Lakeside eye three wins to avoid relegation

Lakeside are hoping to win three of their remaining five matches to stay afloat in the Kenya Basketball National League (KNBL) top tier, according to captain Sila Awuor. 

The Kisumu-based team lie eighth on the log having bagged 21 points from 17 games. Awuor believes with enough preparations, they can win all the remaining matches. 

Relegation, he noted, is very much in the picture because the team dropped some crucial home games that they should have won to strengthen their position in the standings.

“We now have an uphill task in the remaining games. As it is, there is a thin line between relegation and making the top eight,” opined Awuor who is slowly recovering from a career-threatening injury.

“It will be a blow for the region if the team get relegated. So the main goal is to stay afloat by trying to get wins in the remaining home games.”

He added: “I think with one final push, we can maintain a spot in the top-tier league and see what unfolds in the new season.”

Lakeside home games include fixtures against Eldonets Platinum, Ulinzi Warriors and Equity Bank Dumas. They play Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) and Umoja away.

“With enough preparations, I believe all games can be won. So that is the mentality I and the boys are building upon.”

He lamented that they have no training ground after the Kenyatta Sports Ground was closed for renovations. He said they got through the season purely on players’ personal efforts and skills as honouring even home fixtures has been a challenge.

“We have immense talent in the lake region and what we lack are resources to tap them. We have not played structured ball in any game this season because we have not had any opportunity to train together to oil the system.”

He said the individual brilliance of players after losing Trevor Gari to Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) in the season has helped the team move forward. 

The lakeside battle is against Umoja (21 points), Kenyatta University “Pirates” (20), University of Nairobi “Terrorists” (19) and bottom-placed Zetech University Titans” (17).