17 January 2007
KENYA : Player Departure Jolts Team's Chances
Kenya's prospects in the Zone Five All Africa Games qualifiers in Kigali, Rwanda, received a jolt with star player Pater Kiganya, missing in the final list submitted to Fiba-Africa on Tuesday.
Kiganya, the best player the country has produced recently, is due to fly to the US, national team head coach Ronny Owino, said. He admitted it has severely dented his plans.
"There is no doubt that without Kiganya, we will need to work extremely hard. He is a good player who has played at the top level and his understanding of the game is good," said Owino.
He said the absence of Kiganya, who has played professional in Argentina and Chile, Richard Osano and Dan Gaiko will be a blow to Kenya's chances.
"I needed a team of tall players. This cannot be possible without the trio," said Owino, adding that the door is still open for Gaiko, who has yet to report for training.
He confirmed that Kenya Basketball Federation (KBF) has sent the names of 30 players to Fiba-Africa headquarters in Abidjan thus beating the January 15 deadline.
Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) guard Mwajuma Suleiman, Yana's Caroline Achieng and Pamella Sinda have been dropped from the squad currently training at Nyayo National Stadium gymnasium, the latter due to studies.
Thomas Olumbo, who is coaching the women's side, said that the team have not responded to training and that with only two weeks left, things will have to take a different approach.
"They are still very slow. The defence and transition is not good and we also need to work on recovery. We will work on this week," said Olumbo.He said the team is shooting well and the awareness is good. But there is need to work on recovery from offence to defence in the last sessions.
Owino said the last two weeks will be vital. The winners from the Kigali show will book a ticket to the pan-African Games in Algeria in July.
Participating teams in the February 3-10 show will be Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Sudan, Somalia and hosts Rwanda.
Kiganya, the best player the country has produced recently, is due to fly to the US, national team head coach Ronny Owino, said. He admitted it has severely dented his plans.
"There is no doubt that without Kiganya, we will need to work extremely hard. He is a good player who has played at the top level and his understanding of the game is good," said Owino.
He said the absence of Kiganya, who has played professional in Argentina and Chile, Richard Osano and Dan Gaiko will be a blow to Kenya's chances.
"I needed a team of tall players. This cannot be possible without the trio," said Owino, adding that the door is still open for Gaiko, who has yet to report for training.
He confirmed that Kenya Basketball Federation (KBF) has sent the names of 30 players to Fiba-Africa headquarters in Abidjan thus beating the January 15 deadline.
Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) guard Mwajuma Suleiman, Yana's Caroline Achieng and Pamella Sinda have been dropped from the squad currently training at Nyayo National Stadium gymnasium, the latter due to studies.
Thomas Olumbo, who is coaching the women's side, said that the team have not responded to training and that with only two weeks left, things will have to take a different approach.
"They are still very slow. The defence and transition is not good and we also need to work on recovery. We will work on this week," said Olumbo.He said the team is shooting well and the awareness is good. But there is need to work on recovery from offence to defence in the last sessions.
Owino said the last two weeks will be vital. The winners from the Kigali show will book a ticket to the pan-African Games in Algeria in July.
Participating teams in the February 3-10 show will be Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Sudan, Somalia and hosts Rwanda.
# posted by afrbk : 17:35
