It was business as usual as Butere Girls High School, Moi Girls Kamusinga and St Luke’s Kimilili all retained their titles as this year’s Brookside Secondary Schools national Term One games ended Saturday at Shanzu Teachers College and Shimo La Tewa High School, Mombasa.

Butere Cannons proved that they are now the queens of secondary schools’ basketball by thrashing home girls Kaya Tiwi 76-53 in the final.

Mary Awino was on fire, sinking 30 points, to anchor the Cannons to victory. Yvonne Sheryl and captain Joyce Wangui scored 11 points apiece to see Butere stamp authority and bag their third consecutive title. Bua Mpumbu top scored for Kaya Tiwi with 19 points.

Wangui revealed that their secret to victory was ignoring what was happening outside the court and focusing on the game.

“We knew that it would not be easy because our opponents were playing at home and had supporters. We refused to be intimidated by the crowds and concentrated on the game because we were determined to retain our trophy,” Wangui said.

In boys’ basketball, Laiser Hill Academy bagged their record eighth title after beating last year’s winners, Dr Aggrey, 71-69 in a scintillating final.

It was sweet revenge for Laiser Hill who lost their trophy last year after losing to Dr Aggrey in the semis.

Teamwork once again did it for Liaser Hill with Ater Kum leading with 14 points. David Muliri and Alor Deng scored 12 points each with Chance Mutuma adding 11.

Dr Aggrey’s Steven Ochola scored a match-high 30 points, Kayika Jacob and Deng Akut Kuot scored 15 points apiece, but their effort was not good enough to help their side retain their trophy.

In rugby 15s, Vihiga High School beat Kisii School 14-6 to win their maiden national gong.

Vihiga who have been excelling in rugby 7s were successful on their first national attempt. Erick Festus stood to be counted when it mattered most, scoring three penalties with Elvis Otieno touching down ones to see Vihiga Vipers triumph over Kisii Dragon. Matrix Matangi converted two penalties for Kisii School.

In handball, Moi Girls Kamusinga, who have been twice unlucky whenever the Coast region hosts the games, finally got it right, winning their first ever trophy in Mombasa. They avenged their 2023 national final defeat to St Joseph’s Girls High School Kitale to retain their trophy. Kamusinga thrashed St Joseph’s 24-14 to be crowned champions.

Kamusinga coach Godfrey Simiyu was over the moon, saying he had finally broken the jinx that saw his charges lose their trophy twice in Mombasa.

“I’m very happy this time we made it happen. We have been at the national games since 2012 and lost the title here (Mombasa) twice. We had to approach the games differently and I’m glad our strategy worked,” Simiyu said.

St Luke’s Kimilili also retained their boys handball title with a resounding 35-18 win over St Albert Kamito.