Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) torched Ulinzi Warriors 71-50 to take a 2-1 series lead in the Kenya Basketball Federation (KBF) men's playoff finals tie at Nyayo National Stadium gymnasium on Saturday.

The porters got this Game Three off to just the start they needed after a three pointer by Lennox Wanje. They piled on the points as the soldiers struggled to hit the target.

With just over a minute to the end of the quarter, KPA sailed away to a comfortable 20-4 cushion. They hanged on 20-8 at the end of the stanza.

Victor Odendo nailed a three pointer from the wing to open the third quarter but Eric Mutoro swifty replied with one of his own.

Another trey by Odendo made it a 28-15 scoreline before Ken Wachira hit a basket and followed it with a three pointer for 33-17 KPA lead. Ulinzi trailed 37-18 at the break.

"This was the fruit of our hard work during trainings. We have trained well and played good defense. We also do better on offense. If we pick up from where we left, we will be okay,” said KPA coach Sammy Kiki. 

Wachira turned on the show as the third quarter got underway drilling three consecutive treys, two from the top of the key for a 46-23 advantage.

"My teammates trust me when I start making those shots. My mind set was in the game and they started giving me the ball. I just had to finish,” said Wachira.

With 4:00 to play in this quarter, Job Byron rebounded a Wanje miss inside and easily connected as KPA build a 50-25 margin.

Wachira fed Nick Ogol for an easy basket, he again stole a wayward Ulinzi pass and drove for a 61-33 edge that marked the end of the stanza.

Ogol got the fourth quarter off where he ended the third, scoring from the line for a 63-33 edge that dampen Ulinzi spirits.

Halfway through the last quarter, KPA had sailed away 65-40 as Ulinzi suffered a blow following the injury of Joseph Owino .

Ulinzi coach William Balozi blamed their loss on poor start but said KPA were the better team.

"Today nothing worked for us. We started off badly and ended it badly. We couldn't balance the court and box out."

He went on, "We are normally a good three lint shooting team but none of our shots went in. It was just a bad day in office."

Wachira recorded 19 points and Ogol tallied 14 for KPA. Ulinzi had 10 a piece from James Mwangi and Jose Khaemba. - DANN O’WERRE, The Star

Kenyan runners Rodgers Kwemoi and Hellen Obiri have won the 17th Istanbul Half Marathon, an annual road run that this year featured hundreds racing through Türkiye's metropolis.

Rodgers Kwemoi of Kenya finished first in the men's half marathon with a time of 59 minutes and 15 seconds, setting a track record on Sunday.

His countryman Daniel Mateiko finished second with a time of 1 hour and 5 seconds, followed by Kenyan Emmanuel Bor at third with a time of 1 hour and 20 seconds.

Kenyan runner Hellen Obiri also took first place in the women's category with a time of 1 hour, 4 minutes, and 48 seconds.

Ethiopia's Tsehay Gemechu was second with a time of 1 hour, 5 minutes and 52 seconds, followed by Kenya's Vicoty Chepngeno with 1 hour, 6 minutes and 58 seconds.

Turkish athletes

Among Turkish athletes, Ramazan Ozdemir completed the race with a time of 1 hour, 4 minutes and 2 seconds in the men’s categories, and Yasemin Can ran the race in 1 hour, 7 minutes and 57 seconds in the women’s category.

Another Turkish athlete, Alihan Yilgin, won the 10 kilometre (6.21 miles) race.

An award ceremony was held near the starting area for the winning runners.

The event, with more than 650 foreign athletes from 65 countries competing, had two categories: 21 kilometres (13 miles) and 10 kilometres.

The first-place winners were awarded $7,500, second-place finishers $5,000, and third-place finishers $4,000. - TRT World

The Gambia, Eswatini and South Sudan all claimed a first leg advantage as qualification for next year's Africa Cup of Nations began with a series of preliminary ties among the continent's lowest ranked sides.

The game, played at the Ahmadou Ahidjo stadium in the Cameroonian capital Yaounde, was technically a home match for Chad, who have been barred from hosting games due to inadequate facilities.

The return leg will be played in Morocco because The Gambia have received a similar ban.

Somalia's home leg against Eswatini was also played overseas, in Tanzania. Goals from Bonginkosi Dlamini, Fanelo Mamba and Gamedze Sandile gave Eswatini a sizeable 3-0 advantage over the Ocean Stars heading into the return.

There were also plenty of goals in the match between South Sudan and Djibouti.

Played in the Egyptian city of Alexandria, due to a lack of suitable facilities in Djibouti, it was South Sudan who claimed a 4-2 victory - with all six goals coming in the second half.

Elsewhere, there was a goalless draw between Seychelles and Lesotho while Sao Tome and Principe face Mauritius on Thursday.

Botswana have already progressed to the next round of qualifying after Eritrea withdrew. - BBC Sport