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Th3 Swish’s Cynthia Gbihi and Terencill Lihanda of Strathmore Swords in action during a Kenya Basketball Women Premier League match at the Nyayo Gymnasium, Nyayo National Stadium. Swish face KPA today in Mombasa. [Jonah Onyango, Standard]
The hunt for the 2026 Kenya Basketball Federation (KBF) Women’s Premier League title hit fever pitch today when the last four sides clash in three of the best-of-five semi-final play-offs in Mombasa and Nairobi.
Reigning champions Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) will be looking to seal a final play-offs slot when they welcome Th3 Swish Basketball Club at Makande Gymnasium.
The Dockers, who are looking to successfully defend the title, go into this evening’s duel with the aim of completing a clean sweep against Th3 Swish following the 2-0 lead after game one and two victories in Nairobi.
KPA had a great midweek outing at the Nyayo Gymnasium, totally outplaying the semi-final first-timers to take a two-game advantage.
The Dockers were too good for Th3 Swish as they won game one 80-40, then registered a 62-49 game two win on Thursday night.
They will be looking to exert their dominance over the upcoming side that has already exceeded expectations by making it to the semi-finals.
Despite losing game two, the Ariel Okal-coached side showed improvement by restricting KPA and narrowing down the points difference.
While they had lost game one by a 40-point margin, they played better to reduce the points to 13 only. The Swish’s Cynthia Gbhi was impressive in game two as she knocked down a match-high 19 points, one more than KPA’s lead scorer Djelika Tounkara.
KPA coach Samuel Ochola said that they aim to avoid game four by sealing the final slot today so they can have time to recover ahead of the final.
“The biggest challenge we have had is the congested fixture but we are managing. Our target is to win our third game so that we can have time to recover and prepare for the final series,” Ochola said.
The stakes will be high at Nyayo Gymnasium when Equity Hawks battle it out with Stanbic Aces. The two sides are currently tied 1-1 after Hawks, who had lost game one 60-66, bounced back to thrash Aces 70-37 and revive their hopes of sealing a final spot.
Equity, who relinquished their crown last season after bowing out in the last four, will be out to win and enhance their chances of remaining in the title race.
On Thursday night, Equity had a well-rounded performance from their key players, with Betty Kananu leading the scores with 13 points. Mercy Wanyama scored 11 while Lervine Owiti and Jemimah Knight sank 10 each. Maureen Bosibori led Stanbic Aces with 12 points and was the only player from the side to register a double-digit score.
The race for a Premier League promotion will begin today in the Women’s Division One round of 16 best-of-three series at United States International University of Africa (USIU-A).
Men’s Division Two play-off matches will also be played at different venues.
sports@standardmedia.co.ke
Today’s Fixtures:
KPA v Th3 Swish (6 pm)
Equity Hawks v Stanbic Aces (6 pm)
Division One (Women)
ANU Panthers v KU Oryx (9am)
Zetech Dev v Footprints (10:30 am)
Malaikas v NYS (12:30pm)
Mombasa City Queens v Strathmore (2 pm)