Hawks host KPA as KBF women’s final gets underway

Battle lines are drawn as Kenya Basketball Federation (KBF) high-stakes women's premier league final playoff gets underway on Saturday, 10 October with defending champions Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) taking on a resilient Equity Hawks.Download our MozzartSport App For More NewsKPA sailed through the semifinals in a dominant 3-0 sweep over TH3 Swish, and the Samuel Ocholla-led side will be keen to take a statement win away from home when the playoff gets underway as they face an Equity side eager to reclaim the title they last won in 2024.Hawks, on their part, completed a thrilling comeback to reach the final after overpowering Stanbic Aces 82-64 in a winner-takes-all Game Five played at Nyayo Stadium on Thursday, 8 October.Madina Okot books WNBA Final spot as Atlanta Dream sweep LibertySkipper Betty Kananu dropped a game-high 27 points and nine rebounds, to lead the charge as Hawks clinched the best-of-five semi-final series 3-2 to set up a championship showdown against the defending champions.The bankers head to the final believing that their comeback against a young and resilient Aces side, coached by Maurice Obilo, has given them the momentum they need against a new-look KPA keen to defend their title.##NAJAVA_MECA_10017190##"This team was assembled at the beginning of the season, specifically to fight for a place in the final after falling short last season, losing in the semis. Now we take it a moth higher. We know KPA have a strong team, we lost to them twice in the regular season but we have become better since and the priority now is reclaiming the championship," offered Hawks head coach Ben Oluoch. However, history favours the Dockers who won the first leg of the regular season 65-41 before silencing the bankers 97-53 in the return clash.Lokedi using past winning experiences to make history in ChicagoThis match-up evokes memories of the 2024 final playoff. Back then, Hawks had dominated Game One and Two played in Nairobi, but lost back-to-back at Makande to set up a decider clash played on Monday, 22 July 2024.The final clash lived up to expectations, the side's exchanging leads 11 times with seven ties in a match that had to be decided in Overtime , Hawks winning 76-74 to lift the title with a 3-2 record.KPA will be keen to avoid a similar scenario.One more hurdle for NCCA 50-Overs title-chasing Swamibapa