By Amanda Damaris
Machakos Talent Academy (MTA FC) and MAS Queens are the new Eastern Region football champions after triumphing during the regional finals held at the Kenyatta Stadium, Machakos on Sunday, October 19.
MTA beat Milimani United 5-4 on post-match penalties after both teams had played to a one-all draw in regular time to win the men’s title. The new champions drew first blood in the seventh minute through Morrison Mutiso, but Ryan Ochieng levelled matters 20 minutes later as the two sides headed to penalties. From the spot, MTA converted all their kicks, but Ochieng quickly became the villain as he smashed his effort on the crossbar.
In the women’s contest, MAS Queens hammered Kibauni Queens 3-1. Diana Namiti netted twice, with Wilkister Shimwati scoring the other goal for MAS as Tracy Adata grabbed the consolation for Kibauni.
The two winners pocketed KES 1 million each, while Milimani United and Kibauni Queens were awarded KES 500,000 each, with third-placed MAS FC and Athi River Queens settling for KES 250,000.
Daystar Falcons will be heading to the BingwaFest National Finals yet again after edging out Makueni Rugby 43-0 in the final. The women’s final was an Embu affair as Kithimu Community annihilated Njukiri Community 45-5.
Falcons and Kithimu Community were also awarded KES 1 million each, while Makueni Rugby and Njukiri Community received KES 500,000 each. Katine Community and Northern Suburbs took home KES 250,000 after finishing third.
In Basketball, BCG retained the men’s regional title after a stellar display in the final, which was a repeat of the first edition at the same venue, one year ago. The reigning national champions whitewashed Pirates 21-8 as Apex beat Valkyries 14-10 in the women’s final to not only pocket KES 500,000 but also claim the Eastern region’s bragging rights. Pirates and Valkyries took home KES 250,000, while second runners-up Makueni UB and Sparta were awarded KES 100,000 each.
Glorious Chepkurui and Francis Langat dominated the track, clinching gold in both the 5,000m and 10,000m races. Chepkirui clocked 16:40.8 in the 5,000m and 34:37.4 over the 10,000m race, respectively, while Langat timed 14:16.3 and 29:13.6 over the two races in that order.
Betika Head of Brand, Eric Mwiti, said: “Congratulations to all the winners at Machakos the past weekend. We look forward to seeing you at the national finals next year. We remain cognizant of the impact we have on the host communities. We believe BingwaFest extends beyond the games and into the community. We handed over the 10th basketball court, built from scratch to the people of Machakos, and we hope that this will be of great impact on the community.”
Chepkurui and Langat took home KES 550,000 each, KES 300,000 for winning the 10,000m and KES 250,000 for triumphing in the 5,000m race.
Up next on the BingwaFest calendar is the Nairobi region finals set for next month. The second edition of the competition kicked off in August in Nakuru for the Rift Valley region finals, followed by the Nyanza region leg in Siaya last month, then Eastern Region’s at Machakos.
