Rift Valley’s Laiser Hill set up a semi-final date with Nyanza’s Agoro Sare today after beating Alliance 85-56 in the final Pool 'A' match at the Shanzu Teachers College.
Alliance take on Dagoretti in another semi-final encounter. The Nairobi side reached quarters after beat Agoro 66-37 in their last Pool ‘B’ match.
Laser Hill coach Marcus Wambua, however, challenged Alliance to win today’s semi-final to ensure they meet again in the final after the latter complained of unfair tactics from the former.
Wambua said: “ There is nothing I can do with my players having a God-given advantage over other players."
"Height is God-given. What should I do if it is an advantage to my side? Those sentiments from our competitors are unfounded because all players in this tournament have been vetted and are all under 19," said Wambua. Alliance coach Robert Odecho had questioned the credibility of their opponents and complained about poor officiating during the match.
In the girls' category, title holders Kaya Tiwi from Coast beat close challengers Central's Loreto School, Limuru 59-33, while Buruburu won against Eastern’s Mua’ 76-45 as both teams booked semi-final slots.
Kaya will square it off with Barchando in the first semi while Buruburu face off with Tigoi. Barchando humiliated Wajir 96-6 while Tigoi beat Barchando 56-44 to reach semis.
In boys' handball semis today, Mangu face Eastern's Mbooni Boys while champions Kimilili from Western cross swords with White House of Coast.
During yesterday’s preliminaries matches, Saniak beat Hospital Hill 22-18 as Mangu conceded 17-20 to White House. Kanyawanga bowed out of the championships after losing 14-15 to Mbooni while Kimilili finished top in their group after beating North Eastern side Garissa 47-15.
In the girls' handball semis, Kirandich of Rift Valley will fight Eastern's Kirigara while Moi Girls Kamusinga will duel Nyanza's Sega Girls. In yesterday's qualifiers, Kirandich beat Kahuho 25-6 while Sega beat North Eastern (Volunteer Girls) 40-03. In other matches, Coast's Whites House drew 18-18 with Dagoretti while Kiringara lost 12-20 to Moi Girls Kamusinga.
