NAIROBI (Kenya) - Following their victories against Stein Warriors and Gambela City respectively, last year's East Africa Basketball Championship Cup (EABCC) bronze medalists, Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) and Umoja Basketball, have secured their places in the semi-finals.
KPA recovered from a slow start to beat a resilient Stein side 92–73, before Umoja secured the first century victory of the second edition with a 105–64 win against the Ethiopian side with the biggest fanbase in the championship.
Here's a look back to Wednesday's event in Nairobi.
KPA trio lead comeback win over Stein
Mombasa-based KPA's shooting from range is proving vital for the side in the competition, a 17-of-44 conversion rate from range against Tanzania's Stein was enough to silence the nosy neighbours.
In a game where Bariki Kilimba's side dominated 14–4 in the opening five minutes and went on to win the quarter 18–10, the Dockers staged a comeback in the second quarter. They shut down Stein while going on a 14-point run to take the lead for the first time at 24–22.
However, rushed plays and some avoidable turnovers from KPA gave their opponents the chance to reclaim the lead, and they went on to lead 37–34 at half-time.
The second half was a different ball game. KPA came out of the locker room guns blazing to rally for a 19–5 run that put the match beyond Stein's reach just five minutes in. Sisco George Ngaiza, embodying the never-say-die Stein spirit, kept fighting, finishing with 18 points.
A 34-19, and 24-17 final half sealed the deal for Sammy Kiki's men who will now hope to deny Les Hippos,ol for a chance to play for the title.
"We started off badly as we haven't been training together as a unit but as professional we came out and fought for a win. After the opening loss we worked on our teamwork and communication. We also had to trust each other as this is a new unit put together and we had to trust our friends to make the right plays,"KPA forward Ken Wachira told FIBA.basketball.
With three three-pointers in each half, Wachira led KPA's pursuit of a place in the semi-finals, combining with the in-form Salim Kisilu and Eugene Adera to ensure that all three Kenyan teams reached the Last Four. Kisilu achieved another double-double, shooting 5-of-13 from behind the arc to finish with 19 points — one more than Adera.
He also grabbed 11 rebounds, only one of which was on offence, and marshalled the team's defence alongside the Kenya Morans' duo of Bramwel Mwombe and Tom Wamukota, who grabbed nine and eight rebounds respectively.
"We had to play a quarter-final, which gave us more time to gel than the teams who were already in the semi-finals. I think we are now in a better position to handle our next opponents and win. We will, however, take it one possession at a time. The key for us will be defensive intensity, as that is what is winning us games," Wachira continued.
Meanwhile, Lerry Rostand Essono Mvé of Gabon International, who is making his debut in Zone Five basketball, believes that Stein have learnt valuable lessons that will mould the team into title contenders in the coming seasons.
"It was a good experience, given this was the first time for the team to play in an international tournament. We have learned from this as international basketball is more tough, tactical, one has to understand what they are doing on the court.
Against KPA, we struggled to contain their three points. They are a good side that understands basketball and for a young team like ours they were unguardable.
Now we have to figure out how to get back on the court and work on our game, hoping to come back for next year's tournament bigger and better," Gabon International , who was playing Zone Five basketball for the first time, told FIBA.basketball.
Stein now play Gambela City in the fifth place match.
Umoja's second quarter showmanship humbles Gambela to advance
Star-studded Umoja Basketball has secured a place in the semi-finals following a 105-64 victory over Gambela City, who were the crowd's darlings.
It was Gambela City's third consecutive loss.
This sets up an eagerly awaited clash with Ulinzi Warriors, which will be more than just a Kenyan derby, given the long-standing rivalry between the two teams.
An early timeout was called by Umoja after a 9-0 run by the visitors, as the opening day script against Les Hippos of Burundi was repeating itself and adjustments had to be made quickly.
In response to coach Isaac Munywoki's call, Faheem Juma made three consecutive three-point shots to kickstart their comeback. Bekam Okello and Koang Chuol continued to fight hard, but Ariel Ortega's three-pointer towards the end of the period kept Umoja ahead, with the score at 22-20.
Umoja picked up three fouls in quick succession at the start of the second quarter, but remained solid to extend their lead to 31-20 after four minutes.
Despite their height advantage, Gambela found it difficult to penetrate the paint offensively and were punished by Umoja's lethal shooting trio of Juma, Victor Bosire and Griffin Ligare, who extended the lead to 62-32 at halftime. A 15–14 third quarter kept Umoja safe, and a final stanza of 28–18 won the game for Munywoki's team.
"We had a slow start as they were playing 3-2 and they have the wingspan advantage. We had to make adjustments and shoot them out of the zone defence, which worked really well, enabling us to score 62 points. Our game plan worked, because in the second half they switched to man-to-man defence, and we were able to get to the paint more and win," said Ortega.
FIBA