Basketball: 3x3 sides ready for World Championship
Part of the action during the 2021 edition of the Sterling Sports & Arts Inc. 3x3 basketball championship held at The Hub in Karen, Nairobi.
What you need to know:
- He revealed that an American investor has taken over the Nairobi based Thunder and renamed it Twende Sports.
- He termed the entry of the investor a positive development in the sports and that one which would go along away in catering for the welfare of the players.
Kenya’s Under 23 men and women 3x3 basketball team leaves for Serbia on Thursday for the four-day Red Bull World Championship.
The men’s team comprises Mathew Kibet, Derrick Olang, James Mwangi and Griffin Ligare, while the women's team has Agneta Kambua, Beryl Aoko, Everlyne Diana and Ashley Minayo.
Kenya Basketball Federation chairman Paul Otula said the 3x3 team is in the mix to qualifiy for the Olympic Universality Tournament to be held at a venue to be confirmed in 2024. The tournament will be for teams that potentially qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympics.
The Under-23 Women’s team were crowned silver medalists at the Africa Beach games in Tunisia in June 2023, while the Under 23 Men and Women’s teams are just from participating in the Africa Under 23 Northern Conference Championships in Algeria.
They finished second after Egypt in the Africa U23 Northern Conference Championships.
In 2022, the Under 23 women’s team participated in the 3x3 World Cup in Romania where they finished ninth. This secured Kenya’s automatic participation in the 2023 Under 23 World Cup.
Senior Women also participated in the Africa Cup in Cairo, Egypt in December earning the country crucial points to improve in its ranking in Africa.
At the same time, the Kenyan team is expected to participate in the world championship in Poland. The championship kicks off on September 27 to October 1 in Poland.
Otula said Kenya and Egypt qualified for the world championship after tying during the qualifiers.
“Currently, the 3x3 U23 Men and Women’s teams are in non-residential camp in preparation for the U23 3x3 World Cup to be held in Lublin, Poland from Sept 27 to Oct 1 2023,” he said.
Otula said the kick off of a new Kenya Basketball Federation League has been marked by positive development after a Nairobi based self-sponsored team struck sponsorship.
He revealed that an American investor has taken over the Nairobi based Thunder and renamed it Twende Sports.
He termed the entry of the investor a positive development in the sports and that one which would go along away in catering for the welfare of the players.
