Nakuru Club relegated from Kenya Basketball League

KENYA BASKETBALL LEAGUE James Okerio (left) of Nakuru club dribbles past Dan Nabuya (right) of University of Nairobi Terror during the Kenya basketball League match played at Menegai High in Nakuru on September 28,2014. Nakuru won 78-73 . PHOTO:KIPSANG JOSEPH

Nakuru Club has been relegated from the Kenya Basketball Federation Premier League with a match at hand against Trail Blazers scheduled for Menengai High School on Saturday. The team will from next season take part in the National Division One League.

Nakuru Club fell on the sword after losing 60-20 in their penultimate match against Kenya College of Accountancy (KCA) University at Menengai High School over the weekend.

Nakuru Club head coach Richard Kanda said all is not lost for his players, having accepted they fell short, but are determined to stay in the cold for a season before making an immediate comeback.

“We have taken the chop in our stride and ready work hard for promotion,” he told Feverpitch yesterday.

Nakuru Club are at the bottom of the twelve team KBF Premier League table standings with 22 points from 21 matches having won only one match against KCA University 65-57 in Nairobi early in the year and have lost the rest of the matches.

The team has been promoted and relegated twice since its formation in 2001 and they are determined to repeat the same feat next year, according to Kanda.

The team was first promoted to the top league in 2004 and stayed there for seven years until their relegation in 2011.

They participated in the National Division One League for two years from 2011 till their promotion into the Kenya Basketball Federation Premier League in 2013 and have since been there for the last three years where their performance has been above average.

Last year, Nakuru Club were among the top four teams, a feat that earned them a qualification into the KBF play-offs but were eliminated by Kenya Ports Authority.

“This has been our worst season ever but we cannot salvage anything with one match in hand,” he stated.

The team started recording losses following the exit of their top players to Nairobi institutional sides, who offered better terms to them and have since not recovered despite assurances by their coach that they would survive relegation.

Meanwhile, Vanon Obonyo led Egerton University to a 59-43 win over United States International University (USIU) – Africa in the men’s National Division Two League match at Menengai High School over the weekend after scoring 21 points.

In their second match, Egerton University narrowly dismissed Mount Kenya University Nakuru Campus 63-62.

In the ladies’ National Division Two matches, Egerton University walloped KCA University 43-30 in a fast paced encounter.