• “We started the game badly and trailed by 25 points in the first half. We recovered after the break and almost caught up but time was not on our side,” said Oluoch.
• The ‘Wolfpacks’ got off to a poor start chasing the game after trailing 9-29 in the first quarter and 11-16 in the second.
Africa Nazarene University coach Mike Oluoch is convinced his charges can compete with the best.
The students suffered a close 72-66 defeat to Equity Bank Dumas in a Kenya National Basketball League (KNBL) over the weekend and this left Oluoch bubbling with confidence that they have what it takes to challenge the established order.
He added that despite being their first time in the top tier, the have shown progress and will continue to build.
“We started the game badly and trailed by 25 points in the first half. We recovered after the break and almost caught up but time was not on our side,” said Oluoch.
The ‘Wolfpacks’ got off to a poor start chasing the game after trailing 9-29 in the first quarter and 11-16 in the second.
But they showed their mettle after the break, taking over the proceedings with a strong 20-15 and 26-12 display in the last two quarters.
“We now know our strengths and will work hard to improve in our coming matches,” he said, adding that they are eyeing the play offs.
ANU is the only team to have beaten league leaders Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) posing a 73-63 stunner.
In the women’s match, Liz Abayo dropped 10 points to lead Storms to a 44-38 win over Strathmore University Swords.
The students led 20-16 at the break after both sides tied 8-8 in the opening quarter. Storms took over 15-8 and 13-10 in the last half.
The other games saw former champions Ulinzi Warriors gun down Umoja 49-31 in a low scoring tie.
In the lower Division matches, Strathmore University Team two dismissed Footprints 45-37 in the women’s match.
Hope beat Nairobi Institute of Business Studies (NIBS) 54-45 and United States International University hit Strathmore University 61-48.