NAIROBI, Kenya, Jul 12 – The Equity Hawks will look to make the most of their home-court advantage this weekend when they take on defending champions Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) in the final of the Kenya Basketball Federation women’s Premier League.
The bankers host game one and two at the Nyayo National Gymnasium on Saturday and Sunday, before they travel down to Mombasa for the remaining three games.
Head coach Ben Oluoch says it would be crucial for his girls to win both home matches, and travel to Mombasa needing only just one win to reclaim the crown.
“Well, half of the KPA players are from Nairobi so probably there won’t be much of an advantage. But on paper, we are on home court and the aim is to win these two games. It will give us a lot of confidence heading to Mombasa,” Oluoch told Capital Sport.
Equity pulled through to the final after beating Zetech Hawks 3-2 in the semis, rising from a 2-1 deficit two win games four and five to make amends for last season when they were swept by the University girls.
Coach Oluoch says they take lots of lessons from the semis run against Zetech, and says the two defeats they suffered were a wake-up call.
Girls laxed in Zetech game
“The Zetech series should not have stretched to five games. We lost game three because the girls laxed a but when they found out that Madina (Okot) was not there. They though the game would be easy and Zetech really showed us that they can fight,” the coach says.
He adds; “In game four and five we needed to make some amends and play with some seriousness and we saw the results. We saw how well we can play and that gives us a bit of confidence heading into the final.”
The bankers have lost both home and away to KPA in the regular season, but Oluoch has promised they will not allow another easy defeat within their strides. He has called on his players to leave their best on the court for victory.
“The KPA game will be much about aggression and attitude. When we lost (in the regular season) it was not about technical issues but just about matching their intensity,” the former Rwanda-based coach said.
He added; “They are a very experienced team with veterans and they know how to win. Our team is a mix of both veterans and young blood and we should find a way to get victory over them.”
Familiar faces facing off
There will be several familiar faces coming up against each other. On the Equity end, Rita Onyango, Valerie Kemunto and Jemimah Omondi are immediate former Equity players.
Rita and Omondi joined at the beginning of the season, while Kemunto joined midway through the campaign after just half a season in Mombasa. Equity captain Betty Kananu is also a former KPA player.
On the KPA end, small forward Grace Irebu played for Equity at the Africa Club Championships earlier in the year, while Annerose Mandela is also an ex Equity player, and was on the other end when the two sides last met in a final.
This is coach Oluoch’s first season with Equity having moved from Rwanda, and he has already ensured an improvement by taking them to the final.
“It is a first season for me and also some of the players here so we are quite happy with what we have achieved so far, but the work is not done yet,” noted the coach.
Game one will be played Saturday at 6pm while game two will be played Sunday 4pm.
