The warriors are eyeing top prize at basketball championship

League champions Ulinzi Warriors have named a strong squad of 12 players for the Fiba Africa Zone V Clubs Basketball Championship that gets underway in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania from this Saturday.

The squad is composed of shooting forward quadruplet of Victor Odendo, Ancette Wafula, Joshua Okumu and Erick Mutoro.

Tiberius Menya will be the marksman for point guard alongside Dita Okoth and Joseph Mwaura in the championship where Ulinzi will be seeking redemption after a disastrous outing last year.

Those manning the big men position are William Ochieng, John Washika, Joseph Owino, Baron Mabonga and Richard Osano who are expected to put a garland show in the defence.

Head coach William Balozi has also named four players on standby and they include Bernard Mfutu, Mike Tanui, Antonio Bwire and Elvis Akoyi.

New changes in the team include Osano, formerly of Thunder and Washika, formerly of Kenya Airports Authority, who have been roped in to strengthen the squad.

Balozi said their target is to top the group stages and ultimately make it to the semis as they forage for the medal that has eluded them since 2004.

“The squad is fully fit. I am glad all my players are intact and none has any work or exam commitment. We are raring to go,”Balozi said.

Some of the new tactics the side has been perfecting at their Moi Air Base in Eastleigh, Nairobi, where they train daily include full press court, and half press court and trappings, which the coach believes will give them due advantage over experienced opponents, especially those from North African countries.

“We started training for the clubs championship over a month ago and we have been doing this from Monday to Friday every week. Our schedule involves morning run, then ball work and game situation thereafter,” Balozi explains.
The fact that Ulinzi had a good run at the just concluded Africa regional military games in Kigali, Rwanda last month where they won silver after being edged by host club APR in the finals is a great encourager to Balozi as well as to the team members.

“We did so well in Kigali and that level of fitness is still evident in the team since we came back from Rwanda we have not lost any match in the league which has seen us go top in the standings,”Balozi noted.

Ulinzi won the clubs championship trophy in 2004 in Zanzibar after a close outing in 1999 in Zambia, Lusaka where they bagged bronze after ending the championship in third place.

They failed to qualify for the championship in 2012 and 2013 and failed to attend the 2014 edition which coincided with the military games held in Kampala, Uganda.

Ulinzi did not have an encouraging outing in the last year’s edition held in Kigali where they finished fifth overall, a step ahead of Kenya Ports Authority.