Kenya Ports Authority basketball teams are enduring a torrid time from home fans who have taken to getting behind visiting teams during league matches.
Coast Basketball Federation chairman Hilmi Ali who has been watching in desbelief as Coast fans cheer KPA’s opponents at their Makande backyard, has attributed this hostility to the tendency by the teams’ technical staff to ignore young talented players from the region.
“It is very sad that KPA basketball teams cannot get home support because of hostility of the fans who feel offended that players born and bred at the Coast have to start their club basketball in Nairobi before KPA can poach them back,” Ali said.
He said it was wrong for KPA to continue ignoring young talented players while the same players are proving to be very useful to other teams.
Rapturous support
Against KCB, Coast fans cheered the bankers who had former Mombasa Baptist High and Makupa Lakers Zaddock Odhiambo in their ranks .
Cooperative Bank of Kenya, with former Makupa Lakers and Aga Khan High student Salim Mwandawiro lining up for them, enjoyed rapturous support from the Makande faithful
Musa Odari, Francis Odari, Dan Okwiri, Patrick Kirui, Mike Opel, Geofrey Omondi, and Innocent Ochieng are the mainstay of the KPA’s mens’ side but none of them were were nurtured by KPA in their immediate post- school playing careers.
The Odari brothers schooled at Serani Secondary and Shimba Hills but had to move to Nairobi’s Cooperative Bank of Kenya and Stormers of Nairobi before KPA recruited them.
Omondi, a former Khamis High School student hang around for three years after his secondary school without any attention from KPA only be enlisted on return from A- level studie in Uganda. i Dan Okwiri and Ochieng are Kisumu Boys alumni.
Abundant talent
Eagle Wings and national women coach Thomas ‘Smarts’ Olumbo is also unhappy aboutt KPAs tendency to recruit r established players from Nairobi while there is abundant talent at the Coast.
“If I was the KPA coach today, I would not get a single player from outside the Coast because there are several talented boys and girls at the coast who are still in school or have completed education but do not have jobs”, Olumbo said in an interview.
KPA personel manager Jane Kamau also beleives she has discouraged KPA coaches against taking established players saying it was proving costly for the cooperation.
“We are not employing anybody in the near future but when we start, we will have to restrict it to a certain age and consider local players first”, Kamau who is dissapointed that some players who were recuited just two years ago have already quit playing for unclear reasons.
The national basketball leagues takes a break this weekend as teams headt to Kisumu for the Kenyatta Day Tournament which will be players at the Kenyatta Sports Ground.