•NCPB women finished third after whitewashing Mountain Queens 42-16.
•Ulinzi coach Nickson Oyaro blamed the loss on turnovers
Image: FILE
National Cereals and Produce Board's defensive prowess against Ulinzi was the reason behind their successful title defence, coach Bryan Mathews revealed.
The millers beat the soldiers 30-25 in a tough decider at Nyayo Stadium for their third trophy in a row.
"We started the game well and we focused a lot on defence because that was our main problem in the previous two games," offered Mathews.
"We appreciate Ulinzi, Equity Bank and GSU for giving us that push. It made us harder. Our goalkeeper was also superb throughout," he said.
Ulinzi coach Nickson Oyaro blamed the loss on turnovers saying: "What killed us were the turnovers. They had a seven-goal edge advantage. We will redeem ourselves in the Super Cup."
The losers' top scorer Ireri, who bagged 10 goals and played his heart out said: "We gave it our all but things didn't go in our favour."
Timothy Kirimi scored nine goals, Morgan Simiyu had six and Nicholas Okore shot four for NCPB. For Ulinzi, who trailed 17-14 at the breather, Kellian Otieno and Solomon Kimalewa had three.
In the women's category, Ulinzi Sharks stopped an 11-year Nairobi Water Queens reign with a hard-fought but deserved 31-27 win.
"We trained well for this game. Mental preparedness and teamwork ensured we beat them for the title," said KDF's Oyaro.
The winners coasted to a 17-10 first-half advantage and hanged on despite a late charge by the ex-champions.
"They have always beaten us in the last half in our previous games. We picked their key players and took care of them from the start," said Sharks assistant coach Victor Ojijo.
The soldiers got off to their best start against their rivals for the first time in many years.
Water Queens' coach Jack Ochieng who relinquished the title he had won in the last 11 years noted: "We didn't follow the game plan as agreed in the first half. We had planned to take the half-time lead and If they lead, it should be by one or two goals."
"That is where the problems started despite winning the second half. Ulinzi have a lot of quality and played so well," he admitted.
Ulinzi's Sarah Wasike led the scoring chart for the winners with 22 goals followed by Dorothy Machuma(eight).
Water Queens were led by Gladys Cholo who shot 12 while Merina Andala scored seven and Cecilia Katheu four. NCPB women finished third after whitewashing Mountain Queens 42-16.