Basketball in Africa

Lions roar, Co-op shines in Mombasa as Ulinzi makes a strong come back

Reigning champions KCB Lions, Co-operative Bank of Kenya and Posta all recorded impressive Premier League wins in a weekend that also saw former greats, relegated Ulinai Warriors make a triumphant return to action.

The Lions maintained their unbeaten run when they defeated the visiting Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology (MMUST) 83-57 in a top tie. The students, who won the lower division title last year, gave a good account of themselves in what was their first taste of top flight action, trailing last year's winners 16-18 after the first quarter.

But the Lions quickly took the upper hand, taking the second quarter 18-9, which would prove the turning point. KCB then took the third 21-4, before outscoring their opponents 26-18 in the last. Danger man Tobias Onyango shot 25 points and Eric Omari hit 18. MMUST were led by Alex Lugasi who clocked up 12.

In another high-profile encounter, Posta crushed Blazers 80-59. The 'mailmen' edged the first quarter 21-12 edge and were up 41-27 by half time. In the third quarter, Posta produced a polished ten minutes outscoring their opponents 26-11 before suffering a a Joel Atebe onslaught , which gave Blazers fans something to cheer about in the fourth with a 21-13 consolation.

Ancette Wafula, the former Ulinzi shooting forward now back at home, led the Posta onslaught with 25 points. But the show belonged to Atebe, who collected game high 31 points for the losing side, which has now lost all three ties this season.

The Blazers, who were promoted this year to the top flight, have found the going rough, going down 71-41 to reigning champions KCB Lions and 39-72 to Kenya Ports Authority (KPA).

Kenya College of Accountancy (KCA) University also began their campaign on a winning note as they consigned Lomboritz to their third successive defeat, with a 52-40 win.

In Mombasa, host Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) lost their second match in a row, falling 54-60 to Co-operative Bank of Kenya. The 'bankers', who finished a low scoring first half 32-23 ahead, were spurred on by home boy Salim Ali who chipped in with 16 points, while Nelson Njau added 12.

In the Women's league, Champions Eagle Wings started off their campiaign on a sound note as they easily overcame Kenya College of Accountancy (KCA) University 79-26, in a game that saw Anastacia Njeri score 18 points and Angela Okoth 16.

In another one sided tie, Linda Alando clocked up 22 points while Pamella Sinda collected 20 as a revitalised Yana eased past newly promoted Kenya Polytechnic University 87-28.

In a somewhat more balanced affair, Sprite Storms beat Predators 63-55. The Storms raced away to a 17-7 margin and never looked back, carrying a 30-20 lead at half time. Emma Nyakweba shot 12 points while Sylvia Omolo had 10 for the Storms.

The main news of the week though is the winning return of Ulinzi Warriors to action. The 'soldiers' beat Nairobi Aviation College (NAC) 69-52 and Kenya Polytechnic 62-47. They remain the team side to have won the national crown six times.

Leading the way was Victor Odendo with 17 points, Ben Mufutu shot 16 while Paul Olanya scored 10. Graton Ouma managed 10 for the students. Olanya made 18 and Odendo, playing in unfamiliar territory, regisitered 13 in the victory against Kenya Poly.

Dann OWERRE
FIBA Africa