Umoja shoot down Warriors in dominant KBF show

A man-of-the-match performance by Moses Alier lifted Umoja past a complacent Ulinzi Warriors as the sharp-shooter made 30 points in a rare 60-55 victory over the former champions. 

Umoja, coming off a loss to Equity Bank in their last outing while Warriors picked a win against Kenyatta University Pirates in their last match, brought their A- game and led from the first whistle, leaving the military side to chase the game. 

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In the first quarter Umoja went 17 up while restricting Warriors to seven with Alier making 12 of the 17 as the Bernard Mufutu-led side seemed to have no response for the forward. 

The second quarter was closely contested with Umoja adding 14 to their tally as Warriors played a better period for 16 to head to the break with an eight-point deficit. 

"It was one of those matches where nothing worked for us and everything was going their way. They came more aggressive than us. They pushed, pressed and re-bounded every shot.

I cannot say we were complacent, it was just a bad day for us. We go back to the drawing board and restrategise for the next assignment," Warriors' skipper Eric Mutoro offered.

The second half was a close show as the former champions fought to survive the imminent loss. The third quarter was, however, still Umoja's show as they scored ten, Alier making seven, against Warriors eight. 

Warriors came to within three points of equaling Umoja's score in the final minutes of the fourth quarter but the Kelvin Sunguti coached Umoja regrouped to hold their own for victory. Warriors scored 24 against 19 for Umoja.

"We were mentally and physically prepared knowing that this would be a physical game. We had a good start, but lost focus, especially in the last half. We did not establish what we wanted but luckily we had built a proper cushion that took the pressure away from us. 

This is a good result as we look to qualify for the playoffs. It sets a good precedence for us as we prepare for upcoming matches. We intent to win all the remaining ones to be in the top eight," offered Umoja's skipper Tony Okol.  

Meanwhile, Equity Bank Hawks wond their game against Storms 75-35 in a one-sided encounter at the University of Nairobi (UoN) grounds. This was their second victory of the weekend, having easily dispensed UoN DDynamites 75-32 on Saturday in another one-team show.