Ulinzi Warriors shot down University of Nairobi Terrorists 89-71 in a Kenya National Basketball League tie at the Ulinzi Sports Complex, Langata.
The day’s matches experienced a refereeing crisis as none of the officials on schedule showed up for duty, calling for a makeshift arrangement.
Kenya Basketball Referees Association (KBRA) vice chairman in charge of technical, Eric Omondi admitted there are issues with the referees’ payments.
“It it true that the referees are owed some money and this time round they do not want it to be in arrears,” explained Omondi, who officiated the top game alongside June Oluoch.
He said they are finding ways to have everything sorted out and normalcy returns.
Ulinzi took a 36-31 lead at the breather in a game that saw tempers flare after the final whistle.
The soldiers exploded in the third quarter, sinking treys as the coasted to a 30-19 cushion before a close 23-21 call in the last.
“We had a strong showing from the guys off the bench. We also picked up second shots compared to our previous matches,” said soldiers tactician Bernard Mufutu.
“The break also helped us a lot as we now have a healthy team. But we will have to work on our ‘D’ on the screens.”
Zetech University Titans dimmed Africa Nazarene University (ANU) Wolfpacks 62-58 in a closely-fought encounter.
“We took an early lead and grew in confidence going all the way. Our tactics were to frustrate them by slowing them down and it worked,” said Titans’ coach Job Munene.
Eric Odondo 20 points, 18 of those coming from threes. ANU had 18 from Simon Rapudo.
In Eldoret, home teams Eldonets Platinum and Eldonets dismissed Kenyatta University Pirates 72-68 and KU Oryx 63-54 respectively.
“We played a good game and just lost it on the line. We needed to have converted our free throws early enough,” said KU coach Caleb Osewe.
James Omweno top-scored for the home side with 26 points while Trevor Opiyo replied with 19 for the losers.
Eldonets’ Sheila Cherotich managed 17 points in the win against Oryx who had 13 from Emily Gicovi.
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