All Kenyan battle at Zone V championship as Umoja collide with Ulinzi

Umoja Basketball Team will face fellow Kenyan side Ulinzi Warriors in the semi-final Thursday evening after crushing Ethiopia’s Gambela City 105-64 in the ongoing Zone Five East Africa Basketball Club Championship at Nyayo Gymnasium, Nairobi.

The eagerly awaited semi-final showdown tips off at 8:00 p.m. East African Time.

Earlier, Umoja’s compatriots Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) will battle Les Hippos of Burundi in the other semi-final set for 5:30 p.m. at the same venue.

KPA advanced to the last four after defeating Stein Warriors of Tanzania 92-73 in their road-to-semi-final encounter yesterday.

Both Ulinzi Warriors and Les Hippos had qualified directly for the semi-finals after topping their respective pools on Tuesday.

In their emphatic win over Gambela City, Umoja dominated all the four quarters.

They started with a narrow 22-20 first-quarter lead before exploding in the second quarter with a commanding 40-12 performance, thus went into halftime leading 62-32.

After the break, the Ethiopians struggled to contain a revitalized Umoja side, who sealed the victory with 15-14 and 28-18 wins in the third and fourth quarters respectively, wrapping up a convincing 105-64 triumph at the final buzzer.

The quartet of Faheem Juma, Ariel Ortega, captain Victor Bosire, and veteran Griffins Ligare spearheaded Umoja’s dominance, combining for an impressive 89 points in the win.

KPA staged a remarkable comeback to defeat Tanzania’s Stein Warriors 92–73 in a thrilling road to semi-final clash at the same venue.

The Dockers had a sluggish start, losing the opening quarter 10–18, but regrouped in the second quarter to edge their opponents 24–19, heading into halftime trailing narrowly at 34–37.

After the break, KPA returned with renewed energy and intensity, dominating the third and fourth quarters 34–19 and 24–17 respectively to secure a commanding victory.

Eugene Adera, Kennedy Wachira, and Salim Kisilu were outstanding for the Dockers, combining for an impressive 57 points to power their side into the semi-finals.