Kenya to have her moment of glory as KPA, Equity face off in FIBA Zone V final

Kenya will have her moment in the sun tonight when the 2021 FIBA Zone V Basketball Championship comes to an end at the National Indoor Arena  in Tanzanian capital Dar es Saalam.

On stage, fighting for the top honours are Kenya’s giants Kenya Ports Authority facing the steely resolve of Equity Bank.

Kenya has in the past tried her best to bag the regional crown but coming up short in every attempt, at least in two calendars years.

However, this year, after four group matches, played on round robin it seems the stars have aligned to bequeath Kenya what should be her right standing amongst her peers – the FIBA Zone Five women basketball crown.

To get to this stage, last night KPA hammered Gladiators of Burundi 83-40 while Equity defeated Don Bosco of Tanzania 76-36 thereby earning tickets for tonight’s epic duel.

In their victory, KPA won the first quarter 28-10 before drawing the second quarter 20-20. After the break they got more energised winning the third and fourth quarters 21-02 and 14-08 respectively.

Clare Lamunu was in a class of her own scoring 26 points for the dockers with Betty Kalanga scoring 11. Else Niyomkuru scored nine for the Burundians.

 On the other hand Equity were not to be left behind dominating all the quarters 22-10, 22-06, 16-08 and 16-12, with sheer class.

Cynthia Maweru and Betty Kananu scored 11 and 10 points respectively while Noela Uwandomeno scored 12 points for the Tanzanians.

Prior to getting to tonight’s final, Equity and KPA had enjoyed a three-year dominance which came to a screeching halt in 2019 after they failed to retain their title.

 KPA had in fact triumphed in 2016 and 2017, while Equity Bank Hawks dethroned them in 2018.

In 2019, the last time the event was held Equity came out a disappointing fourth after losing to JKL of Uganda in the semis. It did not get any better for the bankers from Kenya as they lost to APR of Rwanda in the third- place playoffs.

KPA on the other hand earned a ticket as one of the two teams which represented Zone Five at the Africa Women Championship which was held in Madagascar by virtue of their runners-up slot in the regional tourney behind newly crowned champions JKL but they failed to honour the competition in what was attributed to financial constraints.

The championship failed to take place in 2020 due to the pandemic that halted sporting events in the whole world.

That aside, tonight, ladies and gentlemen grab your seats and watch Kenyan’s best women basketball clubs fight for regional glory!