Despite the national basketball team making history by reaching the final of the Fiba AfroCan championships, head coach Cliff Owuor has expressed his disappointment by failing to clinch the title.
The Morans put in a spirited fight during the continental championships in Mali, beating the likes of Nigeria, Morocco and Tunisia, only to fall at the last hurdle, to the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Kenya fell 82-61 in Saturday night’s final to leave Owuor a heartbroken man, even though supporters were all over social media congratulating the team for a job well done.
“I felt so bad after our loss in the final but I have taught myself to quickly adjust to the next challenge. In sports there are losses and wins,” observed Owuor.
“As a team, we swore to Kenyans that we are going to finish in the medal bracket. Unfortunately, we did not see ourselves as champions and thus we couldn’t win.”
Kenya got off to a slippery start, trailing 29-18 in the opening quarter but rallied superbly to take the second 19-7 for a deserved 37-36 half time advantage. But things went horribly wrong after the break as the Congolese regained the lead with a 29-10 cushion in the third and a 17-14 edge in the decisive stanza.
And to add onto the overall silver medal, Tyler Ongwae and Tom Wamukota were named among the top five players alongside Maxi Shamba and Jordon Sacko (DRC) and Edson Ndoniema (Angola).
Denmark-based Ongwae was the tournament’s best scorer with 130 points in six games while Shamba was named MVP. In the bronze medal game, continental powerhouse Angola dismissed Morocco 88-71.