USIU Tigers coach George Mayienga said their weekend victory over Equity Bank Dumas will give his boys a lot of confidence going forward.
The tactician, talking after the students had subjected the bankers to their second defeat in two games at Nyayo Stadium gymnasium on Sunday, promised to keep pushing in the hunt for the title.
“I have a very young side that went out there to play and enjoy themselves,” said Mayienga, adding; “They showed their ability by giving their all against an experienced side.”
“Equity is one of the most experienced teams in the league and taking two points from them is no mean achievement. We played our cards well and kept them at bay.”
Tigers who had the previous day gone down 95-58 to Nairobi City Thunder, broke open a closely-fought encounter in the last quarter with a strong 26-16 charge.
Deng Kuol sunk 19 points, followed by Vitumbiko Mponela, who added 16. The bankers Davis Siaji nailed his side’s 19 and ex-USIU great Victor Bosire shot 12.
“We had only a week to train as a team as the players had been out of session. If we manage to train for long, tighten our defence and sharpen our offence, we will be fine.”
Mayienga said the women’s side also had a good outing despite going down 53-47 in a tight duel against two-time champions Equity Bank Hawks.
Despite the slip up, he said, the girls gave an equally good account of themselves coming from a 30-20 deficit at the break to lead 14-8 in third quarter before sinking 15-13 in the deciding stanza.
“We started on off badly and trailed by ten points at half time. But recovered to take a lead and only lost due to experience,” he offered.
“Equity have many national team players in their ranks and we are happy we gave them a run for their money. We can only improve from there.”
Mayienga, who had a brief stint in Uganda with JKL Dolphins, guided the two USIU sides back to the top tier last year. He had guided the Flames to two back-to-back national titles in 2014.
