Basketball in Africa

Its now official, this year's play offs will have a total of eight teams, Kenya basketball Federation (KBF) announced yesterday.

Vitalis Gode. the KBF secretary while releasing the results of the vote returned by team managers on play - offs system, said that the clause 13 of the 2009 League and Competition rules now stands amended in favour of the yes vote.

The votes were taken by all the 27 teams in the men premier, women's premier and lower division league and a whopping 22 teams voted for the change Gode said in an email copied to all stakeholders.

To determine the winner of the respective league categories this year, the top eight teams in each Category will compete in a Play-Offs system as per the new format.

The top seed will play number eight, number two will take on number seven, number three will meet number six while number four tackle number five in the quarter finals.

Gode said that the quarter finals shall be on two game series, while the semi-finals and the finals shall be on three game series. Classification matches,,he said, shall be based on one game series.

"In the event of a game three, the League Committee shall determine the venue provided that both teams shall have enjoyed home court advantage.

Any team that fails to honour its Play-Offs match shall forfeit the series and may be liable to such sanction, as the Committee shall determine." he said.

The teams that voted yes for the change are- Men premier : Co-operative Bank of Kenya, United States International University (USIU), University of Nairobi " Terrorists", Kenya Ports Authority (KPA), Strathmore University, Posta, Lomboritz, and International Christian Center (ICC).

In the women premier category: KPA,USIU, Mennonites, Kenya College of Accountancy (KCA), Eastern Queens and Strathmore University.

While the lower division teams are : Mennonites, Africa Nazarene University (ANU), Blazers, Nakuru Club, KCA, Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology (MMUST), Parklands Baptist and Nairobi Pentecostal Church (NPC)

Five teams abstained from voting,they included national champions KCB Lions , Eagle Wings, Sprite Storms, Yana and World Hope.

Only one team from each of the three tiers will not make the play offs.