Kenya Morans play Senegal in World Cup qualifiers
Kenya Morans' Ariel Okal (right) battles for the ball with Abdirahman of Somalia during their Fiba AfroBasket 2021 pre-qualifier at Nyayo Gymnasium in Nairobi on January 16, 2020.
What you need to know:
- Kenya Morans arrived late at the City Arena in Alexandaria, Egypt, on Friday night for their opening match in Group “D” against the Democratic Republic of Congo and paid a big price for it
- Kenya Morans, who face a tall order to qualify for the next stage of the competition, were scheduled to play hosts Egypt in their second match on Saturday night from 9pm
- With no funding coming forth from the government, Kenya Morans failed to secure air tickets in time for the trip to Cairo
Troubled Kenya men’s basketball team, Morans, play Senegal Sunday night in the second match of the African qualifiers for the 2023 Fiba Basketball World Cup.
Kenya Morans arrived late at the City Arena in Alexandaria, Egypt, on Friday night for their opening match in Group “D” against the Democratic Republic of Congo and paid a big price for it.
Kenya’s opponents DRC were awarded a 20-0 walk-over.
Kenya Morans, who face a tall order to qualify for the next stage of the competition, were scheduled to play hosts Egypt in their second match on Saturday night from 9pm.
In other qualifier matches, Cape Verde shocked Nigeria 79-70, South Sudan defeated Rwanda 73-63 and hosts Egypt registered a 76-46 victory over struggling Senegal. Uganda also benefited from 20-0 walk-over against Mali.
With no funding coming forth from the government, Kenya Morans failed to secure air tickets in time for the trip to Cairo. Fiba bailed out the team at the last minute, and a squad of seven players and four officials led by team manager Angela Luchivya left the country on Thursday night for Allexandria via Dar es Salaam.
Two key professional players Albert Onyango and Bush Wamukota were to link up with the Morans directly in Egypt from Pensylvania and California in the United States of America.
Morans lost 66-56 to DRC in the first qualifier window in Dakar, Senegal in February. The team also lost 105-51 to Egypt and 100-55 to Senegal.
The team is led by assistant coach Sadat Gaya after head coach Cliff Owuor failed to link up with the squad from Kigali, Rwanda.
Meanwhile on the local scene, Equity Bank men’s team beat Zetech University Titans 77-58 in KBF Premier League first leg tie at Nyayo National Stadium Gymnasium on Saturday.
The bankers were down 27-23 at the break but turned the heat on the varsity students in the last two quarters to emerge winners. Equity Bank’s brilliant finishing saw them outscore Zetech 20-10 and 24-21 in third and fourth quarters respectively.
Zetech University women’s team rocked Storms 52-28 in a one-sided women’s Premier League encounter. Storms, who had been beaten 95-42 by champions KPA, trailed 31-14 at half-time.
In the lower-tier league matches at the same venue, Snipers beat Blazers 53-44 after having led 28-26 at the breather.
Neosasa harvested maximum two first leg points when they clobbered KCA-U 60-53 in a balanced showdown. The winners were up 28-22 at half-time.
