Dagoretti, Upper Hill, St Joseph’s lay down markers as top action begins in Mombasa

Dagoretti High School captain Noah Wafula is confident they have what it takes to win their first basketball title at this year’s Brookside Secondary Schools Term One National Games.

The tournament tipped off on Tuesday at Shanzu Teachers Training College and Shimo la Tewa School in Mombasa County.

The Nairobi Region champions made a powerful statement of intent with a dominant 95-71 win over defending champions Dr Aggrey High School in a Pool “A” encounter at the Shimo La Tewa courts. It was the third meeting between the two sides, each having claimed a win previously.

Dr Aggrey’s campaign suffered an early blow due to player eligibility issues, with six out of their 12 bench players deemed ineligible over documentation irregularities. Dagoretti also had two players flagged for the same reason.

Despite the setbacks, Dagoretti delivered an emphatic performance, led by Gift Fidel who poured in 32 points, while Daniel Mutambo added 20.

“It is always important to start the competition with a win, and extra special when you do it against the defending champions,” said captain Wafula. “Dr Aggrey are a formidable side, but we ran them down today and showed them who the Kings of the court are.

“The win gives us confidence we can go all the way. The time is ripe for the title to return to Nairobi after a long time,” he added.

Dagoretti next face Western Region champions Friends School Kamusinga, who overwhelmed Central Region’s Pioneer School 82-46 in the other Pool “A” clash. A win for either side today will secure a spot in the semi-finals.

Despite the loss, Dr Aggrey coach Maima Aran remained upbeat.

“Even last year, we lost our first match in Machakos, but we eventually had the last laugh as we lifted our second title,” Aran said. “It is not the start we wanted, and we need to seal some loopholes in defence, and we will be alright.”

In rugby 15s, former champions Upper Hill School made a strong start, defeating Central Region champions Mangu High School 24-5 in their Pool “A” opener. Upper Hill led 14-5 at half-time thanks to tries from Braxton Bwasheshe and Livingstone Odhiambo, with Benjamin Ecereni converting both.

After the break, Evans Yaa and Hosea Simiyu added further tries to secure the win. Ecereni and Michael Carrick each added a conversion.

Upper Hill next face title holders All Saints Embu High School who narrowly edged hosts Serani Secondary School 3-0 in their opener.

A win for Upper Hill today will confirm their semi-final spot.

In boys’ hockey, defending champions Musingu Boys High School began their title defence with a narrow 1-0 win over Matiliku Secondary School from Eastern Region, courtesy of Job Wanyanga’s first-half field goal.

St Anthony’s Boys High School, the 2023 finalists, showed their intent with a 3-1 win over newcomers Hospital Hill in Group “A”.

Duncan Meli scored twice in the 10th and 14th minutes, with captain Kelvin Onyango adding a third in the 40th. Zahir Suleiman pulled one back for Hospital Hill in the 31st minute.

“We want to perform better than last year and so we will just stick to our game plan, ” said Onyango.

In another Group “A” match, hosts St Charles Lwanga were held to a 0-0 draw by Our Lady of Mercy Ringa Boys from Nyanza. St Charles, who won bronze last year, must beat Hospital Hill today to stay in contention for a semi-final slot.

St Anthony’s will take on Ringa, who are still searching for their first win.

East Africa girls' hockey champions St Joseph’s Girls Secondary School laid down their marker with a 7-0 demolition of hosts St Charles Lwanga. Mary Adhiambo scored twice, with Aphlyne Ochieng, Vallary Ludiali, Mitchelle Jeptoo, Audrey Grener, and Doreen Adhiambo all getting on the scoresheet.

Mwiki Secondary School also impressed in their return to the nationals after a two-year absence, defeating Eastern Region champions AIC Nyayo 2-0, thanks to goals from Margret Nyawira and Joan Muria.