Equity Bank women’s basketball team ended their Group A campaign at the Fiba Africa Champions Cup with a 74-49 defeat to Interclub of Angola in Maputo.
The Kenyan side were overwhelmed early, conceding 23-4 in the opening quarter and trailing 44-15 at halftime. Coach Carey Odhiambo then switched to a more defensive approach after the break, and Equity responded by winning the third quarter 22-18, but the damage had already been done.
Betty Kananu led Equity’s scoring with 13 points, while Belinda Okoth added eight. For Interclub, Angeline Golome finished with 15 points and Amenda Thomson scored 14, with star guard Italee Lucas out for most of the game.
Interclub had already secured top spot in Group A after beating hosts Ferroviario de Maputo 77-70 on Tuesday night. Equity were set to learn their quarter-final opponents later on Wednesday after the match between First Bank and I.N.S.S., while Kenya Ports Authority, who finished third in Group B, had a rest day before the quarter-finals began on Friday.
Odhiambo said his team knew the Angolans were technically stronger and tried to limit them through occasional breaks. “We knew very well that they are tactfully superior and therefore worked to contain them with occasional breaks which worked for us,” he said.
Beyond the result in Maputo, the tournament also sharpened debate over the state of Kenyan basketball. Bonnie Salano, a sports official at United States International University (USIU), said the national classic basketball league should drop university and college teams and be reduced to eight clubs.
Salano, who was in Maputo for the Africa championships, argued that Kenya’s domestic dominance has not translated to continental success. He said the league should be restructured so colleges operate as feeder systems for clubs rather than competing in the top division.
“Kenyan teams and KPA women for example have been around for decades and should by now be dining with the rest at the queens table, not struggling to qualify for the knockout stages,” Salano said at the Maxaquene indoor courts after watching KPA and Equity Bank win on Tuesday.
“We cannot continue like this, let clubs be reduced to eight which in my opinion is the only way we will ensure they register only quality players while the colleges play their own league to act as feeders to these clubs whenever the students are done with college,” he added.
Kenya Basketball Federation treasurer Peter Orero backed the idea in principle, but said it would depend on sponsorship. Speaking by phone from Nairobi, he said the federation had wanted an eight-team league in 2018, but the sponsor that had shown interest later withdrew.
“We wanted to have an eight-team league this year but the sponsor who had shown interest later chickened out but we are still very open to discussions,” Orero said.
