Editor: Brenda Mwaniki
The Kenya Basketball Premier League was packed with mouthwatering fixtures last weekend. Defending champions Ulinzi matched up against Kisumu Lakeside, Emyba had back to back matches against Thunder and Umoja. However the results of these games didn’t go the way most of us would have thought.
Ulinzi Warriors lost to Lakeside 61-59 in a tight game that went down to the wire. Thunder led by Morans’ skipper Griffin Ligare lost to Embakasi side Emyba.
Emyba might have celebrated a little bit extra because they lost to Umoja the next day.
It was indeed a weekend for underdogs to come up and they did just that.
Well, we won’t know much about how these upsets have affected the power rankings in the league, so we will have to wait for a few more games to see how these top teams will perform against the underdogs and against each other.
It’s only five games in for most of the teams.
Equity bank who made most moves in the offseason are yet to play their second match. It is interesting to see how their new group will mesh. As for KPA they are on a roll. Their real test however comes this weekend when they face Ulinzi Warriors in Nairobi. A clash that will determine if they have improved their roster or they are still the same. We will have to wait and see.
Emyba on the other hand have a young group and they are currently top five. In my opinion, they rank above Thunder but they have to show us that they can win more games especially against the big boys before we give them the big boys pants. There is nothing much we can say about Thunder but as long as Griffin Ligare is there they will always have a chance.
There are other teams that are also winning and gaining ground for example KU Pirates who have a 2-1 record. Kisumu Lakeside are hungry after the win against Ulinzi. Their confidence is through the roof. They are playing beautiful basketball. We want more from the Safarilink sponsored team.
It will be hard to know who are the favorites to win it all as of now but until more games are played the top five teams still remain as follows:
Ulinzi
KPA
Emyba
Equity
Thunder
In no particular order, for now. After the first round of games, we will be able to see clearly where the title might go. Which team do you think will win it all ?