In Kigali, Rwanda

The 2021 Fiba Afrobasket championship tips off here at the iconic Kigali Arena Tuesday with defending champions Tunisia taking on Guinea in the opening match at 11:30pm.

Kenya is among 16 nations eyeing the crown at the 30th edition of the African basketball premier competition.

Kenya Morans head coach Liz Mills Monday released the final squad of 12 players that will shoulder the task of fighting for the title.

“We are looking for players who are able to play Afrobasket which is very structured and set offenses and defenses and have ability to run our plays on the offensive end as well run defensive concept down the other end of the floor," coach Mills said.

She said the Afrobasket is a tough tournament and therefore needs a team of players who are mentally tough and have experience playing against some of the teams at the championship.

“We want first orientated players who would put the team first rather than individual accolades and obviously good chemistry among players,” said Mills.

Fourteen players had travelled to Kigali, but the coaching staff dropped two, shooting guard Faheem Juma and point guard Victor Bosire.

“It was a tough decision for the coaching team to cut the last two, but we know we have got the World Cup qualifiers coming up soon and that is an opportunity for these players to come back,” she added.

Morans face two-time champions Ivory Coast in their opening match on Wednesday night.

The Elephants of Cote d’ivoire will certainly be a tough nut to crack for the young Morans, who are making a comeback at the event.

Kenya qualified after finishing behind five time Afrobasket champions Senegal and 11 times winners Angola in Group B

On the other hand, the Elephants finished top in Group C with six wins over Cameroon, Guinea and Equatorial Guinea.

The Ignacio 'Natxo' Lezk coached-side boasts of top players including power forward Matt Costello, who has featured in the NBA and point guard Souleyman Diabate, 34, who played in the inaugural Basketball Africa League with Zamalek in May in Kigali.

Others are team captain Guy Edi, Vafessa Fofana who plays for BCM Gravelines-Dunkerque in the French league, and power forward Deon Thompson.

The team, ranked fourth in Africa by Fiba, has a rich history having participated in the Fiba Basketball World Cup four times, 1982, 1986, 2010 and 2019.

Since they landed in Kigali, Morans have played two friendly matches and have lost both. They lost to Senegal 74-67 on Sunday at Green Hills School’s arena, before falling 59-40 to Uganda Monday.

“Many teams do not know about us and that is an advantage to us. We can compete with any team in Africa. On any given day, anyone can win and so are going in there hoping to cause a big upset in the tournament,” said Mills.

Team Kenya will face Nigeria on August 27 at 4pm and Mali on August 29 at 2:30pm (EAT) to finish the group phase.

TEAM

Griffin Ligare, point guard Joseph Khaemba, Derrick Ogechi (point guard), Erick Mutoro (shooting guard), Albert Onyango (shooting guard), Tylor Ongwae (small forward), Valentine Nyakinda (small forward), Ariel Okal Koranga (power forward), Fidel Okoth (centre), Tom Bush Wamukota (centre), Desmond Owili (centre) and Ronnie Gundo (Power forward).

Kenya's fixtures

August 25 Kenya v Ivory Coast

August 27 Kenya v Nigeria

August 29 Kenya v Mali