Battle lines drawn as KBF playoffs near

While the other Kenya Basketball Federation (KBF) women's league quarter final playoff pairings are likely to be lopsided, the clash between University of Nairobi Dynamites and Storms is promising to be a cracker. 

Dynamites, fourth on the regular league log on 27 points from nine wins and as many losses in the ten-team league hold a slight advantage over Storms on paper. The latter won nine matches, lost eight and forfeited one for 25 points in fifth place. 

"The players are on a break now but we expect them back in the first three weeks of January after which we will begin our training for the playoffs. The fixtures are not out yet but as an institution, we need approvals on budgets for the same. Most students report to campus on 17 January after which we can begin training," said Dynamites head coach Juma Kent, despite the federation having given 15 January as the tentative playoff commencement date. 

The varsity team face a side that has dropped two places from their 2019 regular season standing to fifth following a rocky start to the season and will be on a redemption path not to miss out on the top four. 

"I am not giving targets now. We won our first leg encounter by 18 points and lost the second leg by 13. We will take it one match at a time when the quarters begin and see how things go," offered Kent. 

The other three pairings will see holders Equity Hawks who finished the regular league in second place face seventh-placed Afeica Nazarene University (ANU) as they look to defend the title they won in 2019. 

On their part, former champions Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) who are looking to dethrone the bankers and get their hands on the league title that has eluded them in the last two seasons face Strathmore Swords on the best-of-three quarters. 

Antony Ojukwu's charges are up against a Swords side that struggled to sneak into the playoffs ahead of Kenyatta University Oryx who lost at least a point that would have put them one point ahead of Swords, due to a forfeiture.

The Ronnie Owino-coached varsity side should be no challenge for the on-form dockers, fresh from winning the FIBA Africa Zone Five Women's Club Championship in Dar es Salaam. 

The other quarter final has Maurice Obilo-coached Zetech Sparks, third on the log, an improvement of two places from their fifth place in 2019, training their guns on Eagle Wings who finished sixth in the regular league.