Equity Bank Hawks coach David Maina said the team fell short of their target and will have to work their way up the ladder in the coming season.
Hawks, who won the Kenya National Basketball League (KNBL) in 2018 and 2019, finished third behind champions Kenya Ports Authority and runners-up Zetech University Sparks this year.
“It’s obvious that we need to work on many areas to get back to the top. The players and coaches have more work to do during pre-season,” said Maina.
He observed a third-place finish was quite an effort, especially after losing some of their best to the champions. Their season ended with a 3-0 series defeat to debutants Sparks in the playoff semifinals.
However, Maina was full of praise for the men’s side — Dumas — despite a 3-1 loss to eventual winners KPA. He said reaching their first-ever playoff final was a commendable achievement.
“Last year we lost in the semis and this year we reached the finals, for the first time. The players and coaches made so much sacrifice. We lost in the final but we ended the season with our heads high,” Maina noted.
He said both teams will have a technical meeting to review the past season and plan for the new one. It will also give the coaches an opportunity to figure out where they need to beef up.
“Some Dumas players had never played in the finals and doing so was a great learning opportunity for them,” Maina said, adding: “Both teams need to get a few players to solidify them ahead of the new season. I know we can rise up and fight for the championship next season.”
Kenya Basketball Federation (KBF) competitions secretary Joseph Amoko said they will soon announce the schedule for the new season and asked teams who want to beef up their squads to go ahead.
“The transfer window is open. Let them (teams) start the paperwork and make the payments before the league starts,” said Amoko.
The 2022 season was concluded in Mombasa with Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) men and women claiming the national titles at their Makande Welfare Hall backyard.
