Lynette Matheka @PeopleSports11
Kenyans were elated at the prospect of men’s national basketball team, Kenya Morans, reaching a first ever final in a continental competition as they took on Morocco last night at the inaugural senior men’s basketball African Nations’ Championship (Afro-CAN) in Bamako, Mali.
The excitement came after the Cliff Owuor-coached side stunned former African champions Tunisia in the quarter-finals to reach the semis on Wednesday night, a match that had to be decided in over time (OT).
Kenya were last in a major continental championship semi-final in 1987 when the country hosted the All Africa Games in Nairobi. At the time, current women’s national team head coach Ronny Owino, then a university student, was voted the best player of the tournament and emerged the top scorer too.
Then, the team was under the tutelage of veteran coach George Namake.
After close to three decades in the doldrums, the current crop of players and coaches Owuor and assistant Carey Odhiambo embarked on a journey to reclaiming the lost glory and they are doing it in style.
In a FIBA Africa Zone Five tournament that doubled upas the qualifier for the Afro-CAN games, Morans left nothing to chance as they beat hosts Uganda, obliterated pre-tournament favourites Egypt and went past Tanzania to lift their maiden Zone Five trophy to book a place in the Mali games.
With the stage already set with the big wins at Zone Five, Morans started intensive preparations and as fate would have it, they landed a seemingly tough pool that had top ranked Nigeria and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The squad rose from a 82-65 loss to DRC in the tournament opening match, to beat Nigeria 81-69 and land Ivory Coast in the elimination round. Tylor Ongwae, Zone Five’s Most Valuable Player, was Morans’ hero as he sunk the winner with just two seconds left for a 85-83 scoreline to take the team past Ivory Coast.
The quarter-final against Tunisia on Wednesday brought out the fighting spirit of the Morans as they held their own to see off the North Africans 82-76 in OT.
“Our target before coming to the games was reaching the medal bracket so we are not there yet. So far, the team chemistry is working and all players are taking instructions. Our defence is good and that has given us the time to execute our plays in the offence,” said coach Owuor before last night’s match.
Before the Morocco match, Ongwae led the scoring charts at 89 points averaging 22.3 points per game. Skipper Griffins Ligare was at 49 points with Eric Mutoro a point behind.
