Purring Ochieng hails his sharp Blades after weekend heroics

Blades head coach Tonny Ochieng has hailed his boys for their latest repertoire in the men Kenya Basketball Federation League attributing the success to their exemplary attitude in training.

Blades were in rampant form at the weekend, beating newcomers World Hope 110-64 to claim a sweetened win at the USIU grounds, and Ochieng was more than thrilled.

“We’ve won and we’re happy for the victory despite the feel of it being like a training session .However, we aren’t going to let the win get into our heads as we have a much more tough game in our next fixture as we face KPA who are also unbeaten in their games. We hope to capitalize on our transitions and score maximum points during the early minutes of the game, “he added.

Blades impeccable performance at the weekend, was largely inspired by Darril Omondi who dropped a team high of 17 points while veteran point-guard Reuben Moraya enjoyed an equally fruitful afternoon with 10 points as the Blades ran riot with 26-14, 27-11, 28-18 and 29-21, scores in the first, second, third and fourth quarters respectively.

At the same time, USIU made the most of their home court by dismissing visiting lakeside 54-38 despite the losing team making a bright start. The lakeside gave the Tigers a run for their money in the first quarter after outwitting them 12-11 in a closely contested half.

Tigers however roared in the subsequent quarters outscoring the visitors 15-8, 13-7 and 14-11 to secure an overall a 54-38 victory. Ryan Otsimi led the students by dropping 17 points while Willis Ochieng was the only positive for the losing side after scoring 14 points.

However Sunday’s mouthwatering tie  pitting the students and the Dockers KPA was called off, under unclear circumstances. KPA have missed several of their matches this term and it remains unclear the trouble bedeviling the outfit, with speculation rife that the coast based side is undergoing lean financial time.

In the women’s matches, defending champions Equity Bank added more misery to newly promoted Footprints’ woes by whipping them 62-20. The team is winless from their last six encounters.  The bankers’ were quickest off the blocks courtesy of their fierce duo of Esther Butali and Linda Olando who dropped 11 and 7 points respectively.  However, the Prints found solace in their point guard Eve Chebet who scored a team high 10 points in their loss.

In the Division One, UoN Terror succumbed to a 58-25 drubbing in hands of African Nazarene University while Emyba dismissed KU Pirates 59-54.