National League champions Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) yesterday survived a second-half scare to beat Burundi’s Les Hippos 89-81 in overtime to book their ticket to the 2025 Women Basketball League Africa (WBLA) final to be held in Cairo, Egypt.
The dockers, who missed last year’s championship, are one of the teams from the Zone that will be battling for continental glory.
In Cairo, they will be out to improve on their 2023 silver medal finish. Zone Five will be represented by KPA, hosts Al Ahly Sporting Club and Rwandese sides Rwanda Energy Group (REG) and Armée Patriotique Rwandaise (APR).
Rwanda league champions REG and their rivals APR are the only sides that have beaten KPA in the qualifiers. APR subjected the dockers to their first loss in their last Group A match, with REG denying them one of the two automatic slots for finalists.
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KPA squandered a commanding 18-point lead to lose 71-81 to APR, then crumbled to a 45-62 defeat to REG in the semis. Les Hippos, on the other hand, lost to APR 61-82 in the other last four encounters.
With only one ticket to Cairo up for grabs, the stakes were very high for KPA, who knew too well that any slight mistake would mean that they would wait for another year to try and return to the African stage. They started well, dominating the first quarter to take a 22-6 lead at the first break. The second period was even more contested, with the Burundians fighting on to contain their hosts.
Their efforts paid off as they scored 22 points, the same as KPA, though the homegirls maintained their 16-point advantage going into the breather. Les Hippos returned stronger to dominate the second half and stage a shock comeback. They won the third quarter 18-15 and fought tooth and nail in the fourth quarter to score 29 points against KPA’s 16 and level the score 75-75 in regular time, forcing the winner to be decided in overtime.
The dockers recovered to score 14 points against the Hippos’ six to win the bronze medal.
Betty Kananu led the dockers with 17 points, with Alima Doumbia and Aminata Ly consolidating her effort with 15 and 14 points, respectively. Diedhiou Laurence Sabine knocked down a match-high 20, while Brittany Nichole Autry added 18. Debutants Zetech University Sparks lost 56-67 to Tanzania’s Fox Divas to finish sixth in the nine-team competition.
KPA’s triumph against the Hippos was more than just their victory but was sweet revenge for the Kenyans, for they avenged their male counterparts’ losses to the Burundians, who have denied them the Zone Five trophy.
Though Kenya has hosted the men’s East Africa Basketball Championship Cup (EABCC) in 2024 and 2025, they have suffered at the hands of the Burundians, who have won both editions. This year they crushed KPA men’s hopes of winning the title at the group stage and went ahead to beat Ulinzi Warriors 88-61 in the final to be crowned champions.