NAIROBI, Kenya, Apr 3 – Kenya Ports Authority Women’s basketball team head coach Anthony Ojukwu has vowed that the league title is theirs to lose, and says the defending champions are clear in their ambition to retain their crown.
The dockers had a successful weekend tour of the city, winning both their matches, scoring over 70 points and restricting their opponents to scores of below 20.
They thrashed Kenyatta University’s Oryx 79-16 on Saturday, then went on to offer a similar beating to Storms, beating them 72-15.
“Well, not really as much as we would have wanted but a good win still. I am happy for the team. We are coming from a long lay-off and the conditioning and fitness is picking up well. We are happy with the execution and everything is falling in well,” Ojukwu told Capital Sports.
Ojukwu is building what is akin to a ‘super team’ after signing Nigerian Ifunaya Okoro who starred for them during the FIBA Afrobasket.
They have also signed point guard Hilda Ndegwa from arch rivals Equity Hawks.
The team has also been boosted with the return of Hilda Indasi who had been away since the Commonwealth Games doing a coaching course in Germany.
“Yes, they have come in at the right time as we head to the play-offs and they will be a very key addition to the team. They are good players with huge international experience. But, at KPA, it is never about an individual player but the team. They also have to work hard to prove they deserve to play,” said the tactician.
The arrival of the three adds to what is already a strong back court base for the dockers as they have national team players Natalie Akinyi and Jemimah Omondi.
Despite the departure of Medina Okot who joined Zetech, KPA have shown they are still the best by a mile in the local league.
Against Kenyatta University, Omondi was the star of the show, amassing a game high 19 points, even more than the Oryx had entirely as a team.
Okoro added on 16 points and seven rebounds while Natalie had 13 points and five rebounds.
In Sunday afternoon’s tie against Storms, KPA were in emphatic form once again, with Indasi playing her first game since returning.
The former national team captain had 10 points while Okoro had a game high 15. Mimah and Natalie had five each in a game that Ojukwu hugely rotated to ensure all his players had good game time.
The dockers were emphatic from the start and led 27-7 at the end of the first quarter with Rita Aluoch being especially effective on both boards, using her height and physicality well.
They were 38-12 at halftime as Storms hugely struggled, and they scored 24 against Storms’ three in the third quarter.
In a slow last quarter, they scored 10 while the home side didn’t have a single basket as the gulf in class was clearly shown.
KPA Will next face off with second placed Equity Hawks this weekend, in a top of the table clash, but it is not giving Ojukwu any sleepless nights.
“It is a game just like any other and we will prepare just the way we prepare for other matches. Of course there will be a lot of noise on social media and from fans but for us, we just focus on what we need to do on the floor and deliver,” added the tactician.
