Kisumu All Stars Saturday won the fifth edition of Kisumu County Basketball League (KCBL) after beating Maseno Dukes 3-1 in the best-of-five series play-offs final at Jomo Kenyatta Sports Ground.
All Stars, who came into Game Four leading the series 2-1, turned on class to emerge champions with a 62-49 win.
Justus Okutoyi scored game-high 21 points for the winners while Jeff Obuya and Daniel Otieno added 19 and nine points respectively.
Edgar Miheso top-scored for the losers with 17 points for Dukes while Charles Anjeho and Ruajay Biko combined for 22 points.
All Stars coach Erick Mwoki attributed the win to hard work, commitment and discipline from his players.
“We have worked tirelessly for this title because the season has been tough with great teams on board. My players have been fast at correcting slips during matches and this has helped us garner points during the season,” said an excited Mwoki.
Maseno Dukes coach Sila Derrick blamed their loss to poor communication.
“Slight mistakes cost us the title and it was too late to correct them. We look forward to taking the trophy home next season,” said Sila.
All Stars led 37-22 at half-time and held on to win Game Four despite losing the third and fourth quarters 13-14 and 12-13 respectively.
It’s the first time All Stars emerged champions having lost in the final to Team Platinum in the last two editions.
This year’s competition saw 15 teams across Nyanza and Western Kenya take part unlike the previous four editions that only attracted nine teams from Kisumu County.
The league’s organizing secretary Brian Lusaga revealed they will introduce a women’s league next season which will tip off in April.
“We are aiming at improving the standards of basketball in the region for both genders and this is why we will be introducing the women’s league next year,” said Lusaga.
