East Africa girl's volleyball champions Kwanthanze have vowed to retain their regional title when the games get underway on August 16-24 in Arusha, Tanzania.
Coach Justin Kigwari who helped his side to a third straight national title was confident of retaining the regional title after a tough 3-2 win over Cheptil in the finals of the just ended Kenya Secondary Schools Sports Association Term Two Games in Kisumu .
“We deserved to win the national title. We were the best team in the entire tournament. We now turn our focus to the regionals where we expect to defend our title which we won in Rwanda last year. We shall carry the Kenyan flag high in Tanzania,” said Kigwari.
He added: “We made mistakes especially in serving but I will work on that before we go to Tanzania.”
Kigwari also thanked school principal Anthony Kitungi for supporting the team.
His Cheptil counterpart Ann Birgen hopes to meet Kwanthanze again in the East Africa showpiece.
“My girls were heartbroken by the loss but we will go back and train hard for the East Africa games. Winning the regionals will be a consolation for us,” Birgen added.
However, Soweto Academy coach Joseph Makabwa has promised to spoil the party for Kwanthanze.
Speaking after his team beat Pasenga by straight sets to finish third, Makabwa said: “Soweto will be a strong competitor in Arusha and our target is the regional title. We underestimated some teams here and that's why we lost,” he said.
Meanwhile, in the boys' category,Mogonga PAG High School from Kisii will make their regional debut in Arusha and principal Harun Onchong'a has promised to win the title. Mogonga beat debutants Lelmokwo by straight sets to lift the national title in Kisumu.
“We are embarking on extensive training as from Tuesday. I will invite some experienced coaches to help us in some areas where we have weaknesses,” said an excited Onchong'a after the team's vintage performance at the nationals in Kisumu where they only dropped one set against Namwela in the semis.
Lelmokwo's coach Evans Rotich was contended with the second-place finish. “Mogonga was the better team . I'm happy with the performance of my team. In Tanzania, we don't want to shame Kenya,” said Rotich.
