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Kenya men’s basketball team, Morans, is expected back home on Monday after causing shock waves in the inaugural edition of Fiba AfroCan Championship held in Bamako.
The 12-nation biennial competition in which a team is allowed to field only two players based outside Africa saw Kenya finish second behind the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Africa Zone Five champions Kenya lost 81-62 to their Congolese opponents in Saturday’s final. Kenya had lost 82-65 to DRC in their opening group ‘B’ match.
Before Saturday’s final, Kenya’s best performance in Africa had been a fourth-place finish at the 1987 All Africa Games in Nairobi. Kenya also finished fourth in the 1993 AfroBasket Championship in Nairobi.
Kenya went to Bamako as the lowest-ranked side, sitting 131st in global ranking. Kenya Basketball Federation (KBF) Secretary General Vitalis Gode told Nation Sport that officials from the federation will be at hand to receive the team when it arrives from Bamako.
“Morans will arrive at 6am on Monday. The team will be ferried in a caravan from the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport when it arrives, and later on the players will be hosted to breakfast,” said Gode.
Gode said players will get their allowances which the federation had received from the government soon after after the team had left for Bamako.
He confirmed that Orange Democratic Movement leader Raila Odinga had given the players cash incentives before they made the trip to Mali. Odinga was also among the first people to congratulate the team on its good performance in Mali. “Keep your heads high Morans for trying your best against the Democratic Republic of Congo to emerge second overall at the Fiba AfroCan2019 basketball tournament in Bamako. We’re proud of you and wish you all the best in future outings,” Odinga said on Twitter.
Gode described the team’s performance as historic. “We have done so well. This is the best team that Kenya has ever put together and it never let us down. As KBF, we are very happy with their performance. We are also very happy with the fans and the government for their support throughout the tournament,” he said.
