Basketball in Africa

The reign of Buru Buru Girls in the Nairobi Secondary Schools Sports Association girls’ basketball abruptly came to an end on Saturday after they lost 31-53 to Langata High in a thrilling match at Hillcrest Secondary School.

Langata will now meet St. George’s, who overran St. Austin’s Academy 43-32 in the other semi-final.
Debutants Nairobi International School play St. Austin’s Academy in the boys’ final in what promises to be an entertaining match.

NIS convincingly defeated Jaffreys Academy 82-35, while St. Austin’s edged out regular compaigners Aquinas 83-66.

The boys’ hockey final will be between Nairobi School and Lenana in an old time rivalry.
Nairobi School beat Hillcrest Secondary 4-3 in penalty flicks after the teams battled to a barren draw in regulation and extra time.
Lenana cruised past a resurgent Pumwani 2-0 through goals by Kevin Kimani and Collins Mutai.

John Njoroge, the Lenana captain, predicts a tough final with their traditional rivals. “We are going for a win and the top spot,” he said.

Njoroge believes that Lenana’s strength lies in their team-work. It is the first time that the two teams will be meeting this season. Against a resurgent Pumwani, Lenana took time to settle before winning.
In the girls’ category, the dream match between Pangani and Hillcrest did not take place. The national champions were awarded a walkover a against Hillcrest Secondary. It means Pangani have not conceded a goal in the opening two rounds.

Provincial title

Angela Kerubo, the Pangani Girls’ captain, credits coach James Akweri for the fine run. Zanetta Musimbi is a pillar of strength in defence while top scorer Laura Gichau has had a good run.
“Sometimes, we wait too long to study the opponents,” she explained.
Hillcrest Secondary captain, Leona Leipold, is keen to retain the provincial title and qualify for the national championship in Embu next month. She added that the top four teams were competitive.
“We had a tough match today against St. George’s today. They are quite good at stopping and mobile,” Leipold said.

National team player, Dorsillah Agunda, who coaches Hillcrest Secondary, credits their good run to the top four to competing in three leagues - Nairobi Province, International Schools under British and American systems.

Quinter Anyango, the St. George’s captain is bubbling confidence as they enter the final phase. “It is tough at the top.

Obviously our best match to date was a barren draw against Hillcrest today. We consider it a win,” she said.