms will take on Yana Club in the Kenyatta Day women's Cup final at Nairobi's Nyayo National Stadium today from 2pm.
Storms led by Angela Luchivya, Hilda Luvandwa and Faustina Mandu eliminated Flames of the United States International University of Africa 42-23 while John Chasimba's Yana knocked out Telkom 39-37 in the semi-finals at Kenyatta sportsground, Kisumu over the weekend.
# posted by afrbk : 14:52
