Equity, NCPB suffer defeats in EA Handball championship

Equity Bank’s title prospects in the ongoing East Africa Handball Championships suffered a severe dent on Tuesday after going down 33-28 to Uganda prisons at Nyayo Stadium, to record their second loss on the bounce.

Despite Equity securing a tight lead in the first half (18–14), the bankers were overpowered by Prisons' determination, inspired by talisman Gilbert Ojok's 10 goals.

Equity Bank had a superb first-half start with a strong defense anchoring their dominance, but seemed to run out of gas in the second half of the game.

The misery was compounded by their two players being given matching orders in the second-half.

Seven minutes before the final whistle, Kenya attempted a comeback but their efforts were thwarted by a resolute Prisons rearguard as the visitors held out for the crucial win.

While appreciating their win, Prisons head coach George Odong rallied his charges to up their pace if they were to go all the way in the tournament.

“I must acknowledge that our opponents were tough; they have energy and power and are very swift. Again, the pattern of playing handball in Kenya is quite different from ours.”

Equity Bank skipper Kevin Onunga has encouraged his teammates to seal a knockout berth by winning their remaining two matches.

“We are still hopeful; we can win our remaining matches. We have learned the spirit of resilience from our opponents.

“As a team, we will do a match review after watching the afternoon matches and see what we need to work on.”

Equity will face Rwanda Police on Wednesday before completing their group stage adventure with a high-octane clash against GSU on Thursday.

In another thrilling afternoon Tuesday match, reigning champions National Cereals Produce Board (NCPB) lost 33-31) against Uganda's UPDF.