Year-in-Review: KPA ladies flattered to deceive after relinquishing national, regional titles

2024 was a season to forget for Kenya National Basketball League (KNBL) ladies topflight league giants Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) after they relinquished the Premier League and FIBA Zone Five titles following an uninspiring season.

Their poor show in continental basketball saw them miss out on Women Basketball League Africa (WBLA) previously known as Africa Women Basketball League (AWBL).

The regional championship which took place in Amaan Indoor Arena, Tanzania saw them in fourth while their counterparts, Equity Hawks, finished fifth.

Their disappointing result came on the wake of them finishing second in the inaugural WBLA but failed to hit it off against Rwanda’s APR, going down 85-51 while compatriots Equity Bank Hawks came up clutch to narrowly edge out Uganda's JKL Lady Dolphins thanks to a 59-56 at the final buzzer to finish fifth.

KPA head coach Anthony Ojukwu cited stiff competition as the catalyst for their poor outing, highlighting it as one of the major areas they will focus on next year.

“The competition has changed, games have become hard and every team just like KPA has been doing well; they have studied us, recruited well because the market has changed.

“For you to win you need to prepare well, be early in the camp, have enough practice and look for formidable players for you to win,” he noted.

Ojukwu backed his side to bounce from a difficult year to reclaim their groove.

“As KPA we will go back to the market looking for good players to boost the squad so that we can be able to go back to our winning ways.

“I know it will be difficult and hard for everyone because each and every team will be preparing for it.

“As coaches and management, we need to change how we work things out and we hope to do well next season,” he added.

Locally they failed to defend their crown losing it 3-2 to bitter rivals Equity Hawks in the final series.

Their setback saw them miss out on a three-peat have won the league in back-to-back seasons.

They suffered a 76-74 loss in Game Five as Hawks completed a famous 3-2 success to reclaim the crown, they last won in 2021.

Hawks, having dominated Game One and Game Two on their home court in Nairobi, faced a resilient KPA team that had fought back to claim victories in Games Three and Four in their backyard in Makande, Mombasa.

The bankers maintained their composure in game five of the series, holding on to secure the narrow 76-74 to claim the long-awaited title.

“We lost, yes, but to me it’s a learning process because as you could see some of the Equity players were our players and after transfer they went to help them win the league.

“We are preparing ourselves to do better this season and reclaim back the trophy we lost,” said Ojukwu reacting to their season anti-climax.

As a response to their disconsolate season, the dockers recruited heavily in the off season, roping in four players; Grace Irebu, Alima Dibiou, Cynthia Mawero and Shantel Kiyobe as they eye to reclaim their gong this season.

They are riding on a 3-0 record after three matches this season against new comers Safe Spaces, UON Dynamites and Storms winning all.

National 3x3 women’s senior national team head coach Evelyn Kedogo has pointed out recruitment as a major factor that contributed to KPA’s dismissal performance in 2024.

“They needed to have scouted well, they looked like they were starting all over again yet they had experienced players.

“They did not do a proper background check on the players they added on their team. If you bring players from outside, they should be outstanding and that’s the difference between KPA and Nairobi City Thunder.”

Kedogo believes KPA can get back to their winning ways in the region if they can work on some areas including offering employment to players.

“KPA being a potential employer of very good players in this country and they have not done that, they should start revisiting their priorities and give players employment and I believe that will be key for them.

KPA and any other team that has such a platform should get that right; it’s all about scouting and while you scout other teams you need to scout your own team and then you will know who you need to fill in every position.”