Final Four decided as AWBL Qualifier nears conclusion

 

KIGALI (Rwanda) - This is it, the die is cast! Who makes the Africa Women Basketball League (AWBL) Zone Five qualifiers' Final to book a ticket to Egypt?  

After six days of battle, four teams remain standing and are set to clash on Friday, 3 November for a place in the Final.

Equity Bank Hawks play Rwanda Energy Group (REG) while Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) renews rivalry with JKL Lady Dolphins of Uganda in the two Semi-Finals. 

Equity win to storm semis

Equity Bank Hawks who topped Group A played Nile Legends from South Sudan in the Quarter-Finals. The Benson Oluoch’s charges dominated the paint with their bench power also coming to the fore, outscoring their opponents 52-26 and 42-11 in the two areas as they won the match 72-43. They were 25-19 on points from turnovers, 17-6 from fast breaks, and 8-10 for second chance points.

The bankers jumped to a quick start, racing to a 16-6 lead in the first quarter to send an early warning shot to the South Sudanese side. A second-quarter score of 21-6 saw the Kenyan side lead 37-12 at the interval.

The second half was closely fought for 20-15 and 15-15 but Nile's efforts for a comeback were too little too late to change the game in their favour.

Vallary Kemunto and Maryann Nyagaki led the scoring for the bankers with 15 and 12 respectively while pulling down three rebounds each. Betty Kananu pulled down 10 rebounds, the highest in this match for the Kenyans, adding 5 assists and 4 steals for the win.

Rhoda Nagitta, who has been consistent for the South Sudanese team, scored 19, collecting 7 rebounds and 4 steals to finish the match as the best performer for her side despite the loss.

KPA’s unbeaten run continues

In the second match of the day, KPA continued their unbeaten streak as they ran rings around Vijana Queens for a commanding 81-36 victory that continues to cement their ‘favourite’ tag.

The Antony Ojukwu-led dockers held nothing back from the get-go, going hard for a 23-7 lead after the first ten minutes. There was no stopping the Kenyan champions as they played for a 26-11 second quarter to carry a 31-point advantage into the halftime break. The second half quarters were won 21-8 and 11-10 for the 45-point victory.

Rita Aluoch scored her first double-double of the championship with 10 points and 13 rebounds but it was Aminata Samassekou who went for the woman of the match performance with 16 points, 7 assists and 6 steals. Selina Okumu added 13 points, 8 rebounds and 3 steals in the win as Morgan Greene scored 11.

Tupenge Lazaro led the numbers for Vijana Queens with a double-double of 13 points and 11 rebounds as her side was dominated on all fronts by the ruthless Mombasa-based side.

JKL dominate for 75-58 win over APR

A first-half brilliant show from Mandy Juruni’s Lady Dolphins where they went ahead 29-13 and 23-08 in the opening two quarters proved the winner against a relentless APR side that came back for a second half rally of 18-16 and 19-07 to lose by 17 points.

APR, who had played an extremely difficult final group match against Equity on Wednesday losing 63-56, found themselves trailing by 31 points at halftime in the Quarter-Finals clash against the Ugandan champions.

With such an uphill task in their quest for a comeback in the second half, it was mission impossible for the Charles Mbazumutima-coached side, albeit not for lack of trying.

Brenda Ekone led the charge for Lady Dolphins scoring a game-high 22 as Ritah Imanishimwe added 18 to the tally. Hope Akello bagged a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds, adding 4 assists to the tally. Keren Becky matches Akello on rebounds and was a point shy of equaling the Ugandan MVP’s points as well. 

REG recover from slow start to qualify

Going up against a tough Gladiators side, REG overcame a slow start that had them trailing 19-13 in the first quarter to score 22-1 and head to the break with a 35-31 advantage. Second half quarters of 23-20 and 25-22 saw the Esperance Mukaneza-led side hold on for an 83-73 win that puts them in contention for a place in the final and subsequently in Egypt for the AWBL proper.

Gladiators’ Kamba Diakite became the first player to hit 30 points in this championship, adding 6 steals and a similar number of assists to her performance for the night but it was not enough to hand her side victory even with Nandy Linda adding 21 points.

Betty Kalanga and Rosine Mcomyiza combined for 48 points, with 24 each as Chelsea Jennings added 12 for the win. Mreille Nyota who has been crucial offensively for REG led the rebounding stats with 14, only scoring 5 in the match that saw Gladiators score 25 against REG’s 9 from turnovers.

Semi-Finals fixtures:

Equity Bank Hawks vs REG
KPA vs JKL Lady Dolphins

FIBA