Basketball in Africa

Philip Onyango
Nairobi

Mwasere reclaimed the Taita Taveta District secondary schools girls basketball title they lost last year when they registered a narrow but deserved 44-43 victory over Bura Girls as the games concluded in Wundanyi yesterday.

Mwasere who together with Murray Girls have dominated the district title for a while now until last year when Bura Girls turned the tables, won on the buzzer after Bura led for a better part of the game.

In the semi finals, Mwasere girls beat Murray girls 43-27 while Bura Girls defeated Mwangeka 31- 22 in the other semi finals.

Kenyatta High School retained the boys basketball title after beating Voi Secondary School 35-22 in the finals.

Murray girls retained the girls hockey title after beating Bura Girls 1-0 in the finals while Kenyatta High School Mwatate needed penalty flicks to beat St Mary's Lushangoni 4-3 after the teams drew 1-1 in regulation time.

Batholemew Secondary retained the rugby Sevens title after beating Dr Aggrey Secondary 5-0.

The winners will proceed to Malindi for the provincial championships to be held next week from Friday through to Sunday.

In Kilifi, defending champions St Georges Secondary beat Kilifi Township 2-1 to retain the boys hockey title. Both teams will however proceed to the provincials as St Georges are also the provincial defending champions.
Ribe Boys dethroned St Georges of the boys basketball title for the first time after beating them 56-47 while St Johns Girls Kaloleni retained their girls basketball and hockey titles.
Mariakani Secondary proceed to the provincial as Rugby Sevens representative after failing to get an opponent at the district level.
Meanwhile Shimba Hills Secondary School girls basketball team who had their final district match stopped due to a technical error will take part in the Coast Secondary Schools term one games in Malindi from Thursday.
Coast Secondary School Sports Association chairman Athman Mwinyi Yeya said it was unfortunate that the team had their final match stopped when they were leading 17-3 in the first quarter and asked them to put the district saga behind them ahead of the provincial championships which will be used to select the Coast team for the national games in Eldoret.Shimba Hills, he said, has been drawn in pool "B" which also has Mombasa representatives Changamwe Secondary and St Johns Girls Kaloleni from Kilifi.
Pool "A" has defending champions Mombasa High School, Mwasere and Matuga from Kwale district.
"I have been briefed by the Kwale District Secondary Schools Sports Association vice chairman Rodgers Siasa Mwafungo of the anomalies at the district games and would want to assure everyone that all has been sorted out because we want the best teams at the provincial level which will allow us an opportunity to send a strong team to the national games," Yeya said.