Equity Hawks claw Tanzania’s Vijana Queens in Africa League Zone Five classification match

Kenya women basketball defending champions, Equity Hawks, crashed Vijana Queens of Tanzania 92-46 in the classification match for the 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th positioning in the Women Basketball League Africa (WBLA) previously known as Africa Women Basketball League (AWBL) Zone Five Qualifiers at the Amaan Indoor Arena, Tanzania on Friday.

The Bankers will now play for the 5th place playoff on Saturday against JKL Lady of Uganda, while Vijana Queens will tackle Gladiators of Burundi for the 7th place playoff after the former lost 77-45 to the Ugandan side.

Equity, who finished sixth at the continental showpiece last year, took an eight-point lead in the opening quarter, enroute to a 77-45 victory against the Tanzania side.

The Benson Oluoch-coached side lost the second quarter 11-07 before winning third and fourth quarters 29-08 and 35-14 respectively for the convincing victory.

New signing, Michele Sokoudjou Fotsing, was in a class of her own, scoring a game-high 18 points.

Six other players managed double digits including Lavin Auma Owiti who was the second-best team scorer with 12 points, as Jemimah Omondi added 11 points.

Another new signing, Judith Edward Pantaleo, together with Rita Aluoch Onyango, Rachael Odhiambo and captain Melissa Otieno added 10 points each.

On their side, defending Zone Five champions, Kenya Ports Authority (KPA), are having a huge task as they face reigning continental champions, Al Ahly Sporting Club of Egypt in the semi-final, while another semis clash will see two Rwandans – REG and APR – face each other.