KENYA Ports Authority (KPA) women’s team will camp in Mombasa ahead of their next month’s FIBA Africa Zone Five qualifiers in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania.
Head coach Mike Opel, who is headed for his first regional show at the helm, revealed yesterday that he will summon his Nairobi-based players to the coastal town for intense training.
“I will discuss with the management how we can bring the Nairobi-based players here so that we can have strict and uninterrupted training together.”
He went on: “It will be important to have all my players here in Mombasa if we are to have a serious go at the championship. We will not take chances.”
Having the players together, he noted, will ensure seriousness in training, adding that the weather will also be conducive.
KPA key players led by national team star Hilda Indasi, Debra Obunga, Seline Okumu and Natalie Akinyi together with Becky Nkatha are based in the city.
The regional tournament, according to the zonal secretary Vitalis Gode has been moved ahead and will now be held in the Tanzanian port city from October 21-26.
Gode said invitations have been sent to teams from Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Burundi and host Tanzania.
Kenya will be represented by two teams KPA and defending champions Equity Bank Hawks. The bankers won the top prize in the same venue last year.
At the same time, Gode revealed that Kenya will send the junior and senior 3on3 teams to Kampala, Uganda for the Fiba Africa Cup in November.
The Kenya Basketball Federation (KBF) have planned for two-day trials from September 25 to name the teams in Nairobi. “We are struggling to see how we can send the four teams—U-18 boys and girls and the senior sides— to Kampala for the tournament,” he said.
Kenya women’s team were placed fourth in the recently concluded All Africa Games in Morocco last month. The men were eliminated early. Caroline Njeri did the country proud by winning the 3 points shooting contest while Kisilu Salim was placed third in the men’s category.
