Ulinzi, Thunder suffer Game One shocks in National basketball play-offs

NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 23 – Last season’s finalists in the National Men’s Premier League, champions Ulinzi Warriors and second place finishers Nairobi City Thunder suffered shock Game One losses as the quarter finals play-off started on Saturday.

Warriors were in Kisumu for their Game One against Lakeside, suffering a 73-61 defeat while Thunder, playing in Nairobi, were thwarted 68-39 by Strathmore.

In Kisumu, Trevor Gari starred for Homeside Lakeside with a haul of 20 points as he steered them to victory in the first tie of the best of three series.

Lakeside led in all but three quarters, starting off the game positively with a 26-21 score and pushing it to 44-31 by halftime.

Warriors briefly gave a push in the third quarter outscoring their hosts 16-12, but couldn’t take the fight to the end. They will now host Game Two and Three in Nairobi over the next week. If they lose Game Two, then they will relinquish their title.

Meanwhile in Nairobi, Kenya Morans skipper Griffin Ligare couldn’t inspire Thunder as they failed to sparkle, losing 68-39 to a much improved and determined Strathmore.

Thunder’s ambition to shoot on sight proved to be their biggest undoing while the University boys were much more composed under the rim and executed their points from the pain with ease.

Cliffone Alela led the way for Blades with 12 points, as they commanded the first game with ease. Thunder had started the tie off on a superb note, Dismas Mbaka swinging in a three-pointer barely 15 seconds gone on the clock.

But that would be it as Blades picked up the momentum from then on and led 18-9 after the first quarter and 34-14 at halftime.

Earlier on in the ladies’ matches, former champions Eagle Wings were schooled by Zetech University Sparks who thrashed them 62-29 in a show of total dominance.

It took six minutes for Eagle Wings to sink in their first point of the game, Sparks having rallied to a 24-0 lead. Ultimately, the two points by former national team skipper Silalei Shani were the only ones they could have in the opening quarter which Sparks led 33-2.

Wings pushed back in the second quarter, playing a much better organized game, and were only outscored by three points, though the halftime scores stood at 42-14 thanks to the first quarter collapse.

They did better in the next two quarters, leading 14-12 in scores for the third quarter and 5-3 in the last quarter, but the comeback was never coming. They however hope to do better in Game Two next Sunday.

Earlier on, Storms picked up a decisive game one lead after edging out University of Nairobi side Dynamites 47-31. National team players Jemimah Omondi and Ashley Minayo powered Storms past the determined University side.

“We haven’t been training well because of the various disruptions in school with exams and some new players yet to settle in with the various academic needs. However, we will try to make some few adjustments in the coming week in training and hopefully we tie the series next weekend,” stated Juma Kent, the UoN coach.

Storms had started the game on a low, losing 10-8 in the first quarter but rallied to lead 17-15 at the break. They didn’t look back from there, despite showing signs of rustiness, leading in the last two quarters to affirm the victory.