Warriors strike the Thunder, sail to playoff final

Warriors strike the Thunder, sail to playoff final

Ulinzi Warriors men basketball team have qualified for finals for the first time in two years after giving Thunder a shock of their lifetime coming from two games down to win three games in semi finals playoffs.

The Soldiers smashed Thunder 85-80 in Game Five of the semis in a hard fought match played under floodlights at Nyayo Gymnasium on Monday evening in Nairobi.

Ulinzi who had lost Game One and Two 80-70, and 70-57 respectively in the previous weekend rose to the occasion and showed why soldiers never give up; fighting to the last man in Game Three, Four and Five played on Saturday, Sunday and Monday respectively.

In Game Three on Saturday, Ulinzi hammered Thunder 93-91 before a convincing win of 98-65 on Sunday in Game Four and finally claiming an 85-80 win that took them to finals.

Ulinzi who not only qualified for the finals but also the Zone Five championship started strongly in first quarter winning 29-19. Things looked more complicated in second and third quarter for the soldiers losing 11-20 and 23-25 respectively.

However in the last quarter, the Warriors showcased their pedigree humiliating Thunder 22-16 o cruise to the finals.

“We thank God for this far He has brought us. Indeed we are faithful to Him,”Ulinzi captain William Otieno told Citizen Digital.

The soldiers now have a date with defending champions Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) in final playoffs scheduled in a fortnight.

On his side, Thunder head coach Sadat Gaya conceded defeat and congratulated Ulinzi for the win.

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basketball Ulinzi Warriors Thunder Play-offs final

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