St Joseph’s Girls Kitale and Ng’iya Girls lifted the hockey and basketball 3x3 titles as the Federation of East Africa Secondary Schools Sports Association intensified in Kakamega County.
St Joseph’s Girls Kitale successfully defended the hockey title after an unbeaten run at Mukumu Boys.
In the round robin contest, St Joseph’s Girls Kitale, enjoying the support of chief principal Rosebella Orwaru, topped the rankings with 19 points, beating national champions Tigoi Girls to second.
Tigoi Girls had 16 points while debutants Ng’iya Girls' bagged the bronze with 15 points. Kenya’s other representatives, Mwiki Girls', led by the competition’s Most Valuable Player, Elen Akinyi, finished fifth with 10 points.
St Joseph’s Girls' concluded their campaign with a 6-0 thrashing of Kakungulu Memorial from Uganda, while Tigoi Girls' walloped another Ugandan side, Mushanga, 8-0.
Ng’iya Girls defeated Namagunga 2-0 as Mwiki narrowly edged Bweranyangi 1-0 in another encounter.
St Joseph’s Girls' coach John Lusaka admitted that competition was tough.
“We started with a draw against Ng’iya Girls', and people thought it was a false start. I said that when playing in a round robin, it’s a marathon, not a sprint. We picked ourselves and went all the way to retain the title,” said Lusaka.
“Ng’iya caught us by surprise, by the way. However, we were aware of the weaknesses of all the other teams, which we capitalised on. Beating national champions Tigoi was the turning point in this competition.”
Ng’iya coach Oduor Nyadida was content with the third-place finish.
“We achieved our target of finishing within the medal bracket and have now shifted our focus to next year’s competition,” said Nyadida.
Uganda’s Kakungulu Memorial reclaimed the boys' title after topping the rankings with 19 points, beating St Anthony’s Kitale to second place with 17 points, while St Charles Lwanga bagged bronze with 14 points.
National and East Africa champions Musingu High were relegated to fourth place with 12 points.
Brian Anzeze of Musingu High was the Most Valuable Player.
Elsewhere, Ng’iya Girls' lifted the basketball 3x3 title on their debut after receiving a 6-0 win in their abandoned match against Uganda’s Buddo.
Buddo forfeited the game with 6.3 seconds to go, protesting calls made by an umpire that penalised one of their players, therefore awarding Ng’iya a basket and two free throws. The tension-packed game was tied at 9-9.
The Ugandans walked out of the court and declined to return. According to FIBA rules, Ng’iya were awarded the game. Coach Naftali Ambala said: “It was a competition, especially from the Ugandan teams, but I’m happy the girls lifted the title.”
A.P.E Rugunga from Rwanda beat Kenya’s St Joseph’s Boys Kitale 21-18 to bag the boys' title.
