Kenya Handball Federation (KHF) league champions, National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) men’s handball team, began the 42nd edition of the East and Central Club Championship on a winning note in Kigali, Rwanda.
The Millers, under the tutelage of Brian Mathews, sent a strong message about their intention to retain the regional title with a commanding 39-24 win over Cobra from South Sudan on Monday evening.
Commenting after the match, NCPB coach Brian Mathews expressed his satisfaction with the team’s performance, adding that the win serves as motivation for the competition.
“The game was good. We took the lead from the start. Our defense and fast breaks were the key factors in winning today’s match. Their goalkeeper was good in the first fifteen minutes, but we made some shooting adjustments, and it worked for us,” he said.
“Every player performed well today. We only used our starting seven players for the first twenty minutes of the match, and we are looking forward to our next game. We thank God for the win,” he added.
NCPB is in Pool A alongside hosts APR (Rwanda), last year’s finalists Gicumbi (Rwanda), and Cobra (South Sudan).
NCPB will play their second match against APR in a Pool A encounter on Tuesday evening. APR won their opening fixture 28-22 against their countrymen Gicumbi. In other results, SOS of Burundi picked up their first win (36-33) in Pool B against UB Sports of Rwanda. Rwanda Police dominated Juba City with a 63-11 victory in another match.
Ten-time regional champions Nairobi Water started the competition on the wrong foot, following a 28-25 defeat to Uganda Police. The Water Queens will play their second match on Wednesday against the University of Kigali (UOK). The students are seeking their first win after narrowly losing to ESC Nyamagabe 32-30 in their opener.
NCPB won their maiden regional championship in Zanzibar in 2022 and successfully defended the title at home last year. NCPB and 10-time regional and defending champions Nairobi Water are the only representatives from Kenya in this year’s regional competition.
Only four women’s teams will participate in this year’s competition, with matches played in a round-robin format. The winner will be determined by the total points amassed. The participating teams include ESC Nyamopole (Rwanda), University of Kigali (Rwanda), and Police (Uganda).
Tuesday Fixtures:
Juba City vs SOS Burundi
Gicumbi vs Cobra
Rwanda Police vs UB Sports
APR vs NCPB
