Strathmore University Swords, United States International University of Africa (USIU-A) Flames and University of Nairobi (UoN) Dynamites won their respective Kenya Basketball Federation Women’s Premier League matches played at Nyayo Gymnasium yesterday.
However, as the women excelled their male counterparts Strathmore Blades, USIU-A Tigers and UoN Terror are caught up in a serious fight for survival as they risk being demoted to the lower tier.
The trio are stuck in the relegation zone in the Men’s Premier League standings alongside National Bank of Kenya (NBK) Phoenix with the two that end the regular season at the bottom set to drop to the Men’s Division One League.
Yesterday, Swords beat Safe Spaces 51-44 to chalk their 12th win of the season and remaining on course to sealing a play-offs slot. Unlike Blades, Swords have had a good season that has seen them register impressive wins including their first leg win against defending champions Equity Bank Hawks.
A good first half display won Sword the match against Safe Spaces who are also still not safe from relegation.
Swords took a 32-20 half-time lead which they extended to 45-29 by the end of the third quarter making it impossible for Safe Spaces to recover in spite of their dominance in the final period which they won 15-6.
USIU-A Flames on the other hand thrashed winless Storms 71-47 to consolidate their spot in the top five. The 2015 champions who are also the only varsity side to have won the league title are strong contenders for this season’s trophy.
Dynamites revived their hopes of securing a play-offs slot with a 54-34 victory against Eldonets Ladies. The win ensured that Dynamites maintained eighth place on the standings while Eldonets remained in the fight against relegation.
The going got tougher for bottom placed Men’s Premier League teams as they suffered losses that pushed them closer to demotion. Strathmore University Blades, Uon Terror and NBK Phoenix all dropped points that they so needed to enhance their chances of maintaining their spots in the top tier.
Blades lost to former champions Ulinzi Warriors 71-59 despite a promising start to the game that saw them win the first quarter 19-11. A poor show in the second quarter allowed the soldiers to score 22 points against Blades’ 13 to take a 33-32 lead.
The third quarter was evenly contested with the students taking it 14-13 for a 46-46 score going into the final period.
However, it was the fourth quarter that Blades blundered in defence letting Warriors score at will with no matching on their end to save the game. The soldiers capitalised on the students’ complacency to score 25 points against 13 and bag their 13th victory.
Terror also squandered a good start against Stanbic Shields to slam to their 17th defeat after going down 83-93. Terror’s dismal show in the second and third quarters was their major undoing for they had taken a 21-15 first quarter lead. NBK Phoenix on the other hand lost 71-80 to former champions Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) in Mombasa.