Kenya Ports Authority head coach Anthony Ojukwu says resilience and character were key as his side stormed the last eight at the FIBA Africa Women's Champions Cup on Tuesday.
The Kenyan champions beat CNSS of DR Congo 69-59 in their last Group 'A' match at the Pavilhao da Universidade Eduardo Mondlane in Maputo, Mozambique.
KPA got off to a slippery start before recovering to win the encounter.
KPA’s Nigerian playmaker Ifunaya Okoro and Medina Okot were the stars of the show. Okoro sunk a tournament high of 35 points while Okot pulled down another high of 22 rebounds.
“It was a very physical game, the ladies showed some resilience and character. They played as a team and stayed composed throughout the two quarters,” said Ojukwu.
"The two (Okoro and Okot) played really well. Okot is the future of the team and this was a good experience for her. On the other hand, Okoro is bringing her experience to the team."
He added: "The two wins really motivated the players and the morale is high."
It was the Congolese who coasted to a 17-8 first quarter advantage before the porters recovered to take hold of the second with a 19-17 cushion.
KPA picked up after the break and a three-pointer from Natalie Akinyi saw the porters draw close at 22-23. CNSS called a time out and came out pressing.
This relentless effort then saw them push the advantage to 34-27 as the half time buzzer sounded.
KPA, who trailed by as much as 10 points in the first half, came out in the third stanza firing from all cylinders. The shift into another gear saw them close in 44-46 on foul shots by Okot.
Then the exciting Okoro took over and CNSS faltered. She made the scores 55-50 after a basket by Jemimah Omondi.
But CNSS again rallied to close at 56-57 before Okoro erupted again, bagging two foul shots that pushed the lead back to 59-56 in KPA's favour.
CNSS were unable to cope with Okoro’s offensive groove just as they could not stop Okot’s rebounding prowess. The tireless efforts by the duo saw KPA push the lead to 66-56 with 2:00 left play.
It was the second win for the Kenyan champions following an impressive 83-45 triumph over Energie of Guinea the previous day.
The Guineans, who lost all their games, are out of the tournament. Group 'B' has only four teams — Ferroviaro Maputo (Mozambique), Alexandria Sporting Club (Egypt), AS Ville De Dakar (Senegal) and APR (Rwanda).
