Kenyan clubs forced to regroup as they fail to shine at home once again

Kenyan basketball teams have for the second time in less than six weeks failed to shine at home falling to their East African counterparts in two major Zone Five championships that the country has hosted

National league champions Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) finished third at the 2025 Women Basketball League Africa (WBLA) Zone Five qualifiers that ended on Saturday at Nyayo Gymnasium.

Armée Patriotique Rwandaise (APR) were crowned champions following their 82-66 victory against their compatriots Rwanda Energy Group (REG).

Last month, Kenyan men played second fiddle to their guests from Burundi who snatched the East Africa Basketball Championship Cup at Nyayo for a second year in a row.

Former men’s Premier League champions Ulinzi Warriors and Umoja Basketball Club who were making their Zone Five debut settled for silver and bronze while KPA finished a distant fourth.

Ulinzi lost 61-88 to Burundi’s Remesha Basketball Club in the final. In 2024, another Burundian side Les Hippos won the title while KPA the best performing Kenyan side placed third.

Kenyan basketball enthusiasts had high hopes that they would see KPA lift the trophy at home but their dreams crashed when the dockers lost to REG in the semi-finals.

Despite winning their first three preliminary matches convincingly; KPA failed against the two Rwandese sides suffering their first defeat 71-81 at the hands of APR in their last Group A tie.

They finished second in their pool to set a semi-final duel with Rwandese champions REG who had topped Group B which also had the second Kenyan side Zetech University Sparks. The dockers who had signed Nigerian guard Ifunaya Okoro, Senegalese centre Aminata as well as Kenyans Betty Kananu and Mercy Wanyama ahead the event could not match their opponents tumbling out of the title race following a 45-62 loss.

APR and REG secured the automatic qualification slots with KPA having to fight for the last spot with Burundi’s Les Hippos in a third-place play-off encounter. The dockers edged out Les Hippos 89-81 in overtime to secure their ticket to the WBLA final to be held next month in Cairo, Egypt.

Kananu who has been left out of the women’s national team for international assignments proved that she indeed still has a lot to offer by staging brilliant performances for the dockers.

With the winning coach Charles Mushumba of APR attributing their success to good signings and meaningful preparations, rookies Zetech Sparks stood no chance against the clubs that recruited well ahead of the challenge.

The side comprising students from the institution registered only one win against Don Bosco Lady Lionesses from Tanzania. They finished sixth overall after losing 56-67 to another Tanzanian outfit Fox Divas. Gladiators (Burundi), Don Bosco and Magic Stormers from Uganda finished seventh, eighth and ninth.