• Bartilol had expressed concern about the cancellation of the fixture
• Balozi has changed his training time to 6 pm so that his four new signings James Mwangi, Victor Bosire, Joseph Khaemba and Alvin Nyangweso can train together with the rest of the squad.
TOP of the pick Premier League tie between reigning champions Kenya Ports Authority and Ulinzi Warriors is on this weekend, according to Kenya Basketball Federation.
KBF competitions secretary, Joseph Amoko, confirmed that the game has not been called off and will be played at the Makande Welfare hall on Sunday.
“The issue has been sorted,” said Amoko, adding: “The match venue has been booked for three days by the Kenya Taekwondo Association and we have agreed that the fixture should be moved to Sunday and will tip off immediately after their function is over.”
The soldiers' team manager Stephen Bartilol had expressed concern about the cancellation of the fixture, saying they had already made logistical arrangements for the trip.
Amoko said the two teams are now all aware of the change. Coach William Balozi has taken the match seriously and has changed his training time to 6 pm to allow his four new signings James Mwangi, Victor Bosire, Joseph Khaemba and Alvin Nyangweso to train with the rest of the squad.
“I have re-arranged my training schedule so that I can work with all the players at the same time. We lacked cohesion in the earlier matches but going forward, things will now improve,” said Balozi.
He announced the return of playmaker Tiberious Menya and forward Joshua Okumu. This, he said has come at a right time after William Otieno, Joseph Owino and Ben Mufutu are out for eight months.
“ We will miss the three who will be away for work-related training but with the return of the duo, the team should be alright going into the remaining fixtures. My worry is I have played eight matches compared to my opponents’ only three,” he said.
His KPA counterpart Sammy Kiki is a worried man as he has only two players at his disposal in Mombasa. “Most of my players are based in Nairobi. I have only Dickson Aran and Samuel Ochola here. This is my dilemma but we will manage,” he said.