L. MathekaKBF Playoffs: Ulinzi Warriors book semis slot
Reading Time: 2min | Sun. 30.01.22. | 17:01
The best-of-five semis playoffs begin on Saturday 5 February at Nyayo Indoor Arena.
Kenya Basketball Federation (KBF) men's league champions Ulinzi Warriors are through to the last four in the 2021 playoffs ongoing at Nyayo Indoor Arena.
The military side, up against an energetic and highly skilled Kisumu Lakeside had to content with a decider Game Three to win the best-of-three quarters 2-1 and pair Strathmore University Blades in the semis.
In the decider match, Warriors dominated in the first two quarters, scoring 21-13 and 28-13 to lead the first half by 23 points, a scoreline that saw them play a relatively relaxed second half, trailing 18-20 and 19-21 on both periods for the win.
The military side had won Game Two by a 20-point difference in a 77-57, while Game Three was won in a 19-point difference in a 86-67 outcome.
"As defending champions, we have a target on our backs and the road to the championship defence just got tougher. We are up against a young and vibrant Strathmore side and the pressure is on us to get to the final.
It will be no easy feat but I believe my squad is up to the task. Just as we did after losing Game One away in Kisumu, we go back to the drawing board and strategise for the semis. We will take it one match at a time but the end game is qualifying for the final." said Warriors head coach William Balozi.
His sentiments were echoed by skipper, Eric Mutoro, who while acknowledging that Kisumu were a worthy opponent, said they will need to put their house in order ahead of the semis.
"After reducing our turnovers and finding our footing in balancing the court we were able to handle Kisumu. We are going for nothing short of the championship and being up against a young team in the semis calls for good preparations and an equally good approach. We are not relenting in our training," said Mutoro.
Meawhile, Lakeside skipper Cilla Derrick says the results against Warriors point to an improvement performance and they will use that to prepare for a better show in the coming season.
"Warriors had home court advantage in two matches and some of their players that were not available for Game One boosted them in Game Two and Three. We had a good match but our defensive transition was our biggest undoing.
However, this season I can say we did better than the last. We faced the same side in the 2019 playoff quarters and it was a sweep. This time we have managed to win one game." Offered the captain.
