Carey warns against complacency as Warriors mount comeback

Kenya Basketball Federation (KBF) men’s league title-hopefuls Equity Dumas failed to secure their playoff final berth on Saturday 20 May after allowing former champions Ulinzi Warriors to take Game Three of Five.

The bankers needed a win to claim their maiden ticket to the final but the Bernard Mufutu-led soldiers shot from all corners in an entertaining fixture at Nyayo Indoor gymnasium to win the match 68-66.

Coach Carey 'T9' Odhiambo has faulted complacency for the match outcome, opining that the casual manner in which his charges approached the match resulted in the loss that puts them under pressure to perform in Game Four.

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“Our attitude in this game was not good. We knew Warriors were going to come out hard, which played out exactly as we had imagined, but we did not play well. We committed a lot of mental mistakes, not scoring the baskets we ought to easily do and not defending as well as we should have. This was just complacency, not a bad day in the office,” coach Odhiambo offered.

Last season, the bankers found themselves in a similar predicament against eventual winners Kenya Ports Authority (KPA), winning the first two matches of the series in Nairobi but lost three in a row away in Mombasa to bottle their chance at the final.

“We have to finish this series on Sunday, we have no choice. Giving Warriors the chance to fight in Game Five could be costly as anything can happen in that situation. We have to remain focused and fight to the last whistle for a win,” the tactician added.

In Game Three, Collins Sudi scored 14 with Eric Mutoro added 13, William Ochieng 11 and Stephan Simiyu 10 to help the military side to come from a 24-18 deficit in the first quarter and force the two-point win. 

Despite Dumas leading by 12 at some point, Mufutu's men kept working, in a match that had six lead changes and was tied 11 times, to win. 

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Both sides shot 14 from turnovers, 38 on the paint six for the soldiers from second chances and five for the bankers who had 16 from fast breaks against Ulinzi's 13. Dumas bench contributed 27 ten more than Warriors'.

James Mwangi led the scores for Dumas with 16 as Faheem Juma sunk 11. Moses Wanjara and Shem Otieno contributed 10 each. 

Game Four is set for Nyayo from 6pm. 

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