Hawk-eyed Equity plot title grab from solid KPA

Kenya Basketball Federation (KBF) women's league champions Equity Hawks are in familiar territory heading to this year's final as they face nemesis Kenya Ports Authority (KPA). 

Hawks faced a highly talented and young Zetech Sparks in the best-of-five semis that gave them a scare in the first match, winning by a close five-point margin. They easily won Game Two and three for a sweep. KPA had no competition in their semis as they easily swept Storms 3-0. 

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The two sides will be meeting in the best-of-five final for the fourth season running and while the bankers are out to defend the title, the Antony Ojukwu-led dockers are looking to dethrone Hawks and get their hands on the title, having missed out in the last two seasons. 

"I am proud of the ladies. Looking at the journey, we did not start well. Zetech were the better side in Game One and we picked that win out of the experience. In the succeeding two matches, we realized that they are strong in the first half and we had to slow down their transition early in the matches. 

I am particularly happy with our performance in Game Three as we were able to rotate the squad. Kindly one player did not feature and we won by more than ten points. This points to a good depth," offered Hawks' David Maina. 

If this season's meetings between the two sides is anything to go by, the title is anyone's to win but the dockers could have an edge. In the regular season, Hawks won the first leg encounter by less than five points but lost by over 20 points in Mombasa. 

The two sides met again in the FIBA Africa Zone Five Women's Club Championship held in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, the dockers picking a dominant victory. However, the key players in KPA's win at the regional level are not available, neither are they eligible to play. 

"We still have a lot to do heading to the final. Playing KPA is not going to be easy. We have to be focused from the onset. We sit down and review our play and identify areas we need to improve on and where we need to make adjustments," Maina added.

Maina acknowledged that his players were under pressure from talk that Zetech were a better side but the first match, they had to realize that what matters is what they do on the court.

"As the technical bench we were unmoved by external pressure. The players, however, were succumbing to the pressure but now they know better. We are as experienced as KPA is and I believe whoever comes with a positive attitude will win this," he concluded.