Basketball in Africa

Nakuru Club beat Strathmore University 54-37 on Sunday to inch closer to their first ever playoffs qualification after three seasons in the Kenya Basketball Federation’s men's Premier League.
It has been a dream season for Nakuru who have beaten key title contenders Ulinzi Warriors, Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) and Nairobi City Thunder. They also upset former champions Lions.
Head coach Richard Kanda is happy that their initial game plan for the season is working out as the regular season nears completion. “We had a meeting before the season began and set a minimum target of reaching playoffs. It does not matter the position we finish in our conference as long as we are in the playoffs,” he told sportsnewsarena.com.
“Once there, we will take a game at a time and anything that happens will be a bonus. We wanted to prove a point this year after fighting relegation last season,” the coach added. Kanda says their new players have been one of the reason for the good performance.
Hillary Kubai was signed from the University of Nairobi and came alongside Vanon Okoth and Suleiman Gakure. “They brought in competition to the team. Last season, some of the players were complacent because they knew their places in the team were guaranteed whether they trained or not.”
Against Strathmore, they dominated from start to the end winning all quarters 7-4, 13-8, 16-9 and 18-16. Joe Okoth top scored with 15 points, Victor Orare added 14 and Michael Kariuki had 10.
Robert Hope shot at least 50 percent for Strathmore’s score in every quarter to top score with 20 points including 8 free shots. He scored 2/4 in first quarter, 6/8 in second quarter, 4/9 in third quarter and 8/16 in fourth quarter. Strathmore beat Mennonite 95-70 on Saturday.
After losing 53-76 to KPA on Saturday, Zetech University came out strongly on Sunday to beat former champions Co-operative Bank 54-39. They led all through and set pace with a 14-5 score in first quarter.
The bankers won second quarter 11-7 but Zetech enjoyed a 21-16 halftime lead. The students won remaining quarters 9-7 and 24-15.
Two wins for KPA
KPA beat Lions 74-44 in their second game while Umoja beat Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) 75-49 but lost 46-51 to Equity Bank.
KAA lost their second game of the weekend 64-71 to Ulinzi as Lions beat Nairobi Aviation College 75-47 helped by 18 points from Victor Ochieng all from 6 three-pointers.
Women's Premier League champions United States International University- Africa (USIU-A) struggled to beat Masaku Sparks 77-73 in a tight contest. It was largely a two-point and three-point game through the four quarters and both teams tied 12 times.
With a minute to play in fourth quarter, scores read 71-71 but USIU-A went clear after scoring 6 free shots through Melissa Akinyi who made four and one apiece from Cynthia Irankunda and Angela Okoth.
Masaku led 36-33 at halftime and had Betty Kananu top score with 20 points, Michelle Otinda added 17 and Felmas Adhiambo had 16. Sarah Chan scored highest for USIU-A with 23 points and Irankunda had 18.
Strathmore University lost their second straight game after going down 47-52 to Equity Bank. The students won first quarter 15-10 before the bankers dominated in the rest with scores of 13-12, 14-13 and 15-7.
Hilda Indasi scored highest for Equity with 16 points while Linda Mfuchi and Salma Akinyi scored 13 points each. Susan Manya was Strathmore's highest scorer with 18 points.
KPA beat Eagle Wings 76-40 but Eagles recovered to win second game 48-31 against Kenya College of Accountancy- University (KCA-U). Eunice Ouma scored 16 points for Eagles and Celestine Isabwa registered 18 for the students.
KCA-U lost their second game 29-76 against Sprite Storms. Susan Akinyi and Mercy Wanyama led the rout combining for 52 points to Storms’ account.
KBF Weekend Results: Eagle Wings 40 KPA 76, KCA-U 29 Storms 76, Umoja 46 Equity Bank 51, Strathmore University 95 Mennonite Men 70, Lions 75 Nairobi Aviation College 47, Zetech University 53 KPA 76, Ulinzi Warriors 71 KAA 64, Trailblazers 51 MKU Thika 58, JKUAT 59 4-Christ 58, KCA-U 31 Eagle Wings 48, Upper Hill 73 World Hope 52, Equity Bank 52 Strathmore Swords 47, Trailblazers 51 Barclays Bank 58, ANU 84 Parklands Baptist 45, Masaku Sparks 73 USIU-A 77, Umoja 75 KAA 49, Strathmore University 37 Nakuru Club 54, Lions 44 KPA 74, Zetech University 54 Co-op Bank 39.