NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 9 – Equity Hawks completed a thrilling series comeback on Thursday evening at Nyayo Stadium, overpowering Stanbic Aces 82–64 in a winner-takes-all Game 5 to secure a 3–2 semi-final series victory in the Kenya Basketball Federation Women’s Premier League.
The decisive triumph capped off an intense five-game roller-coaster that saw the two sides trade blow throughout. Stanbic had taken Games 1 (66–60) and 3 (56–53), while Equity captured Game 2 (70–37) and forced the decider with a dominant 68–36 victory in Game 4.
Before a crowd of 231 spectators, Stanbic opened a brief 12–9 lead, but Equity quickly responded with an offensive surge to finish the first quarter ahead 29–22. The Hawks tightened their grip in the second period, outscoring the Aces 21–13 to build a commanding 50–35 halftime lead.
Guard Betty Kananu spearheaded the assault, shooting an efficient 60% from the court to finish with 27 points and 9 rebounds. She was backed by strong performances from Taundeciah Peter (17 points, 9 rebounds), Melissa Akinyi (14 points), and Frida Yagomba (11 points).
While Kananu ignited the scoring, Equity’s dominance on the glass proved equally decisive. The Hawks crushed Stanbic 60–33 on the boards, unlocking a game-changing 26–5 advantage in second-chance points and getting 29 points from their bench.
Stanbic attempted to rally in the second half behind 13 points apiece from Daisy Ayodi and Beryl Adhiambo, but Equity held firm, closing out the final quarter 14–10 to secure the 18-point win after leading for over 35 minutes of play.
“In a game of this magnitude, every possession matters. We stayed focused, trusted our preparation, and kept pushing as a team,” Kananu remarked after the game, while Head Coach Ben Oluoch credited the team’s depth and rebounding discipline for delivering under pressure.
With their hard-fought semi-final victory wrapped up, Equity Hawks advance to a best-of-five championship finals showdown against defending champions Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) “The Dockers,” who booked their spot after completing a 3–0 sweep of TH3 Swish.
