Owino 50-year-old journey in Kenyan basketball

Ronnie Owino has been in and around basketball for nearly 50 years and there is no sign that he could leave the scene anytime soon. To many, it feels like Owino has been in this game forever.

Love him or hate him, “Olulu” as he is famously known in the basketball circles, has a lot to the game as a player, coach, instructor and administrator and he says, he will still be around just a little longer and as always, will continue giving his all. 

Owino was born in Kisumu in June 1964 to George Lazarus Owino and Esther “Mothe” Owino—both deceased. He is a third born in a family of 10— six boys and four girls.

His love for basketball started in 1975 after being introduced to the game at a tender age by his uncle Elijah ‘Niger” Aduke—a towering national team captain.

“As a young student at Central Primary School, I used to carry the ball for my uncle while going for training. It was here that I developed the love for the game,” Owino said.

His game improved when he joined Cardinal Otunga High School, Kisii in 1977. For the first two years,  he was in the junior team before moving to the senior before exiting after sitting for his ‘A’ level examinations.

His most memorable achievement remains leading the school to two national championship finals in 1979 and 1981. In the two meetings, they crushed to the Philip Yugi led Mombasa Baptist.

While at Cardinal, Owino was already playing club basketball for Lakers—the only team in Kisumu. Then in 1980, they came home for half term but were denied a chance to travel with the team to Nakuru. There was a feud and Jua Kali was formed.

“We left Lakers and formed our own team because we were told we could not travel with the rest to Nakuru for the Labour Day tournament. We picked Aduke as our coach,” he revealed.

The split was a blessing in disguise as the talent was spread across, bringing to fore one of the fiercest rivalry ever witnessed in Kisumu. Jua Kali, the pride of the lakeside town, was top and produced some of the finest talents in the province.

That Jua Kali was a tougher kill than Lakers was never in doubt—always getting the best of their arch-rivals whenever they met. They enjoyed a good fan base during those packed confrontations.

His battle against his older brother Tom “Boom Boom” Owino, a professor at Clemson University in the USA on the other side was the talk of the town. This was one game that was always in their mum’s diary.

“She would always be there when we played Lakers. And at heart, I always thought she was Jua Kali fan,” Owino said.

Later, the family fire was kept burning in town by his other brothers late Peter Owino, Collins Omondi, late Francis “Dumars” Oduor and Canada-based Michael Owino.

Of the four sisters, only Jacky Owino did sports at State House Girls excelling in both basketball and swimming. Others Jane, Millicent and Caroline did not.

On the Jua Kali-Lakers rivalry, Owino notes, “We never wanted to lose the derby. Our motto remained ‘lose to any team but not Lakers’. This rivalry helped grow the game in Nyanza.”

Owino also played football for Kisumu Blackstars/Allstars when his father, at that time the city’s deputy mayor, was an official of a rival club, Kisumu Hotstars.

“In fact, the question that was always on the lips of Hotstars disgruntled fans was why my father allowed me to play at a rival club and not the one he supported,” he said.

But the old man’s answer was swift, “If everybody in town played for Hotstars, then who will they play against?”

In 1984, Owino joined the University of Nairobi, where he teamed up with former KBF chairman Morris Aluanga and Gerald Nyaoma and guided ‘Terrorists’ to a varsity title in Morogoro, Tanzania.

At 19 years, Owino reached a huge milestone when he and Phillip Omany were called to the national team. Sadly they missed the trip to Egypt because they had no passports.

“I and Omany would have actually made our debut with the team in Cairo but we missed the trip because we were unable to get our passports in time to travel,” he said.   

But this came to pass in 1985 when Owino and his childhood friend Omany were named in late coach Obel Ochino’s squad to Fiba Afro-Basket event in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. The team finished last.

Omany observes: “In my view, Owino is the best point guard the country has ever produced. This guy is very competitive and hates losing with a passion. His famous catchphrase during games was; ‘we are never losing this game’ even when we are 20 points down. He never gives up.”

He sums it all up, “He has been a great servant to Kenyan basketball both as coach, player and official. Long may this continue. He is a great and selfless man.”

In 1987, Kenya hosted the 4th All Africa Games and Owino was in the squad handled by American coach Bill Trumbo. They finished fourth.

After graduating, Owino had a brief stint with Kenya Airways before joining Posta. They won their first national title in 1989 under George Ogolla.

Late that year, Ogolla named Owino and his Posta team-mates Jos Openda (Blazers hockey team coach) and Aggrey “Kaliech” Ofula (South Africa) to Fiba Afro-Basket event in Luanda, Angola.

Kenya wanted to make a strong presence in the 5th All Africa Games in Egypt and KBF chairman Joseph Kimani organised a two-week intensive training for the team in Kentucky, USA.

They flew to Cairo directly from the USA and produced one of their best performance ever against the Central Africa Republic and Mozambique. They lost 95-91 to the host in an explosive tie.

“The USA trip gave us confidence as we prepared well. We got exposed to different coaches and this trip was key for our good performance,” Owino said.

In 1992, Ogolla moved to newly formed StanChart team and Owino took over the mantle at Posta as player-cum-coach. He led the  “Athletic Mailmen” to three straight national titles—the first team to achieve that feat.

Owino next task was to bag the Kenya Communication Sports Organisation (Kecoso) title and went on to retain it for four years in a row (Machakos in1992, Kisii 93, Nairobi 94 and Nakuru in 95).

“Posta wanted a basketball success in Kecoso and winning this trophy brought us promotions. Posta's top management invested a lot in sports and wanted the returns,” he said.

When Kenya hosted the Fiba Afro-Basket show at Kasarani in 1993, there were expectations that the team would make an impression at home.

But few days before the championship tipped off, coaches Osman Ali (coaching Co-operative Bank) and Idris Suleiman (Postbank), who were charged with the team locked out Posta guard Peter “Lulu”  Otieno, insisting that he had no role in the team.

When KBF chairman Joseph Kimani insisted that Otieno must make the final 12, the two coaches quit in a huff. Unperturbed, Kimani handed the task to Yugi assisted by Owino.

And as if to prove something, Otieno was unstoppable in the tournament’s opener against Algeria. His jaw-dropping performance earned him 28 points in that win.

Yugi and Owino would guide Kenya to the fourth position— their best ever in this competition won by Angola, who beat Egypt for the gold. To date, Kenya has never qualified for another championship.

Otieno, now a coach at Daystar University recalls, “It was Ronny who ensured that I played for the national team in that championship. I came in as a substitute against Algeria and did not disappoint.”

“This was simply proof that Ronny never made a mistake by insisting that I be included. He is an experienced coach, trainer, mentor and good motivator,” he added.

In 1995, Posta and KCB Lioness represented the country in the inaugural East, Central and Southern Africa Championships in Harare, Zimbabwe. The Kenyans dominated the tournament.

After that, Owino moved to KCB Lionesses in 1996, guiding the bankers to league titles in 1997 and 1998. They also won the regional championships in Kampala in 2000.

His next move was Post Bank in 2003. In that year, he guided them to third place in the league. They played in Africa Club Championship qualifier and won the Fiba Zone title in Kampala in 2004.

They set a premier league record that is unbroken to date by holding Co-operative Bank score-less in an entire quarter with a 32-0 margin.

In 1997, Owino was tasked with handling the Kenya team in the Fiba Afro-Basket women’s Championship in Nairobi. They also finished fourth in the event won by Senegal.

Owino also guided the women side to All Africa Games in Algeria in 2007, where they finished fifth before moving back to Posta between 2008-2010.

The team played in the Nairobi Basketball Association (NBA) provincial league, winning the title unbeaten to return to the top tier.

His last national team assignment was in the Fiba AfroBasket women championships in Dakar, Senegal last year, where demand for unpaid allowances by players overshadowed their performance.

“The fact that we went with 10 players was a problem. Fatigue set in and rotating nine players took its toll. Issues of allowances were also destruction,” he admitted.

He went on, “Our preparations were inadequate in terms of duration compared to other teams. Moving forward, we need to get the players from the diaspora.”

His captain Hilda Indasi, one of the finest female players in the country, says she has respect for Owino. “He is a good mentor. As a coach, he has thorough basketball knowledge and this is evident from the fact that he has many titles under his belt and that regional countries always come to him for advice,” said Indasi.

“Players under Owino have improved over time and his sense of humour is clear. There is a lot that can be said about coach Ronny but what stands out is the fact that he is one of the greatest assets for the Kenya basketball.”

Owino went for his first coaching course in Budapest, Hungary in 1984, where he was awarded a higher diploma certificate after a three-year course.

He proceeded to Madrid, Spain in the same year for two weeks for a top coaches workshop sponsored by Pedro Fernandez Foundation. 

In 2004, Fiba Africa realised the continent would be well off training its coaches as instructors and Owino was a beneficiary when he landed an invite for a course in Kinshasa, DR Congo.

This was a new beginning for Owino who has traversed the continent from Uganda, Tanzania, Seychelles, Swaziland, Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Eritrea and Nigeria among other places.

Owino is the chairman of the NBA, where he has been for over 20 years, starting off as a fixture secretary. His tenure has seen the number of teams swell steadily from five to 45.

Currently, Owino is head coach of the premier league side Strathmore University “Swords” women side.

“The reason I played for long and excelled is due to personal discipline, determination and focus,” Owino summed it up. “Any player who wants to excel must have the three virtues.”

He also did weight training which enabled him to endure the physical nature of basketball.