L. MathekaOjukwu keen to guide KPA to FIBA championships knockout stage
Reading Time: 3min | Mon. 12.12.22. | 11:31
Top four teams in the group qualify for the quarters in the week-long championship.
Coach Antony Ojukwu says Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) women's side currently in Maputo for the FIBA Africa Women’s Champions Cup have to fight to stay afloat after the side lost their opening two matches.
Placed in Group A that also has Mozambique's Costa do Sol, CNSS from DR Congo, Energie BBC of Benin and record champions Interclube from Angola, the Kenya Basketball Federation (KBF) women's league holders remain winless after two matches.
FIBA Africa Women’s Champions Cup
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Group A
La joie des Mozambicaines du Costa Do Sol après leur 2e succès. Elles se relancent avec un bilan de 2 victoires - 1 défaite
KENYA PORTS A. 🇰🇪 6️⃣2️⃣-7️⃣3️⃣ 🇲🇿 COSTA DO SOL#fibaawcc #senegal #basket221 pic.twitter.com/y7LgY0p4sf
On Sunday evening, Ojukwu's charges went down 73-62 to the Mozambique side as the home side was powered by shooting guard Ingvild Mucauro's 22 points with Eleuteria Lhavanguane adding 12 to the victory.
KPA's offense was led by import Ifunaya Okoro who scored 19 points as youngster Medina Okot managed a double-double with ten points and 14 rebounds for the East Africans.
"It was a good game. We managed to show some characters compared to how we played our opening match. However, mentally we were not strong enough and that saw us experience some lapses that gave them the advantage," offered Ojukwu after the match.
The first quarter was closely contested with the Kenyan side trailing 22-21 at the conclusion of the ten minutes.
KPA, however, had no response to Mucauro's brilliance in the second quarter as she hammered point after another to stretch the side's advantage to seven points at the break in a 40-33 scoreline.
The second half saw KPA fight to keep themselves in the encounter and managed to score 17, but Costa do Sol outscored them by a single point in the third.
In the fourth quarter, with four minutes left, three points (63-60) separated Costa do Sol and KPA, with the home club in the lead.
InterClube v Kenya Ports Authority | Full Baskball Game | FIBA Africa Women's Champions Cup 2022https://t.co/Cefivtr1c5
— VCP Hoops (@VCPHoops) December 11, 2022
Unfortunately, KPA made some costly errors that allowed the Maputo-based side to make a 10-point run to earn victory in the competition.
The dockers had opened their camping with a 76-60 loss to Inter Club in the competition's opening fixture played on Friday 9 December.
Ojukwu's charges face off with Energie BBC in their third group match on Monday 12 December from 16.30 pm.
"We will not change the strategy in this match. But we go into the march knowing we are in a hole and we need to get ourselves out by winning to stay in the championship," Ojukwu added.
This will be a tough clash as the Benin side is also winless after two matches and is placed last while KPA are in fourth place.
