Basketball: Kenya U-23 punch ticket to 3x3 World Championships
What you need to know:
- The hard-fought victory saw the hosts punch a ticket to the World Championship set for September in Romania, as they topped overall in women’s category with four round wins
- Heading into the round six women final, both Uganda and Kenya were tied at the top with three round victories
- In the men's edition, Rwanda sealed a ticket to Romania on Friday when they beat Kenya 11-10 in round five finals to take their tally to four
Kenya Saturday edged out Uganda 15-12 in a tough round six women’s final of the 2022 Fiba 3x3 Under-23 Nations League Africa (South) held at Nyayo National Stadium in Nairobi.
The hard-fought victory saw the hosts punch a ticket to the World Championship set for September in Romania, as they topped overall in women’s category with four round wins.
In the men’s round six final, Uganda beat Rwanda 21-20 in another tough clash. But it was Rwanda who were crowned the overall men’s champions, since they topped with four round victories to also qualify for the World Championships.
Benin and Botswana are the other countries that participated in the one-week tournament, which produced a winner after every round.
The teams first squared it out in pools, before proceeding to semis and then finals, with each match lasting eight minutes.
In case of a tie, the teams proceeded to overtime where the first side to score two successive points was declared the winner.
The triumphant Kenyan girls are Madina Okot, Alexandra Juma, Babra Achieng’ and Jacquilyne Kogo. They were being coached by Tony Ochieng’.
Heading into the round six women final, both Uganda and Kenya were tied at the top with three round victories.
It was also the fourth time that the two sides were meeting in the final thus their last clash of the competition promised to be explosive.
Enjoying home advantage and support from a handful of fans who turned out at the stadium for the last day's contests, coach Ochieng's charges started strongly, leading 10-4 on four minutes.
But Uganda improved and threatened to spoil the host’s party with successive baskets. It set up a nervy ending of the clash, with Kenya adding five points against Uganda’s eight.
“We are very happy because at least now we have beaten Uganda. They have been a very tough opponent, having lost to them in two other finals so today's victory is one that calls for celebrations," said Ochieng.
"We had worked on our mental strength and it worked. We have no time to waste in our preparation for the world tour."
In their first final meeting Monday, Kenya beat Uganda 18-17 but the visitors bounced back Tuesday winning 20-18. Kenya won the third meeting on Wednesday 18-16, the fourth encounter held Thursday going in Uganda's favour 20-17.
Uganda’s coach Jonathan Egau said: “We were not at our best in the opening minutes of the clash. We improved and scored more points but it was not enough to give us victory. But I am happy because we put up a good show throughout the competition.”
In the men's edition, Rwanda sealed a ticket to Romania on Friday when they beat Kenya 11-10 in round five finals to take their tally to four. Still, Rwanda gave their all in the round six clashes to progress in the finals where they lost by just one basket to Uganda.
“All my players were called to the national team that was preparing for World Cup qualifiers. They are experienced so I expected them to perform well but not emerge winners. But everything is possible with determination," said Rwanda's Team Manager Mutokambali Moise.
