Stage fright and lack of exposure are to blame for a huge loss in Brazil, says coach Mwaniki

Stage fright and lack of exposure were Kenya's undoing as the country suffered a huge loss against the US in the men’s basketball match of the ongoing 24th Deaflympic Games in Caxias Do Sul in Brazil.

Kenya went down 146-18 to basketball powerhouses in the US on Wednesday night.

“We lost the game by a very big margin not because we were inferior but due to stage fright and exposure difference between our players and the USA team,” said the team’s head coach Jeff Mwaniki.

Coach Mwaniki said most of the United States players feature in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) league, unlike the Kenyans who don’t play in any league.

However, Mwaniki said despite the difference in exposure, the boys gave their all.

“There was no moment I saw them look like they wanted to throw in the towel. They fought hard and I am proud of them,” the coach added.

He said the players will need to defend the three points better and have consistency in balancing the court ahead of their second match against Argentina on Friday.

“We also need to attack more both in and outside the arc. Our foul status was worrying but we'll go back and correct our mistakes. The beauty of it all is that the morale is still very high and the boys are treating the first game as a learning curve,” he added.

In the meantime, the Kenya women’s handball team lost 12-28 to defending champions Denmark. They face host Brazil next on Friday as their basketball counterparts dare the USA.

At the same time, Kenya’s golfers Isaac Makokha,  Adan Wario, and handicap 2.5 Gilbert Alikula will start their medal hunt this weekend at the Caxias Do Sul golf course.

Wario and Alikula will be making their debut on the international stage while Makokha, ranked 5th in the world, will be playing his second Deaflympics having made his debut in Samsun, Turkey five years ago.

In a recent interview, the Vet Lab golfer, who plays off handicap 0.8, said he is targeting a gold medal in Brazil. Makokha is one of Kenya’s leading amateur golfers.

His coach Vincent Wang’ombe also backed Makokha to finish within the medal bracket. They have been training at Muthaiga Golf Club for the last one month.

On Sunday and Monday, they will engage in stroke play format where the last 16 will sail to the quarter-finals, where they will play in match play format.

Ends