Kenya national men’s basketball team—the Morans—hit the headlines in July with the biggest story of the year when they made history by making the first ever podium finish in a continental championships.
The event was the inaugural Fiba Africa African championships and the venue was Bamako, Mali. Kenya defied all the odds with an impeccable performance, bagging a deserved silver medal after losing to DR Congo in the finals. It was the same Congolese, handled by Chalie Buzangu, a former Co-operative Bank of Kenya playmaker who stopped Morans in the event’s opening match.
The Kenyans, under coach Cliff Owuor, defied all the odds despite that opening loss to the Congolese to beat highly fancied Nigeria, Tunisia and Ivory Coast on their way to glory.
Tyler Ongwae, who plays for Danish side Bakken Bears, was declared the championships Most Valuable Player (MVP) while Tunisia- based Bush Wamukota was not left behind as he was named among the top five players.
That achievement send the country into a frenzy with the Morans landing an invite to State House courtesy of His Excellency President Uhuru Kenyatta. On arrival back into the country, the team’s first stop was Nairobi Governor Michael Mbuvi Sonko’s office where they were received straight from the airport.
The best Kenyan showing in a continental show was way back in 1992 when the national women’s side bagged silver in Dakar, Senegal and went on to become Africa’s sole representative in the 1994 World Championships in Adelaide, Australia.
Kenya Basketball Federation (KBF) chairman Paul Otula disclosed that the performance was key for Kenya to secure the chance to host the Afro-basket pre-qualifiers next month.
“We got the chance to host the meeting because of Morans heroics in Mali. It means we are back on track,” he said, adding: “The bulk of players from that team that starts training mid this month will be retained.”
The tournament is slated for January 14-28 at Nyayo Stadium gymnasium and will feature teams from Burundi, Ethiopia, Somalia, South Sudan and Tanzania.
This year’s road to success started during the Zone Five qualifiers in Kampala, Uganda in May where the country’s national men and women’s sides reclaimed their top positions in the region. Kenya men were top after Rwanda handed Egypt a 77-71 win at Lugogo Indoor Courts. It was this win that ensured Kenya reclaimed the Zone Five Championship after many years in the cold.
The women’s side on the other hand also made it to the Afro-basket despite going down 90-72 to Egypt in the final. Both teams booked a ticket to Dakar, Senegal for the Africa Championships.
USA-based forward Felmas Koranga was declared the best rebounder in the qualifiers that saw Kenya start off their programme with a close 86-82 loss to Egypt.
They then beat Uganda twice in successive matches winning 92-80 and 72-67 before falling again to Egypt in the gold medal game to finish second.
The men, on the other hand, got off their campaign with a stunning 97-79 win over favourites Egypt, beat host Uganda 70-61, hammered Tanzania 112-74 before surprisingly being pegged down 85-66 by Rwanda.
The Rwanda loss was a shocker to many, especially coming after the team displayed a balanced game that saw them make history against the Pharaohs. It was the first ever win against the Egyptians.
While the men finished their business in Mali in style, the ladies had a troubled outing in Dakar, Senegal, where they lost all their matches. What will be remembered more from Dakar demanding their dues through a video that went viral.
After the Africa meetings, the next stop was the Zone Five women’s Club Championship in Dar-es-salaam, Tanzania. Regional champions Equity Bank and Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) flew the nation’s flag in the tournament..
The bankers had a poor outing as they finished fourth after after succumbing 62-53 to Rwandese champions APR in the bronze medal game while KPA made it to the finals where they lost to Uganda’s JKL Dolphins who handed them a 68-56 beating.
The two finalists booked themselves tickets to the women’s Africa Club Championships in Cairo, Egypt. However, by the time of filing this report it was unclear if they would make it for the Africa spectacle.
KPA men on the other hand battled in another inaugural tournament- the Basketball Africa League (BAL) in the five-team qualifiers in Antananarivo, Madagascar.
KPA self-sponsored themselves to the spectacle and forfeited the first game. They, however, won the next two but sadly missed out in the semis.
At the premier league level, former national champions Ulinzi Warriors and defending champions Equity Bank took the top seed as the race for the national title took shape.
The soldiers took on second placed Thunder and beat them 3-1 in the best of five game series to recapture their crown. The soldiers beat champions KPA in the semis while Thunder stopped surprise package Emyba.
Ulinzi turned Game Three around with a performance for the ages. A 123-106 double overtime win coming off a 19 point fourth quarter deficit. Victor Bosire bagged the MVP award and Eric Mutoro the top scorers award.
As expected, women champions Equity Bank and KPA made it to the finals after dispatching Storms and University of Nairobi Dynamites with an identical 3-0 respectively.
The bankers successfully defended their title by beating KPA 3-2 in the series that went to the wire. Annerose Mandela bagged the MVP honours and Hilda Indasi took the top scorers award. University of Nairobi Terrorists beat Kenyatta University Pirates to take the Division One men’s title but both teams gained promotion to the premier league next year. Lady Bucks of Kisumu also beat Riara University to bag the title. The two teams were also promoted to the top tier.
Riara University dismissed Coastal Kings to win the Division Two men’s final before completing the feat in Mombasa. The two sides moved into the places vacated by Terrorists and Pirates.
In the Nairobi Basketball Association (NBA) provincial league, Stanbic Bank and Safe Spaces were crowned champions after they beat Moi Air Base and Gladiators 3-0 and 3-2 respectively.
