Champions Kenya Ports Authority teams meet Strathmore University sides in the playoff semifinals on Saturday at the Nyayo Stadium gymnasium.
The porters dimmed Africa Nazarene University sides while Strathmore locked out United States International University teams in the quarter-finals.
The semi-finals and the finals will be played in the best-of-five series.
KPA men’s head coach, Cliff Owuor, is happy with how training in the city has gone but remains worried about the threats caused by Toby Ochieng's varsity side.
He said: “They are a good team and are playing good basketball. We are giving them the respect they deserve by preparing well.”
Ochieng' said his boys, who went down to KPA in their first finals in 2018, want to play again in the final.
“We want to improve our performance game-by-game. We have been working on how to adjust in different situations, especially in defence,” said Ochieng'.
KPA women's coach, Anthony Ojukwu, said his players are in good shape and ready for Swords. However, he is worried about centre Belinda Okoth, who is down with malaria.
“Strathmore, being the underdogs, have nothing to lose. Underdogs usually cause the biggest upsets,” Ojukwu said.
“We will treat the game with a lot of respect. We will be confident but not over-confident. They are a good team with energetic players but I believe I have experienced players with the intelligence to stop them."
Game Two is set for Sunday before the teams take a trip to Mombasa for the rest of the matches.
A tight Lower Division match pits Snipers against Moi Air Base (MAB) as Stanbic Shield meet National Bank of Kenya Phoenix.
