Kenya Morans exit the race for World Cup slot

Kenya's chances of qualifying for the 2023 Basketball Word Cup went up in smoke after the men’s national team lost all its three matches in the qualifiers taking place in Alexandria, Egypt.

On Sunday, Kenya Morans lost their third Group "D' match of the African qualifiers 86-54 to Senegal to finish bottom of the four-team table standings with six points.

Kenya started her campaign for a place in the 2023 Fiba Basketball World Cup on a wrong footing, arriving in Allexandria late for their first group match against the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) which had been scheduled for Thursday.

Kenya forfeited the match 20-0.

Joel Awich led Kenya Morans with 14 points, restricting the Senegalese to a narrow 20-19 lead at end of the first quarter.

The West Africans were up 40-31 at half-time. Kenya Morans, coached by Sadat Gaya, found themselves on the receiving end, trailing their opponents 24-12 and 22-11 in the third and fourth quarters respectively.

Kenya Morans had lost 72-39 to hosts Egypt on Friday. Egypt top Group “D” with 11 points.

The Pharaoh's rocked DRC 80-52 and also punished Senegal 76-43 to stay unbeaten on home soil.

DRC are placed second with 10 points, while Senegal lie third on nine points. The top teams from the four groups will qualify to represent Africa at the 2023 Fiba World Cup, which will for the first time be co-hosted by many countries.

The Philippines, Japan and Indonesia will host the championships from August 25 to September 10 next year.

Cote D'Ivoire top Group "C" with 12 points, having won all their matches, while South Sudan head Group 'B' and Cape Verde top Group "A" on seven points.

On the local scene, Equity Bank Dumas harvested maximum four points from their two first leg matches in Kenya Basketball Federation men's Premier League matches at Nyayo Stadium Gymnasium at the weekend.

The bankers battled from behind to beat Zetech Titans 77-58 on Saturday. Coach Carey Oketch's Dumas were down 27-23 at half-time, but stepped up their game in the last two quarters in which they outsmarted the varsity students 20-10 and 24-21 to carry the day.

On Sunday, the high-riding Equity Bank Dumas completed a double when they demolished Terrorists 67-46, thanks to experienced forward Kevin Chogo, who nailed 11 points and Derrick Onono 13.

Dumas led 39-24 at the breather. Terrorists, coached by Eugene Genga, got a rude welcome to the 2022 season with former champions Ulinzi Warriors also beating them 47-41.

Ulinzi Warriors had only seven players after Kenya Basketball Federation turned away any player without a license card.

In other matches, Zetech Titans suffered another 77-68 defeat at the hands of Umoja.

In the women's Premier League, Equity Bank Hawks clobbered Strathmore University Swords 54-41 after trailing 20-15 at the break, while Strathmore Swords' second stream side beat newcomers Scarlet 60-45.