Vilma Achieng ready to help Kenya write own history at women’s AfroBasket

Vilma Achieng Owino of Kenya Ports Authority Basketball team trains at KPA Gymnasium in Mombasa. 6th April 2021.[ Omondi Onyango,Standard]

National women’s basketball team Kenya Lioness forward Vilma Achieng is ready to help the team emerge victorious ahead of the 2021 women’s AfroBasket tip off on Saturday in Cameroon.

The KPA star player said she is confident of helping Lioness in writing its own history when they jet out today to Yaoundé on Thursday.

Kenya are in pool A alongside hosts Cameroon and Cape Verde.

Despite missing the services of the influential Felmas Koranga fresh from leading Kenya in Africa Zone V Championships in Rwanda where she was voted the Best Power Forward, Vilma Akinyi is unbowed ahead of the games.

Speaking to the Standard Sports, Achieng said the camp is in good mood with no pressure.

“Our main focus is competing better than our predecessors,” affirmed the Lioness power forward referring to Kenya’s best performance at the championships in 1993 where Lioness reached the finals losing to winners Senegal.

“No pressure. I doubt if there is pressure but u know as human nature we would want to achieve more not only being the Zone champions but also Africa which is our next target.”

The Lionesses bagged the automatic Africa Zone V ticket by stunning heavyweights Egypt 99-83 in the final in Kigali where Reynolds emerged the Most Valuable Player.

Kenya's last AfroBasket outing in Dakar in 2019 was a disastrous one as the Lionesses did not win any match, a display Akinyi says the team has put behind them.

The Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) forward said the team is drawing inspiration from their men counterparts Kenya Morans who narrowly missed the quarterfinals of the men’s AfroBasket in Rwanda but with a goal of doing better than them.

 “We understand people no longer take Kenya as underdogs anymore and that's why we are preparing well for stiff competition,” echoed Achieng.