Basketball: Ulinzi Warriors sail past Lakeside to make KBF semifinals

Erick Mutoro of Ulinzi (Black) and Denis Wekesa of Lakeside during a premier league match in Kisumu on October 26th 2019. (Collins Oduor, Standard)

Former Kenya Basketball Federation (KBF) men’s Premier League champions Ulinzi Warriors saw off Lakeside to advance to semi-final play-offs.

Contesting in the best-of-three format, Warriors thrashed Lakeside 94-63 to seal a last four slot with a 2-0 win.

The soldiers had squeezed a slim 80-78 win over Lakeside way in Kisumu in their first game.

The evergreen Eric Mutoro starred for Ulinzi with 29 points with James Mwangi adding 20 while Justus Okutoyi top scored for Lakeside with 19.

Ulinzi will wait to know who they meet in the semis between defending champions Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) and Strathmore University Blades who will face off in the quarters.

Coach William Balozi said the semis will be a tough test.

“So far, so good but there are areas we still need to polish ahead of the semis. It will be a tough task because both KPA and Strathmore are strong sides,” Balozi said.

Unlike their first game where they fought to the final buzzer, Ulinzi had a good day in office dominating from the onset.

Keen to complete the job by the end of the second game, Warriors made their intentions known taking a 20-13 lead by the break of the first quarter.

They would extend their lead to 46-23 at the breather narrowing Lakeside’s chances of bouncing back. 

Lakeside were more composed in the second half.