Basketball in Africa

Masaku Sparks’ six-game unbeaten run was halted by Strathmore University Swords on Sunday courtesy of a 40-33 win in their Eastern Conference encounter at the Nyayo National Stadium gymnasium.
Strathmore completed a double over Masaku adding on to their 48-47 win in first leg.
The students put up well coordinated offensive play to outscore Masaku and caught them severally on fast breaks to score easy points.
Masaku started with key players Pamela Sinda and Michele Otinda on the bench while Strathmore unleashed their key trio of Susan Manya, Rachel Opinya and Mollete Achieng.
Felmas Odhiambo shot Masaku top with a basket but Opinya and Achieng replied for Strathmore with a free shot and two baskets respectively. The game was tied at 6-6 before Masaku led 7-6 and Strathmore 8-7. The students dominated from that to win first quarter 16-7.
After 5:50 of action in second quarter, Masaku had matched up Strathmore as the combination of Sinda, Betty Kananu, Felmas and Otinda clicked.
Felmas scored 8-points from four free shots and two baskets while Sinda scored 3 as the scores tied 18-18.
Susan Manya managed the only basket for Strathmore in the period as they struggled to win possession.
With 1:05 to play in the quarter, Sinda made a free shot to break the tie at 19-18 but Vanessa Lubira gave Strathmore a 20-19 halftime lead with a basket.
Strathmore took only two minutes of third quarter to open a 9-point lead at 28-19 through two baskets from Manya and a basket each from Opinya and Achieng.
Second half substitute Bianca Nyambura made two crucial steals from Kananu to help Strathmore stretch their lead to 12 points at 32-20. Kananu who is Masaku’s leading scorer had a bad day in office finishing the game with 9 points and 10 turnovers.
She was guilty of losing possession easily in third and fourth quarters at a time Masaku was chasing a comeback.
Co-op beat KU's Oryx 
Strathmore won third quarter 13-7 with the fourth tied 7-7. Achieng top scored for Strathmore with 10 points, Manya scored 9 and Opinya had 8. Felmas was Masaku’s highest scorer with 13 points.
Co-operative Bank beat Kenyatta University Oryx 72-46 but with a fight. First quarter was a balanced affair ending with a 15-15 score. It started with 2-2 and 3-3 ties but Brenda Wangoi scored three free shots to give Oryx a 6-3 lead.
Celina Okumu tied scores again at 6-6 with a three-pointer for Co-op Bank. There were three successive ties at 8-8, 10-10 and 12-12 as no team sought to prove dominance that early.
Grace Wanjiku scored a basket to give the bankers a 14-12 lead but Faith Marindanp made a three-pointer for Oryx to lead 15-14. Mercy Etyang ensured a tie for the quarter with a free shot for Co-op Bank.
Early into second quarter, the scores tied at 17-17, 18-18 and 21-21 before Co-op Bank went on a 12-0 run to win the quarter 18-6 and led 33-21 at halftime.
The bankers won third and fourth quarters 17-12 and 22-13 respectively scoring 15 points from the free-throw line and nine from the arc.
Oryx scored 14 points from the free-throw line and 15 from the arc. Vivian Akinyi top scored for Co-op Bank with 18 points while Wangoi scored 11 for Oryx.
USIU suffer another loss 
Western Delight beat Kenya College of Accountancy- University (KCA-U) 69-25 with Kisumu Lady Bucks earning a 20-0 walkover win over Mennonite.
In men's premier league, it was a second straight loss for United States International University- Africa (USIU-A) after going down 70-74 to a resilient Lions.
The return of Victor Ochieng who missed Lions’ 47-63 loss to KU Pirates on Saturday boosted their morale as he top scored with 21 points.
Congolese Joel Ntambwe was the top scorer for the students again in the absence of Kevin Kigotho hitting three three-pointers to finish with a game-high 26 points.
Lions head coach Juma Ikapian maintained their target is playoffs after beating USIU-A and Thunder in their last three games.
“The win against Thunder was a booster because they are the current form team in the league. Against Pirates, we missed two key players (Ochieng and Paul Oloo) which contributed to the loss. As a team, we are going to fight for a place in the playoffs until the last minute. We are not giving up.”
Equity stop KPA
In first half, the game tied five times with Lions winning first quarter 18-17 and USIU-A the second 19-11. Third quarter was the game-changer for Lions with a 20-12 win before wrapping up the win with a 25-22 score in fourth quarter.
Lions scored 17 points from free shots and 15 from three-pointers while USIU-A scored seven points from free shots and 21 from three-pointers. Co-op Bank recorded second win of the weekend beating Nairobi Aviation College 97-45.
Joseph Khaemba made four three-pointers to top score for Co-op Bank with 30 points while Deng Mayen scored 13 for Aviation and Damas Odedo added 10.
After their game on Saturday against Strathmore Blades was called off due to poor visibility in the gymnasium, Thunder lost 45-61 to Nakuru Club on Sunday with Griffin Ligare scoring 26 points.
Equity Bank made it two wins beating Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) 54-47 while Umoja beat KU Pirates 40-33.
Sunday Results: Nairobi Aviation College 45 Co-op Bank 97, Lions 74 USIU-A 70, Masaku Sparks 33 Strathmore University 40, MKU Thika 54 Blazers 43, Co-op Bank 72 KU Oryx 46, Eldonets 56 ANU 48, Eldonets 61 World Hope 51, Kisumu Lady Bucks 65 KCA-U 42, Lakeside 62 ANU 61, Don Bosco 48 Upper Hill 59, EMYBA 46 Trailblazers 61, Parklands Baptist 33 JKUAT 44, KU Pirates 33 Umoja 40, Thunder 45 Nakuru Club 61, KAA 47 Equity Bank 54.