Nairobi — The Equity Dumas will face a do or die clash against the Nairobi City Thunder on Friday night at the Nyayo National Stadium gymnasium, with a last gasp chance to salvage their hope of making the final of the Kenya Basketball Federation (KBF) men's Premier League.
Equity have narrowly lost the first two games to Thunder, who lead the best of five series 2-0 heading into Friday night's crucial game three.
Equity must win the duel to force game four on Saturday, but defeat for the Dumas will mean Thunder pick a sweep and make it into the final.
Equity lost game one by half a basket and game two by three points, and will surely have some gas of hope left in their tanks to claw Thunder.
But, the Premier League's only unbeaten team this season is not ready to go into game four.
Confident of winning game three
"We needed to win game two very much because there is a huge difference when you are 1-1 and when you go 2-0 up in a best of five series. We know that a win in game three will wrap this up and that is what we want to do. The guys have a lot of confidence and we know we can finish this up early," Brad Ibs, the Thunder head coach said.
In game three, Thunder's speedy shooting guard Albert Odero came out firing in all cylinders and Ibs expects him to be on top of his game once again in game three. But the coach is wary of their soft underbelly, a huge number of turnovers that he knows can be the difference between victory and defeat.
"It is of course a huge area of concern because we have given away too many turnovers at crucial points of the game. It is something we have to work on and ensure we reduce," the American tactician added.
Meanwhile on the opposite end of the bench, Equity's Carrey 'T9' Odhiambo hopes to have a last stab at being the first team to beat Thunder this season.
Odhiambo hopes for some fluidity and better teamwork from his charges as opposed to game two when some disconnect between his star players were visible.
On a good day, the efficiency of Joel Ntambwe, Eugene Adera and skipper Victor Bosire driving the team from the base will be key if they are to salvage some pride from the series.
Hawks look to stamp authority over Zetech
Meanwhile, their women's team, Equity Hawks, will be in the early tip off action against the Zetech Sparks. Hawks brought back some respect against the University girls, levelling the series at 1-1 after winning game two a fortnight ago.
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Having been swept 3-0 in the same stage last season, the much improved Hawks triumphed by a 10-point margin in game two and will move to Friday's duel with more confidence.
Just like coach Ben Oluoch said after their win in the second face off, keeping Madina Okot off color will be crucial in the bankers winning the game.
Okot has single handedly been Zetech's go-to-girl in the season, and her efficiency on both boards have been the key ingredient in Zetech's form.
For Equity, they will rely on the drive from Melissa Akinyi and Jemmimah Omondi, while the prowess of Rita Aluoch and Valerie Kemunto especially on the offensive rebounds will be key to their victory.
