KPA bask in glory as women team clinch semis playoffs berth

Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) basketball team sailed through to the semis of the Kenya Basketball Federation (KBF) women Premier League playoffs after crushing Eagle Wings 79-31  in the Game Two of the quarter final playoffs at the Nyayo Gymnasium in Nairobi on Sunday.

The Dockers had won Game One on Saturday 78-43 and their Sunday’s win took them direct to the semis where they will face Storms whom they also faced in the last year’s semis.

In their Game Two staged on Sunday, KPA took charge of all the quarters  starting with a 13-11 victory  before a 25-08 win in the second quarter.

In the third quarter the Eagles could not make a single attempt to fly after falling 19-0 to the Dockers who winded it up with 22-12.

“I am happy with my team’s performance, it’s a step towards our goals this season, but we expect a tough match in the semis since Storms are tougher opponent compared to Eagle Wings,” KPA head coach Mike Opel said.

On her part, KPA captain Brenda Angeshi said that they are looking forward to the semis, adding that they expect a good match from Storms.

On Saturday, Storms booked their place in the semis after outclassing Strathmore 66-62 in Game Three after the two side had won one game each in –  Game One and Game Two.

At the same time, KPA men team have one foot into the semis after winning Game One against their long-time rivals Blades of Strathmore University 86-73 at the same venue.

The two sides started off with a draw of 18-18 in the first quarter before KPA dominated the second, third and fourth quarters with wins of 22-17, 21-17 and 25-21 respectively, their hit man Ken Wachira emerging top scorer with 18 points.

“We started the game badly but we were able to come out strong in the third and fourth quarters and I believe when we host them for game two we will be able to finish what we started here in Nairobi,” KPA head coach Sammy Kiki said.

On his side KPA assistant head coach Samuel Ocholla was extremely happy for his boys’ performance.

“We played really well and according to the game plan, as expected, it was a tough game but I thank the players for sticking to our game plan. We now focus on Game Two at our home court and we hope to kill off the series and progress to the semis,”Ocholla said.

Weekend Results

Storms 66-62 Strathmore (women)

KPA 78-43 Eagle Wings (women)

KPA 79-31 Eagle Wings (Women)

Blades 78-86 KPA (Men)