Balozi has Warriors purring and even the sight of sharp Blades is no worry

Kenya Basketball Federation Men’s Premier League defending champions Ulinzi Warriors tactician William Balozi has hailed his charges for making the cut to the semifinals of the 2022 playoffs following their 2-1 conquest of Kisumu Lakeside.

Warriors endured a scare in game one going down 73-61 before recovering to level the series in game two and with a 77-57 win and eventually booked a semifinals berth after an 86-67 blow-out in game three.

Balozi, who attributed their loss in game one to scorching heat, feels their comeback against a determined Kisumu Lakeside side proved their mettle as the defending champions, and he expects his side to get better as the playoffs wear on.

“Well, we lost game one because it was played in an outdoor court, which hugely inconvenienced us.

“In game two, it was all about us falling back on our experience that has carried us through trying situations throughout this season.

“We expressed ourselves better in terms of defending, work rate and shooting from both midrange and beyond the arc,” he explained.

Balozi is not dismayed by the prospect of taking on a young Strathmore Blades that swept Morans skipper Griffin Ligare’s Nairobi City Thunder 2-0 to qualify for this season’s semifinals.

“We know they are a good side that is playing great basketball at the moment. They are a blend of youth and experience but we know that we can count on our assets to prevail.”

When asked whom he would like to face in the finals should be overcome Blades, Balozi highlighted their regular season impressive exploits against both sides as an indicator of their readiness to tackle any of them.

“We won both games; home and away; against KPA and Equity, which means we are ready to take them in case we qualify for the finals.

“At the moment our focus is on the clash against Blades which we must win to make it to the finals.”

The semifinals matches will tip-off on Saturday afternoon.

Men

Ulinzi Warriors vs Strathmore Blades

KPA vs Equity Dumas

Storms vs KPA

Equity Hawks vs Zetech University