Despite clinching the final spot in the Kenya National Basketball Women’s Premier League with a 3-2 series win over Zetech Sparks, Equity Hawks’ head coach Benson Oluoch acknowledged that his team had a challenging start in the decisive Game Five at the Nyayo Gymnasium on Sunday.
The Hawks dominated the second half, ultimately defeating the Sparks 61-46.
“It was all about trying to understand what your opponents have, and the guys on the floor maybe they didn’t warm up well, but as the game progressed, we came back strongly,” stated Oluoch. “We were down ten points, and the girls showed a lot of resilience to go up by another ten points.”
On the other hand, Zetech Sparks’ head coach Maurice Obilo attributed their failure to qualify for the final to fatigue and the lack of key players.
“Since I had only eight players, I think fatigue affected us a lot going into the third quarter, and that’s why we struggled along the way. Otherwise, we are good, and I am proud of them and very happy that they are stepping up,” Obilo noted.
He also mentioned that not representing the country in the FIBA Zone Five Championship at the beginning of the season affected the team’s performance, due to communication issues that led to a lack of financing.
“We didn’t communicate at the right time; that’s why we didn’t get the finance, but at the same time, it deflected them at the beginning of the season. This time around, they knew if they qualify, they would have gone to the championship, but that is water under the bridge right now,” he stated.
Looking ahead, Obilo is optimistic about the upcoming season and plans to strengthen the team by adding at least four more players.
Equity Hawks will face defending champions Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) in the final, starting next weekend. The Dockers advanced to the final after a 3-0 sweep over Strathmore Swords in the other semi-final playoff.
In the men’s premier league, defending champions KPA will meet the unbeaten Nairobi City Thunder after both sides secured their spots in the final with 3-0 wins against Strathmore Blades and Equity Dumas, respectively. KPA will host Thunder for the first two games of the five-game series final in Mombasa this coming weekend.
Weekend Results:
Friday, July 5 – Nyayo Gymnasium, Nairobi
- Equity Hawks 49-61 Zetech Sparks – WP – G3
- City Thunder 77-54 Equity Dumas – MP – G3
Saturday, July 6 – Nyayo Gymnasium, Nairobi
- Equity Hawks 56-33 Zetech Sparks – WP – G4
Makande Gymnasium, Mombasa
- KPA 84-45 Strathmore Swords – WP – G3
- KPA 72-64 Strathmore Blades – MP – G3
Sunday, July 7 – Nyayo Gymnasium, Nairobi
- Equity Hawks 61-46 Zetech Sparks – WP – G5
