•Morans assistant coach Collins Gaya said he will use the friendly match against Guinea today to assess the extent of Ongwae’s injury.
•Ongwae has been Morans’ top performer throughout the past games.
Image: / COURTESY
Denmark-based star player Tyler Ongwae is determined to make it to the opener of FIBA Afro-Basket opener this Friday in Yaounde, Cameroon despite a slight injury.
Morans assistant coach Collins Gaya said he will use the friendly match against Guinea today to assess the extent of Ongwae’s injury.
“I am confident he will be ready but we will still monitor his performance against Guinea in a friendly. Guinea will be good opponents for us to gauge ourselves,” Gaya said.
Ongwae, who turns out for Bakken Bears in the Danish top league, has been Morans’ top performer throughout the past games.
Gaya said apart from captain Griffin Ligare who was expected to arrive yesterday afternoon, all the boys are raring to go.
The diaspora-based trio of Ongwae, Joel Awich and Preston Bungei, he confided, will play a key role in the three Group ‘B’ qualifiers.
Apart from the three, forward Okal also arrived from the Gulf, where he had gone to negotiate a contract with a new team.
“Our first training went well. Awich looked great skill-wise and come game-day, he will be ready to go,” he said.
On Bungei, who missed the Kigali show in November due to eligibility issues, the tactician said, he is ready for action. “He is mentally and physically ready and can’t wait for the games to start,” said Gaya
He observed that the Angolans are better than they were in the last window as they have improved their squad. He noted that his boys are in high spirits and ready for the event. Kenya tip-off their programme on Friday with a game against Senegal and Angola before facing Mozambique a day later.
Meanwhile, Eldonets head coach Maurice Ouma will be banking on his new signings as he prepares to open the Kenya Basketball Federation (KBF) league this weekend.
The lanky Ouma said he has been preparing well ahead of the season after skipping the opening weekend.
However, he has a doubleheader this weekend and takes on Strathmore University on Saturday before playing Kenyatta University on Sunday at the Nyayo National Stadium gymnasium.
He said they are keen to improve on their performance unlike last season, where they were eliminated in the play-offs by Thunder.
“This time, we are well prepared and the new signings will play a critical role to ensure we get good results at the end of the season,” said Ouma.
Ouma, who also serves as Uasin Gishu KBF chairman, said they have recruited Humphrey Lesile, Anthony Mukhebi, Dennis Omache, Philip Omondi, Alvin Mulupi and Collins Wekesa to beef up his squad with majority coming from universities.
“The main reason for beefing up the squad is to ensure we make a remarkable improvement in the league this season. Our target is to ensure we finish among the top clubs,” said Ouma.