League champions KPA now eye regional glory
Basketball
By
ERICK OCHIENG'
| Feb 14, 2017
After bagging the 2016 Kenya Basketball Federation men’s Premier League trophy at the weekend, Kenya Ports Authority are now eyeing the Fiba Africa Zone V Clubs Basketball Championship title.
KPA have vowed to break the jinx that has seen them miss the regional trophy in the finals by a whisker, not once but twice.
The first time the dockers missed the trophy was in 2002 when current coach Sammy Kiki was still a player at the club.
They were edged out by APR of Rwanda in the finals at Nyayo Stadium gymnasium, the venue where they bagged their fifth KBF title on Sunday evening.
The second time they narrowly missed the regional trophy was in 2014 when Kiki was the club’s assistant coach under the current KPA clubs head coach Anthony Ojukwu.
The painful bit was KPA were the hosts of the regional championship at the Makande Gymnasium in Mombasa when they went down against Urunani of Burundi in the 2014 finals.
“The event is still fresh in our minds, it was a painful loss as we were so sure of bringing the trophy home,” said Kiki.
But Kiki says that is now water under the bridge and they are now focused on bringing the regional trophy home this year.
Among their preparations to conquer the Fiba Zone V Clubs Basketball Championship to be held in Kampala, Uganda in October will be the recruitment of three vital players in the club.