School girl Medina Okot will miss a chance of playing for Kenya Lionesses in the FIBA Afro-Basket women’s Championship in Cameroon.
Coach George Mayienga said it is unfortunate that the towering Okot, a Form 4 student at Kaya Tiwi Secondary, has not joined the team’s camp.
“I really wanted Okot in the team for this tournament because of her height and ability to rebound and block shots,” said Mayienga.
“Her presence in the team both on defence and offence is key and would have really made a difference. But now we must look elsewhere.”
He said her absence in the tournament will see her miss a huge chance of being scouted by the college coaches who will be on the ground in Yaounde.
However, her coach at Kenya Ports Authority, Anthony Ojukwu, said he believes all is not lost and the player can still be called up to the team.
“I believe she can still be given a chance. With her height, she is still one of the best players in her position. You can’t teach height,” Said Ojukwu.
Mayienga said he is awaiting for the arrival of two more overseas-based players so that he can change his system of training.
Dubai-based captain Rose Ouma and Felmas Koranga from USA are yet to join the team but Victoria Reynolds and Brenda Wasuda both from USA are already in town. Mayienga expressed his concern over the absence of game videos capturing opponents in action.
“Our opponents are studying the tapes of our performance from the qualifiers since they are all out there but we don’t have theirs. This means we will have to change tactics,” he noted.
Kenya, playing in Group A, open their Afro-Basket show against the host on September 18 and meet Cape Verde a day later. Other groups are as follows; Group B: Nigeria, Angola, Mozambique; Group C: Senegal, Egypt, Chinese; Group D : Mali, Ivory Coast and Tunisia.
