Police sail through: Champs stifle Strathmore University in regional handball tourney

Strathmore University's Ken Ndung'u in their match against Uganda Prisons during the East and Central Africa Handball Federation games at Nyayo National Stadium. Photo/Jonah Onyango.

Champions Police from Democratic Republic Congo (DRC) yesterday overwhelmed Strathmore University 33-13 in the ongoing East and Central Africa Club championship at Nyayo National Stadium.

The University side's efforts to salvage a draw was futile as Police kept firing on all cylinders to deny the home team a chance to move forward.

Strathmore head coach Peter Mwathi said the team had a challenge as players were not performing as expected.

"Handball is a physical and contact game. Our players have not put their best in this championship and we need to win two of our remaining matches for us to be in a good position in the championship.

"Players need to step up and push themselves to deliver. We have played well in the league recording six wins out of eight matches," said the tactician.

Police, who are the defending champions in the regional championship, have won all their three matches topping group A with six points.

The Congolese side will play against University of Nairobi (UoN) in their last preliminary match.

Speaking to FevePitch after the match, Police head coach Tshitenda Mundu said good coordination in his team has contributed to positive results.

"Strathmore players did not coordinate well. We used that opportunity to score and we look forward to finish on a high in our last match," said the coach.

Mundu said the team has trained together for a long time thus the good results.

As expected, the defending champions started the match on a high note registering 6-2 lead in the first quarter.

As the match went on, the home looked disorganized and committed unnecessary fouls and conceding five penalties before the breather.

Police also used fast breaks to counter their opponents recording 17-8 lead at first half.

On resumption, Police came in stronger as they intensified attacks to extend their lead to 22-10 in the third quarter.

On the other hand, Strathmore reorganized but was not able to tame their much experienced opponents.

The varsity side only managed to score five goals in the second half with Calestus Okoya netting four while Jefferson Oketch managed only two.

Namal Mlakze emerged the top scorer for Police with eight goals with Kyunga Kiesa netting five.

In another entertaining match played at the same venue, late on Monday, Black Mamba laboured to defeat National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) 29-28 while Ulinzi fought to earn their second triumph, 35-33 win over Police of Rwanda.

In the women's category, NCPB earned Ulinzi their second defeat with 25-21 in another encounter.

The military side will take on wounded NCPB today with Nairobi Water Queens seeking to extend their dominance when they entertain NCPB at the same venue.