KPA, USIU ready to represent Kenya in Mozambique

KECOSO:BASKETBALL FINAL Joseph Kahemba of Kenya Ports Authority ( right) battles with Mosses Wanjala of Communication Authority at the Basketball final during the annual KECOSO games at Mengai High School in Nakuru on August 19,2016 .PHOTO:KIPSANG JOSEPH

Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) and United States International University (USIU) safely arrived in Maputo, Mozambique ready to represent Kenya at the 2016 Fiba Africa Women’s Clubs Basketball Championship.

The Kenyan sides are among the 12 clubs that will strive to wrestle the continental diadem from two-time winners and current defending champions Primeiro de Agosto of Angola.

Other worthy contenders in the championship include Club Desportivo de Agosto(Angola), DUC (Senegal), Etoile Filante (Togo), Ferroviario Maputo (Mozambique), First Bank (Nigeria), Groupement Sportif (Algeria) and Inter Clube (Angola).

KPA assistant coach Phillip Onyango said their aim at the continental event is to set a mark by finishing in the medal bracket just the same way Kenya’s Eagle Wings did by winning bronze in the 2013 edition held in Morocco.

Onyango said they are ready for any eventuality as they have trained well and will take opponents head-on irrespective of their history.

“We arrived in Maputo safely. We are yet to know our opponents as the draws are yet to be done, but I can assure you we are ready for the opponents. We will treat each and every match with the keenness it deserves,” Onyango said.

Onyango’s sentiments were echoed by KPA power forward Selina Okumu who was recently voted Most Valuable Player at the Fiba Africa Zone V Clubs Basketball Championship in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, which KPA won to qualify for the Maputo leg.

“We will take each match at a time. We are here to treat all opponents equally and will be careful not to lose points through some mistakes which are uncalled for,” Okumu said. Likewise, USIU coach George Mayienga was optimistic that his side which were runners up in Dar es Salaam, will be a force to reckon with in Maputo.

“We arrived quite early and I can say my side has acclimatised. We are hoping and praying that our injured key player, Sarah Chan, will heal faster to be back on court for our group stage matches,” Mayienga said.

Meanwhile, KPA men are in Nairobi to engage USIU in Game Two of the Kenya Basketball Federation (KBF) men’s Premier League quarterfinal playoffs at Nyayo National Stadium gymnasium.

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