Basketball: KPA need one win to retain their trophy
Basketball
By
Elizabeth Mburugu
| Dec 04, 2018
KPA inch closer to league title
Top guns Equity Bank Hawks and KPA a match away from setting a dream final.
Kenya Basketball Federation (KBF) men's Premier League champions Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) inched closer to retaining their title after taking a 2-0 lead against former winners Ulinzi Warriors in the playoffs.
Yesterday, the dockers defeated the soldiers 71-55 in a scintillating Game Two of the final playoffs at Nyayo Gymnasium.
Just like they did in Game One, KPA came from behind in the second half to floor the Warriors.
James Mwangi and Victor Bosire top scored for the champions with 20 and 16 points respectively.
Ulinzi's Erick Mutoro watched helplessly as his match high of 21 points went to waste as his side collapsed in the second half.
Ulinzi had taken a 31-28 lead but failed to maintain it losing their second straight game to the Dockers.
Women's Premier League holders KPA and 2016 winners Equity Bank Hawks won their respective Game Two semis matches to inch closer to the final.
KPA, who are seeking to successfully defend their title, beat Storms 63-47 while Hawks edged Strathmore University Swords 61-50 to take a 2-0 lead.
The two sides will now need victory in Game Three to secure a place in the final. Brigid Nanzala was in fine form scoring 19 points for the Dockers while Linet Atieno added 10.
In response, Melisa Akinyi scored 14 points while Eva Itabo and Becky Nkatha sunk 11 points each for Storms.
The dockers dominated their opponents to take a 19-5 advantage at the end of the first quarter. Storms improved in the second quarter taking it 16-12 even as KPA enjoyed a 31-21 lead at the breather.
The two sides tied 12-12 in the third quarter before the Dockers sealed their second win with an impressive 20-14 score in the final quarter.
Reigning FIBA Zone Five women's champions Equity maintained their good run against Strathmore.
The bankers subdued the students from the onset as they announced their intentions with a 17-13 score in the first quarter. The bankers fought to take the second quarter 12-8 for a 29-21 lead at half-time.
The Hawks' best performance was in the third quarter when they sunk 23 points against the students' seven.
However, Swords were not ready to go down easily as they won the final quarter 22-9 but their effort was not good enough.