Afrobasket qualifiers: Kenya Morans tackle Senegal

Kenya Morans players and technical team all in smiles during the official Fiba photo session on February 18, 2021 at the Yaounde Sports Complex in Yaounde ahead of the second and final round of the Afrobasket qualifiers.



Photo credit: Philip Onyango | Nation Media Group

What you need to know:

  • Kenya’s hunt for a first appearance in African finals since 1993 enters the business end in Yaounde
  • The top three teams will qualify for the African finals later this year. Kenya last featured in continental showpiece in 1993.

Kenya Morans’ Australian coach Elizabeth Mills has plotted the downfall of favourites Senegal in their opening Group “B” match of the second and final round of the Afrobasket qualifiers at the Palais Des Sports Complex here in Yaounde on Friday.

The highly anticipated game tips off at 4pm Kenyan time.

 Kenya Morans will be aware of the 38 points loss they suffered at the hands of the experienced Senegalese side in Kigali, Rwanda last November, and itching for some form of revenge.

Other teams in the group are Angola and Mozambique.

The top three teams will qualify for the African finals later this year. Kenya last featured in continental showpiece in 1993.

Mills believes she has the squad that can stop the otherwise very tall and strong Senegalese.

“As much as we want to respect all the teams at this championships we are not afraid of anybody. We have been training very well and it's time now to put what we learnt into practice when the real actions starts on Friday,” Mills said during an interview at the team’s Meumi Hotel here in Yaounde.

Senegal are undoubtedly one of the best basketball nations in Africa, but Mills reckons the Kenyan team in Yaounde is much better than the one that played in Kigali and will push hard for a reversal of fortunes against the fancied west Africans.

“We know they are very tall, arguably the tallest team at this championships, so we want to force them to play half court basketball which will help us to take away their transition,” the Morans coach, who holds a Masters degree in coaching and consultancy, said. She said they would put a lot of pressure on the Senegalese defensively to force them to make mistakes.

Offensively, Mills says Morans will set out transition and attack their opponents off the dribble for easy baskets.

“They are very big,so dribble penetration will be a good way of forcing fouls on them so that we slow their tempo,” said the experienced  Mills, who has also coached Zambia and Cameroon men’s sides.  Mills  downplayed the very late arrival of captain Griffin Ligare saying he would still walk straight into the team.

“I want my players to understand that their time to perform is now and therefore the entire nation will be expecting them to give this game their all,” said Mills.

Kenya can look to internationally experienced Joel Awich, Tylor Okari and Preston Bungei to match the formidable Senegalese.

Kenya will next play Angola on Saturday before finishing their qualifier assignments against Mozambique on  Sunday.