Basketball in Africa

By SAMMY KITULA skitula@ke.nationmedia.com

After failing to win the boys’ provincial basketball title last year, Upper Hill High School have vowed to shock their opponents, Aquinas High, when the two meet at the 11am finals on Saturday.

Defending champions Buru Buru will square it out with their perennial rivals, 2009 provincial winners Langata High, in the girls’ category of the Nairobi Secondary Schools Sports Association provincial finals at Nairobi School.
Schools will compete in cross country, due at 8am, hockey and sevens rugby.
“All teams ought to assemble at Nairobi School before 8am. We want to finish up early, now that the rains are here,” said NSSSA chairman Moses Mbuthia.

Very technical match

In a charged final last year, hosts Upper Hill lost 72-66 to Nairobi International School but “Upper”, as they are fondly called by their fans, have vowed to shock the former national champions.
Interestingly, when NIS were winning, their then head coach, George Mayienga, was celebrating on the touchline.
Now Mayienga is not only on the Upper Hill bench but he also aims at adding to his feather another national title!

The United States International University-Africa (USIU-A) head coach has won five national titles, four with Kamukunji (girls) and two at Laiser Hill (boys).
“We expect a tight match on Saturday. Aquinas play a very technical match but we are ready for them,” said the towering tactician. “I would want to win another provincial title, and the national.”

Mayienga and his employer, principal Peter Orero, were behind the triumphs of Kamukunji in the late 1990s.

The winners will qualify for next month’s Brookside Term One National Championships at Kakamega High, back to Western Province after seven years.