Sammy Kiki, a former Kenya international basketball star, has
been appointed the new Kenya Ports Authority women’s basketball Head
coach with immediate effect.
Kiki, a former polished
national team and KPA point guard, replaces Anthony Ojukwu, who has
been the KPA women’s head coach for over a decade.
KPA
Administrative Manager Jane Kamau yesterday confirmed Kiki’s
appointment saying it was in the best interest of the game of
basketball at the giant company.
Ojukwu, who doubled up
as the KPA women and men’s coach will now remain in charge of the
men’s team. Kiki will be free to appoint his assistant.
“Yes
its true we have given Kiki responsibility of turning the women’s team
around and hope that he will mould a team that will perform wonders not
only locally but at the international stage as well,” Kamau.
And
immediately after his appointment, Kiki hit the ground running
recalling polished point guards Brenda Angeshi and Lucy Ohanga, who had
taken a brief break from the KPA women’s team since last year.
“I
need depth in the team as I work on strategies to reclaim the women’s
national league title we lost to students of the United States
International University (USIU) last year,” Kiki said while thanking the
KPA management for the appointment.
Kiki wants to
concentrate more on developing the youth into future stars as opposed to
the current system where KPA has been depending on already established
players from other Premier League clubs.
“The secret
of success in any sport is the youth and thus the reason I will turn
around the team by concentrating on the youth from next year to build a
formidable team which will be able to compete with the rest of Africa,
whether it will mean taking three to four years to realize this dream”,
the soft-spoken Kiki said.
