National basketball women’s and men’s teams Kenya Lionesses and Kenya Morans jetted out of the country yesterday for the All Africa Games (AAG) qualifiers set to jump off tomorrow to July 1 in Kampala, Uganda.
A 13-man squad for Morans and 12 for Lioness will represent the country in the Zone Five competitions that double up as qualifiers to the Morocco games scheduled for August 23 to September 3 as well as FIBA Women’s AfroBasket set for Senegal from August 9-18.
Lioness last featured in the All Africa Games in 2011 where they were eliminated in the quarter-finals, having won three of their eight matches for a sixth place finish. At the AfroBasket, the women’s team has been in the cold for the last six years.
Ronnie Owino’s girls missed the All Africa Games slot in 2015 after losing to Uganda in the qualifiers and will be looking to beat the tough competition expected.
Experienced side
Owino has named an experienced side that will be captained by Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) new signing Hilda Indasi, unattached Samba Mjomba, Dubai-based Rose Ouma and Vilma Achieng who joined KPA from Uganda’s UCU Lady Canons. Lionesses also have Mercy Wanyama, currently playing in Spain, as well as Felmas Koranga who played for Tyler University in the United States last season before rejoining KPA this month.
The men’s team, captained by Thunder’s Griffins Ligare, has six of its squad members plying their trade outside the country, injecting the much needed experience given stiff competition is expected from Uganda, Rwanda and Egypt.
Morans are looking to book their ticket to the continental games after almost three decades in the cold. Their best performance came in 1987 when Kenya hosted the games, the team finishing fourth.
