Handball: National Cereals and Produce Board lift regional title

ULINZI vs NCPB National Cereals and Produce Board's Sarah Mabonga aim at opponent, KDF"s goal during Handball league at Nyayo National Stadium on Saturday, April 1, 2017. [PHOTO: JONAH ONYANGO/STANDARD]

National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) women’s handball club won their maiden regional title as the East and Central Africa Handball Club Championship ended yesterday at Temeke in Tanzania.

NCPB had it tough against the hosts, Jeshi la Kujenge Taifa (JKT), by pulling a 24-23 win in a return match.

The Under 20 sensation Sarah Mabonga emerged the top scorer with eight goals while teammate Roseline Adhiambo registered seven for the Kenyan side.

Zena Amos and Semeli Selenwa managed six and five respectively as top scorers for JKT.

The visitors had picked a 24-18 win in their first meeting on Friday evening. Their second consecutive win meant they were the title winners because the women’s category had attracted only two teams.

The matches were played in a round robin format with the team with maximum points lifting the title.

The third team that was set to take part in the championship Evabuka from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) failed to show up.

It was a great show for NCPB to bring the regional title back home in the absence of their Kenyan counterparts Nairobi Water who did not feature in this edition due to financial constraints. Nairobi Water has won the regional title twice.

This is a boost for NCPB who have been in the cold for a couple of years both in the national league and in the region.

In the men’s category, Police from DRC are top of the standing on six points after winning three matches in the championship.

Police were set to play against NCPB who are currently on the fourth place with three points.

Police are likely to win the championship because even if NCPB picks a win from that encounter, the latter will have five points.

Strathmore is currently second with five points from two wins while Black Mamba are third with four points. [Rebecca Jebet]