Familiar faces Butula, Hospital Hill storm national school games semis

The Kenya Secondary School Sports Association Term Two games at the Machakos Boys High School which enters the semis on Friday have been fairly competitive in rugby, and the competitiveness was underlined in the match.

Butula's first half try was cancelled by  Eastern's All Saints three kicks, a weapon the hosts used to put Kisii School to sword in Wednesday's 6-3 thriller.

The reigning champions needed Chadwick Omondi's brilliance, who swiftly sneaked past All Saints defence to win them the tie.

Head coach Shimenga Livondo could not hide his joy after winning the closely contested tie.

"It was important to win this match. We now have the semi-final to play, we are going for a win as we march to the final," noted Shimenga.

Nairobi region's giants Lenana School saw off a brilliant Mang'u 14-06 in another scintillating clash to book a Semi-final ticket against All Saints.

In basketball, reigning champions Laiser Hill got off the canvas and lifted the Hon DM Amin off their feet with a huge upper cut of 77-39 to round off their group matches in style.

The Eric Mutoro-led charges now face former champions Dr. Aggrey in a mouth watering semi-final on Thursday morning.

Earlier on Dr. Aggrey had stunned Sigalame 71-60 in another mouthwatering clash.

In another pulsating clash, last year's runners up Dagoretti High kept their title dream alive, reigning supreme against Lukenya in a 51-47 win.

The Nairobi-based school had to dig deep in the last two quarters to edge past resilient Lukenya who had a brilliant display but was unlucky with the results in the tournament.

Head coach Hassan Kibagendi hailed his charges but demanded more from them in the semi-final.

"The game was tough but we are happy with the win. We are going to improve on our turnovers in the semi-final and the final is our target,” he said.

The last year's runners up will square up for a final berth with a high flying Agoro Sare who whitewashed Pioneer School 63-49 to complete a clean sweep of Pool B.

In the girls' contest, defending champions Butere Girls saw off MPesa Academy 75-25 to storm into the semi-finals, setting up an entertaining clash against former champions KayaTiwi, a repeat of last year's final where Butere dethroned the former champions.

Kaya Tiwi will be on a mission to seek revenge against the Western region's giants on the enroute to reclaim their crown.

Another semi-final will see high flying Buruburu Girls clash with Rift Valley's Nasokol.

Buruburu Girls put in an impressive shift against Nyakach girls, thumping them 65-57 to top their pool A which was regarded as a pool of death.

The former champions needed to dig deep into the fourth quarter to win the match after trailing in the third quarter.

Head coach Julius Otieno has promised to go all out for the title this season despite having a young team.

"Today's game was tough. Nyakach needed a win to pull through to the semis. We came here for the trophy and we are going to reclaim the title," noted Otieno.

Elsewhere, Jacinta Opondo's second quarter goal helped girls' hockey reigning champions Nyamira ease past last year's semi finalists AIC Nyayo in a 1-0 win.

The win proved Nyamira's prowess in always finding a way to win in closely contested ties, like yesterday's 1-0 win against rivals Tigoi.

Head coach Luvai praised his charges for the win while admitting the tough environment AIC Nyayo created for them.

"AIC Nyayo is a very resilient side. Their play resembles ours but we managed to beat them through the flanks. We are going to the semi-finals with our shoulders high, we'll give everything, go to the semi-finals and defend our title," noted Luvai.

Nyamira will now play Mpesa Academy which stunned St. Charles Lwanga 2-0 to finish second in group B.

In another match Tigoi spanked hapless Pangani 9-0 in their last match to punch their ticket into the semi-finals after Wednesday's 1-0 upset from Nyamira.

Head coach Moses Erima was awed by his charges' response outlining his intention to win this year's title despite already losing to Nyamira.

"The win was very vital, good to build the girls' confidence as we head into the semi-finals. We are now ready to face any team enroute to the final and we are confident we will bag the title," he confidently observed.

A thrilling semi- final awaits the last year's runners up who will now be against St. Joseph's Kitale, a repeat of last year's Semi-final where Tigoi won 2-0.

In the boys' contest, St. Anthony Boys Kitale had an easy job against Katangi handing them a 6-0 demolition to top Group A, setting up a Semi-final clash against Nairobi school who shared spoils with Ringa Boys in a 0-0 draw.

Reigning champions Musingu Boys routed Murang'a High 3-0 in their final clash to finish second, setting up a Semi-final clash with St. Charles Lwanga who overcame Meru School 1-0.

Handball boys saw defending champions Hospital Hill survive a late scare from St. Luke's Kimilili to pip them 17-16, in a scintillating clash to top Pool A.

The reigning champions had a perfect start, leading Kimilili with a five goal scoreline into the half.

Kimilili came into the second half with a different gear, threatening to scrape off Hospital Hill's lead but it was the Nairobi region's giants who held on brilliantly to win the nervy ending clash.

Hospital Hill's head coach Emmanuel Wabule was overjoyed by the narrow win.

"The game was tough, the way I expected it to be but we had psychologically prepared for it. We stuck to our game plan and our dominance in the first half helped us win the game. This was like a final because we've met severally in friendlies and we've always shared the spoils. We now focus on the semi final as we target a win."

Hospital Hill are now penciled to meet Mbooni Boys who lost 26-21 to Saniak, in the semi final in a nail biting clash which will be a repeat of last year's final.

In the girls' contest, Moi Girls Kamusinga dispatched newbies Kwanthanze 16-07 to complete a clean sweep of their group matches, setting up a Semi-final clash against Nyanza's Ulanda.

The Godfrey Simiyu led charges are now two steps away from reclaiming their handball crown they narrowly lost to St. Joseph's Kitale last year, a feat Simiyu believes is close to realisation.

"I'm happy I've managed to top Pool A. We are meeting a good side in the semi-final and I'm confident we shall win the tie and proceed to the final," he said.

In other matches, Mirundiko, who stunned defending champions St. Joseph's Kitale at the regional level, edged past a stubborn Ulanda with a 24-22 win to top Pool B.

The Nakuru-based side will now clash with hosts Kwanthanze in another thrilling semi-final on Friday.