Nairobi Water Queens have one hand on the trophy

NCPB's Sarah Mabonga in action during the Kenya Handball League match against KU at the Nyayo National Stadium, October 11, 2021. [Jonah Onyango, Standard]

Defending champions Nairobi Water Queens picked their second win of the tournament against Tanzania’s Ngome 28-16 at the ongoing East and Central Africa Handball Federation Senior Championships.

The win inches them closer to retaining the regional title. They made it two wins after thumping Jeshi La Kujenga Taifa (JKT) 42-20 in their opening match. The winners were on fire from the opening whistle as they ran rings around their opponents for a 15-9 lead at the break.

Gladys Chilo, Brenda Musambai, Michelle Oyoo, Mercy Karola and Valerie Adhiambo were top scorers with six, five, four and three goals respectively for the Kenyan side while Ngome's Haitham Juma led with seven goals for the losers.

On Thursday, it will be an all Kenyan affair when Nairobi Water Queens take on arch-rivals National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) in a tough tie. The Queens, who were gunning for their eighth title since bagging the first one in 2011 in Tanzania, stood as hot favourites.

NCPB coach Edna Kasandi said they hope for good results when to go up against the Kenyan champions, who beat them twice in the league.

"We are aware it's not going to be a walk in the park. We have planned to have a different approach from the one we used in the league," Kasandi said.

In men's group B showdown, Black Mamba suffered a 19-25 loss at the hands of reigning champions Rwanda Police despite beating Nyuki from Zanzibar 25-12 on Wednesday.

Black Mamba’s hope for a spot in semis remained in the hands of Rwanda Police, who were tipped to beat Nyuki in today’s crucial tie. Mamba’s coach Paul Ondara admitted having made mistakes in the match saying they will rectify it.

"We had a good game but a few mistakes led to the loss. We still have to wait for the results of the match between Nyuki and Rwanda Police to be certain of a semi-final slot. It is not a good place to be but considering Nyuki are not a bad side, anything can happen," said Ondara.

The Rwandese cops made it tough for the Black Mamba to navigate having topped the score sheet in both periods.

Brian Mumbo scored four goals while Morgan Juma and Christian George each netted three. The Rwandese scored 10 goals from Yves KayiJame and eight Viateur Rwama.

In another match, Rwanda's Kiziguro Secondary School drew 21-21 with Tanzania's JKT in their opening match. The Tanzanians recovered after trailing the schoolgirls 12-7 by mid-match. In men's group A, Ngome beat JKT 30-25 at Benjamin Mkapa Stadium.