KBF Playoffs: Mission impossible or comeback kings and queens for Warriors, Hawk?

To write former champions Ulinzi Warriors and Equity Hawks off in their respective series or not is the question on many Kenyan basketball enthusiasts.

The Kenya Basketball Federation (KBF) top-tier sides are trailing Equity Dumas men (for Warriors) and Zetech Sparks (for Hawks) 2-0 in the best-of-five semis series and with Game Three scheduled for Saturday 20 May at Nyayo Indoor arena, it is do or die for the two sides.

Hawks are hoping to dig deep into their experienced squad to churn out a comeback against the Maurice Obilo-coached varsity side failure to which, they miss out on the opportunity to feature in the all-important final.

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David Maina’s charges lost the opening match 75-72 and were expected to level the series in Game Two seeing as they are up against a less experienced outfit.

The bankers, however, could barely keep up with the vibrant Sparks’ squad and went down 73-57.

Madina Okot scored 17 for Sparks in that match with Mary Lisa adding 14 to the tally and Christine Akinyi dropping 12 to hand Sparks victory.

Sparks were huge on the paint and dominated the boards as well, scoring 32 on the paint against Hawks’ 18. The varsity side had 14 second chance points while ensuring the bankers got none.

“We have regrouped and worked on our finishing. We missed easy baskets and failed on the rebounds and that gave Zetech the opportunity to dominate. We have to first take care of these areas and improve on our defense as this is a crucial match,” Maina told Mozzart Sport.

The tactician has implored his charges to ditch the ‘saviour’ mentality that he says contributed to the team’s two losses.

“It is important to play as a team. We are losing to a side that has mastered this art and more often than not, my players are being sucked in by the temptation to do it all alone whenever the team is trailing and that only serves to disorient our game plan.

I believe we are still in a good place to overturn the series, despite a lot of the people having written us off. If we stick to playing the Equity way, we will win the series,” he added.

Meanwhile, coach Bernard Mufutu has his work cut out against a highly-motivated Dumas who have a maiden final berth in sight.

“This comes down to doing the small things right. From the get go, I talked about consistency and that has been our biggest undoing. I still believe in the squad’s ability to fight for a comeback if we implement all we have worked on in our reviews,” Mufutu offered, adding that the two matches have been an eye opener to his young players and he expects everyone to step up on Saturday.

The tactician has downplayed the absence of Byron Mabonga who has missed the playoffs due to other military duties. 

“Yes, he is a big part of the team and a player that delivers. He cleans the boards, can score and is very good defensively but missing him is no excuse for our performance. Those filing in for him are equally capable,” he added.

The other Game Three matches are away in Makande, Mombasa as holders Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) take on Nairobi City Thunder who won Game Two to level the men’s series and Strathmore Swords who trail the women’s series 2-0.