KSSSA Games: Coast region dominate basketball as Kaya Tiwi, Dr Aggrey are crowned champions

Former champions Kaya Tiwi have reclaimed their Kenya Secondary School Sport Association (KSSSA) national games basketball title, a trophy they lost to Buruburu Girls in 2019. 

As the championship made a return after a two-year hiatus occasioned by Covid-19, new champions were born and perenial winners found themselves struggling in various disciplines. 

In basketball, Kaya Tiwi who are the East African champions faced off with newbies Nairobi's Olympic Girls in the final, going on to win 60-54 and head to the East Africa games as the champions. 

In the first quarter, of the match Kaya Tiwi took a ten point lead at 17-7 but Olympic, under the tutelage of Dennis Orek recovered to play a better second quarter where they scored 15-04 to cut their deficit and take a one-point advantage to the break. 

"We were riding on the name. This team is young with only one player who was in the 2019 team. I am, however, impressed by the team's performance. We started well but the officiating in the second quarter was wanting and that affected our performance. I had to talk to the commissar to have that sorted. As we head to EA, we will take it one game at a time and see what the other nations have to offer. We do not have much time to regroup and heal the injuries in the team but we will work with the program as it is," Kaya Tiwi head coach Phillip Onyango said. 

His opposite number Orek was full of praise for his charges, arguing that for a debutant to get to the final and give a team as experienced as Kaya Tiwi trouble goes to show the strides they have made as a team. 

"We had a good game. Everything we talked about while preparing for this match was executed well and that can be seen with the scores we managed. In the group stage Kaya Tiwi defeated us by over 20 points but now the difference was six, which is a massive improvements," offered Orek. 

The tactician, however, notes that foul trouble is something they will have to work on going into the EA games adding that settling early on in the match will go a long way in helping the girls perform better. 

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In boys' basketball, newbies Dr Aggrey came from 11 points down in the first quarter that had ended 16-5 to beat Nairobi's Dagoretti High 70-64 and clinch their maiden national title on their debut. 

Dagoretti High old boy, Kelvin Aran, who was calling the shots at the Dr Aggrey bench made sure to sink his former school and relegate them to a second silver at the national games. Dagoretti lost the 2019 title to Laiser Hill on their debut. 

"We had promised to make an impact at the nationals on our debut and this has come to pass. We had prepared for this championship and our efforts have paid off in a big way. As we head to the East Africa Games, we have to work on our defense and shooting as we look to make as much of an impact as we did at tye national games," offered Aran. 

Dagoretti High tactician Hassan Kibagendi maintains that his charges were the better side but rued costly mistakes that saw them lose a lead, adding that controversial officiating added to their woes.