27 February 2008
KENYA : 16 Through to Second Round of City Contest
by Sammy Kitula
Nairobi
Sixteen teams have qualified for the second round of the Nairobi Secondary Schools boys' basketball league expected to start Thursday at the respective schools.
Defending champions St. Austin's' 92-11 whipping of Sunshine High School last week ensured they topped their pool to set up an early meeting with 2006 winners Jaffery Academy in the coming round.
Jaffrey, who have been seeded top in the pre-quarters round, had also won all their matches in the preliminaries.
Others who have secured tickets for the second round include St. Mary's School, St. Theresa's Secondary, Aquinas High, Malezi High, Kenya Muslim Secondary and Highway Secondary.
Starehe Boys Centre, Upper Hill, Moi Forces Academy, Pumwani Secondary, Dagoretti High, Strathmore, Lenana and Nairobi School complete the list.
Lenana's 'Rockers' romped into the second round of the basketball league after whipping a hapless Uhuru High School 67-15 in a one-sided match last Friday.
Lenana led 19-0 in the first quarter as Maxwell Njaramba, Peter Maina and Riaz Kiprotich ran riot in Uhuru's half.
The rout continued in the second and third quarters, with Uhuru managing nine points in the two quarters as the Rockers extended their score line to 55.
In the last quarter, Lenana coach, Raymond Kinyua, brought in his second string side which managed 12 points as Uhuru added six baskets to their tally.
Samuel Ogutu impressed in the relatively inexperienced Uhuru team, scoring a remarkable three-pointer in the last quarter.
Kinyua said that the team had been improving gradually after winning all their matches in Pool E despite their training being hampered by the poll violence.
"We couldn't manage to hold our annual Founders Tournament and friendly matches because of the chaos. In the past, this has given our players enough exposure before the league starts. Nonetheless, we have a team that can clinch the Nairobi title this year," he added.
Determined Pumwani
In other matches, Dagoretti High School humbled Karengata 46-34 at home in a Group B to march to the second round.
In Pool F, Kenya Muslim had to endure a determined Pumwani High School, before beating them 41-38 at home.
Muslim overwhelmed Pumwani's defence in the dying minutes of the tight contest.
Most of the first round matches were hampered as many schools were on half-term breaks.
But NSSSA basketball secretary Peter Manundu says that the second round will run smoothly as many of the city schools are back from the breaks.
"We were set back by (the break) issue, but as we begin round two (of the league), we expect it to be smooth," he said.
Quarter-finals
The second round involving 16 teams will run until March 6. The quarter-finals are set for March 8, semi-finals on March 15, while the play-offs and finals will be held on March 29.
Winners of the Nairobi tournament will represent the province during the national championships from April 7 to 13 at Mang'u High School.
Manundu said venues for the quarter-finals, semi-finals and the final will be neutral and the participating teams shall be notified at a later date.
"Venues for knockout matches will be such that none of the qualifying teams will enjoy home advantage," he said.
Nairobi
Sixteen teams have qualified for the second round of the Nairobi Secondary Schools boys' basketball league expected to start Thursday at the respective schools.
Defending champions St. Austin's' 92-11 whipping of Sunshine High School last week ensured they topped their pool to set up an early meeting with 2006 winners Jaffery Academy in the coming round.
Jaffrey, who have been seeded top in the pre-quarters round, had also won all their matches in the preliminaries.
Others who have secured tickets for the second round include St. Mary's School, St. Theresa's Secondary, Aquinas High, Malezi High, Kenya Muslim Secondary and Highway Secondary.
Starehe Boys Centre, Upper Hill, Moi Forces Academy, Pumwani Secondary, Dagoretti High, Strathmore, Lenana and Nairobi School complete the list.
Lenana's 'Rockers' romped into the second round of the basketball league after whipping a hapless Uhuru High School 67-15 in a one-sided match last Friday.
Lenana led 19-0 in the first quarter as Maxwell Njaramba, Peter Maina and Riaz Kiprotich ran riot in Uhuru's half.
The rout continued in the second and third quarters, with Uhuru managing nine points in the two quarters as the Rockers extended their score line to 55.
In the last quarter, Lenana coach, Raymond Kinyua, brought in his second string side which managed 12 points as Uhuru added six baskets to their tally.
Samuel Ogutu impressed in the relatively inexperienced Uhuru team, scoring a remarkable three-pointer in the last quarter.
Kinyua said that the team had been improving gradually after winning all their matches in Pool E despite their training being hampered by the poll violence.
"We couldn't manage to hold our annual Founders Tournament and friendly matches because of the chaos. In the past, this has given our players enough exposure before the league starts. Nonetheless, we have a team that can clinch the Nairobi title this year," he added.
Determined Pumwani
In other matches, Dagoretti High School humbled Karengata 46-34 at home in a Group B to march to the second round.
In Pool F, Kenya Muslim had to endure a determined Pumwani High School, before beating them 41-38 at home.
Muslim overwhelmed Pumwani's defence in the dying minutes of the tight contest.
Most of the first round matches were hampered as many schools were on half-term breaks.
But NSSSA basketball secretary Peter Manundu says that the second round will run smoothly as many of the city schools are back from the breaks.
"We were set back by (the break) issue, but as we begin round two (of the league), we expect it to be smooth," he said.
Quarter-finals
The second round involving 16 teams will run until March 6. The quarter-finals are set for March 8, semi-finals on March 15, while the play-offs and finals will be held on March 29.
Winners of the Nairobi tournament will represent the province during the national championships from April 7 to 13 at Mang'u High School.
Manundu said venues for the quarter-finals, semi-finals and the final will be neutral and the participating teams shall be notified at a later date.
"Venues for knockout matches will be such that none of the qualifying teams will enjoy home advantage," he said.
# posted by afrbk : 14:38
