Red-hot Ulinzi Warriors glide past Emyba

Equity Bank's Joshua Kisali (left) and Fredrick Odongo during KBF League match at Nyayo National Stadium on Saturday, April 6, 2019. [Jonah Onyango, Standard]

Former Kenya Basketball Federation (KBF) men’s Premier League champions Ulinzi Warriors intensified their hunt for a play-offs slot with victory at the weekend.

Ulinzi beat Emyba 88-62 to make it eight wins out of nine at Nyayo Gymnasium.

Eric Mutoro starred for the soldiers sinking 28 points to see his side, which was fresh from thrashing defending champions Kenya Ports Authority 92-54 in Mombasa the previous weekend, inch closer to booking the last eight slot.

James Mwangi and captain John Washika scored 18 and 17 points respectively for Ulinzi while Eugine Adera top-scored for promoted Emyba with 18.

Ulinzi, who are seeking to recapture the title that has eluded them for years ensured the match was won in the first half. They dominated Emyba from the begining taking the first quarter 26-14.

The soldiers would score 25 points against Emyba’s 10 in the second quarter to enjoy a comfortable 51-24 half-time lead. In the third quarter Emyba upped their game and fought to a 20-all score before taking the final period 18-17 but their second half effort was not good enough to save them from defeat.

Umoja’s poor run continued as they registered their seventh loss this season. They suffered doubled defeat at the weekend going down 45-65 to Thunder and 50-51 to Kenya College of Accountancy University (KCAU) students.

Against KCAU, Umoja controlled the first quarter as the students took longer to settle in the game. Umoja took a 14-10 lead going into the second period. The students were more composed in the evenly contested second quarter taking it 9-8, but to reduce the gap between them to three points as they trailed the opponents 19-22 at half-time.

A concentration lapse and errors in the third quarter would see the students dominate to score an impressive 20 against Umoja’s 11 to take a 39-33 lead. Umoja regained charge of the game in the fourth quarter scoring 17 points, but it was not good enough as the students snatched the victory with a half basket making the difference despite scoring 12.