Blades scheme Warriors' downfall in quest for semis slot

Tony Ochieng's Strathmore Blade believes his charges can overturn their 2-0 deficit in the Kenya Basketball Federation (KBF) playoff semis against Ulinzi Warriors and fight for a final slot. 

The students went down, 86-67 in Game One and 69-49 in Game Two against the soldiers but the tactician remains confident they Still have a chance. 

"We played better in Game Two but players are still struggling with mental toughness to hold the leads. We led 34-30 heading to the half time break but allowed Warriors to comeback and win by 20 points which would have been avoided. 

In the first match, two Warriors players scored a combined 52 points and after reviewing our performance, we had to find a way to stop them and it worked. We have also done a review of Game Two and know where we went wrong and will come out better for Game Three," said the tactician. 

The meeting between the two sides is a repeat of the 2017 KBF playoffs semis where the students got the better of the William Balozi-led military side to play their first ever final against Kenya Ports Authority (KPA). 

Do or die for KPA in quest for playoff final

Meanwhile, coach Ochieng has clarified that his side had not launched a complaint in the ongoing accusations of Warriors fielding an ineligible player in the playoffs. 

"We are far from that. We are prepared for battle and we have not let this issue distract us. This is a season that has been marred by alot of confusion due to Covid-19 occasioned stoppages and the challenges that came with it saw teams like Embakasi Youth only join the league in the second leg. We are hoping for a better planned season this year." offered Ochieng.