Five days of sizzling action came to a screeching halt on Saturday, April 29, as the Kenya Secondary Schools Sports Association (KSSSA) Term One Games ended in the City of Champions, Eldoret.The games commenced on Tuesday, April 24, and have been ongoing despite the tough climatic conditions.##NAJAVA_MECA_7217580##RUGBY 15SButula Boys are the new KSSSA Rugby 15s champions after seeing off All Saints of Eastern 38-0 in the highly contested final staged at the Eldoret Sports Club. The Champions will go down in history as the first rugby team to represent Busia at the national level. This was also their debut 15s competition.All Saints displayed impressive turnovers, but their counterparts’ kicking, lineouts, and mauls out-mastered the confident Saints. Butula were also fast, piling pressure on their opponents’ danger zones.The first half was equally dominated, with All Saints infringing in the opening minutes, but Butula failed to pick up the points. The Western Boys quickly restructured, and this time, with their powerful maul, they pushed All Saints to the whitewash to score the opening try. The conversion was successful under the leadership of Rayvon Ambale.Another infringement saw All Saints penalized, and this time Butula did not miss the kick courtesy of Ambale. Shivenga’s charges were more motivated than ever, scoring more tries through Carl Max Otieno, Michael Lukusi, Adrian Khwesa, and Rayvon Ambale.In an exclusive with Mozzart Sport after the win, Butula High School Head Coach Shimenga Livondo dedicated the win to God, as is his norm anytime he leads a team to glory. Prior to his new role at Butula Boys, the gaffer had led St Peters Mumias to make history as the first Kenyan side to win the East African (FEASSA) 7s title after beating Kololo Secondary 21-14 at the Eldoret Sports Club seven years ago.”First, we want to thank God. We are happy to have won the Rugby 15s Trophy. It is the first time Butula is coming for rugby 15s, and it is the first time to see our county representing the country at the national level. We were good at scrums, lineouts, and mauls. There were a few gray areas: we did not perfect some of the rucks, and we had handling errors. We had an intercept and a few knock-ons, which we are going to work on and perfect,” he told Mozzart Sport.BUTULA BOYS ARE THE 2023 SECONDARY SCHOOL RUGBY 15S CHAMPIONS NATIONALLY 🏆🔥🥇Butula have produced a dominant final by beating All Saints Embu in a final clash. What a statement from Butula Boys.FTButula 38,All Saints 0.Congratulations Butula 👏#SecondarySchoolGames pic.twitter.com/6Jik4TFnRc— Jonathan Bilaso (@ItsBilaso) April 29, 2023 All Saints Head Coach Benson Kinyua recognized Butula as a worthy opponent, saying that he would include mass-gaining programs in his training programs ahead of the East African games. It was also All Saints’ debut in the 15s competition.”Butula overpowered our side, mass-wise. Our boys had skill, but mass-wise, Butula had an advantage. On our side, it is all about going back to the drawing board. We have months to go before we go to Rwanda, so I will think about more training on how to add mass and improve. I will improve more on speedwork and ball-carrying skills,” he noted.HOCKEY BOYSSt. Anthony’s Kitale lost the title that they held seven times to Musingu Boys by a solitary goal in the finals played at Hill School. Despite that, the Rift Valley representatives have a chance to defend the East African title that they have won five consecutive times.HOCKEY GIRLSWestern-based Tigoi girls made a comeback to the finals stage but failed to claim the title after losing 1-0 to Nyamira Girls of Nyanza in the finals staged at the Hill School. The last time Tigoi qualified for the finals was in 2018. Nyamira Girls was quenching a 31-year thirst at the national level.HANDBALL GIRLSSt. Joseph’s Girls Kitale cut short Moi Girls Kamusinga’s dream of bagging the title again by narrowly beating them 16-15 in the closely contested finals staged at the Hill School amid the rainy conditions. This match was a repeat of the 2022 KSSSA national final clash, where St. Joseph Kitale lost to Moi Girls Kamusinga.HANDBALL BOYSDefending National Champions Hospital Hill will have themselves to blame after narrowly losing 16-15 to Mbooni High School of Eastern Kenya. Mbooni last won the title in 2019 and were seeking to stage a comeback. Their opponents, on the other hand, won last year’s finals against Kamito High, who were kicked out of the competition for fielding an ineligible player.BASKETBALL BOYSLaiser Hill of Rift Valley defeated Dagoretti High School 45-42 in a closely contested final staged at the Nova Pioneer School. To reach the final stage, Dagoretti High had seen off defending champions Dr. Aggrey 59-52. Dr. Aggrey participates in the Mombasa County Basketball League. They won their debut national title in Nakuru last year. Laiser Hill edged Lukenya School 68-36 to qualify for this stage.BASKETBALL GIRLSButere Girls put a full stop to Kaya Tiwi’s winning streak after winning 51-41 in the finals held at the Nova Pioneer School. Speaking after the win, a visibly impressed Butere Girls Coach, Chrispine Odeke, was grateful for the win, dedicating it to God and his motivated charges.”For a long time, Kaya have been beating us, but today I am grateful that we beat them at the finals. They beat us by six points in the preliminary round, but today we beat them by 10 points. I would like to thank the principal for the support she has given this team. We give all glory to God. As we prepare to go for the East African Games, we will represent our country well; we will not disappoint,” he said.All roads will lead to Huye, Rwanda, for the East African Games set for August this year.Safaricom pledge 400 million as Chapa Dimba makes comeback after two-year hiatus
