Day of reckoning as KPA face champs in club quarters

Carolyne Mureji (right) of KPA with Doreen Nyagah (left) of USIU. [PHOTO: GIDEON MAUNDU]

Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) have an Herculean task tonight when they play defending champions Clube Desportivo De Agosto in the first quarter-final of the ongoing Fiba Africa Women Clubs basketball championships in Maputo, Mozambique.

The Angolan outfit, who are two-time winners, have been unstoppable in their quest so far. They are unbeaten and topped pool B with maximum eight points.

On their way to the apex, De Agosto, who first won the tournament in 2006 and last year, beat Clube De Desportos d' A Politecnica of Mozambique 78-33, won 98-41 against United States International University of Kenya, defeated First Bank of Nigeria 76-62 and Groupement Sportif des Petroliers of Algeria 74-57.

On the other hand, KPA, who head to the match as underdogs, have won once; against Etoile Filante of Togo, whom they beat 75-55 to finish second-last in their group with five points. Club Filante had four points.

Qualification to quarters was historic for the Kenyan outfit as it came in two folds. It was their first victory in the championships and assured them of passage from the group stages, also for the first time in close to two decades.

KPA head coach Anthony Ojukwu and his assistant Phillip Onyango both unanimously agreed it will be a daunting task beating De Agosto, who boast some of the finest players in the continent.

But the tacticians said they will rely on the underdog tag, which they believe will inspire them to work harder and match their opponents at the Maxaquene Arena.

"We are not planning to make drastic changes to the starting lineup. All we are doing is to rectify the mistakes we made in the group stages. We failed to perfect on our shots, lacked confidence and were generally slower than expected," Onyango said.

Onyango added they are also trying to sharpen their skills in ball handling, which will be crucial in maintaining possession. Their opponents have been capitalising on their height advantage, something the Kenyan technical bench will be wary of.

Some of De Agosto players who have been tormenting their opponents include Cristina Matiquite at 6'3, Macuto Tomas at 6'4, Guadalupe Sonia at 6'2, Tania Dongue and Cristiana Correia both at 6'1.

So far, former Kenya Basketball Federation Most Valuable Player Hilda Indasi has been outstanding for KPA. Others are Samba Mjomba and Mercy Wanyama.

Wanyama is ranked second in rebound collection at 5.3 per match.