By PHILIP ONYANGO
Despite a sizeable number of its top players having landed basketball scholarships abroad in the past ten years and efforts by the Kenya Basketball Federation to improve the local sport, Kenya is losing its regional stature.
Of late, Kenya, a powerhouse in the game just a few years ago, has seen its clubs lose matches to Rwandan and Ugandan sides. That the Rwanda national men’s team is gradually taking a commanding lead in the region talks volumes about the stagnant level of the local sport.
Lack of government attention, withdrawal of corporate support and failure by the former KBF officials to put in place proper structures has seriously hurt Kenya’s basketball and the country might soon be playing second fiddle in the region.
Replacement for former greats such as Ronnie Owino, George Nyundo, George Namake, Smarts Olumbo, George Ogola, Big Sam Omole, Isaac Omole, Vincent Mbulushe and Lawis Odera have not been made in the men’s team.
Slots previously occupied by the likes of Queen Olumbo, Nasila Achieng’, Susan Kariuki, Caroline Omamo, Salome Etenyi, Berther Akuno, Wilkister Oduor and the late Betty Murunga and Pheobe Orimba in the women’s side are yet to be filled after their would-be replacements went abroad on basketball schorlaships.
Some of the top Kenyan women players in the diaspora who can easily conquer Africa include Rose Ouma of Wayland Baptist University, as well as Gladys Wanyama, Mildred Olumasi and Beatrice Awino Oyenje, all of Union University.
Lorraine Achieng’, Maureen Obudho, Lillian Atieno, Lorraine Atieno, Jacky Wasuda, Maureen Wasuda and Brenda Wasuda, are all in Texas. In New York are Judith Lulu Obiero and Marion Githengi, while Miriam Wandanda is in Seattle and Josephine Achieng’ Owino in Turkey.
Fundraiser for air tickets
The players’ impact was witnessed when only three players – Josephine Owino, then at Union, Rose Ouma (then at Lewis and Clerk) and Lorraine Achieng’ were called up for the All Africa Games in Algeria and gave giants like Angola, Senegal, Nigeria and Mali a run for their money before finishing a respectable fourth.
International instructor Ronnie Owino and long-serving national head coach Thomas “Smarts” Olumbo are in agreement that no African country would beat Kenya if these women were in the team.
“Whether it will mean organising a major fundraiser for air tickets, we must start calling up these players for international assignments at both club and national team level, like Rwanda and other countries are doing, for us to make an impression,” Owino said in an interview.
There is, however, a flicker of hope. The new KBF leadership entered the teams in all international assignments last year.
For the first time, the Under-18 national team took part in both the zonal championships in Uganda and the Afro Basket Championships in Tunisia (girls) and Egypt (boys).
The women’s team performed pretty well, beating big names like Nigeria, DR Congo, Cote d’Ivoire and Benin before losing narrowly to the hosts in the quarter-finals to finish a worthy fifth.
Since at least six of the girls in the championships last year will still be in the same age brackets next year, with proper preparations Kenya can easily make it to the World Junior Championships.
The players include Purity Auma and Susan Akinyi, who are headed for US colleges on basketball schorlaships, Helen Oketch, who was voted Kenya’s best defensive player in the league this year, Virginia Awino, Olumasi and Shimba Hills guards Fatma Mohamed and Lucy Ohanga.
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Even though the boys got a hammering, losing all their matches to finish last, the experience the players and the technical bench gained in Egypt will come in handy when Kenya takes another shot at the championships in August.
Lack of structures has however seen such talent go to waste as some of the women’s coaches prefer recruiting established players who have retired from clubs to nurturing talent straight from school.
Sadly, no Kenyan club made a podium finish in the past decade. Neither has the national team. Local clubs finished either last or second last in the Africa Club Championships.
Latest casualties
Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) women and Co-operative Bank of Kenya men were the latest casualties at the continental event as both wound eighth with single wins in the edition held in Benin (women) and Rwanda (men).
Ironically, five-year-old Rwandan Patriotic Army (APR) were third after losing by only 12 points to defending champions and eventual winners Primero de Agosto of Angola.
KBF’s recent decision to organise high level coaching courses in Nairobi could help develop standards, but only if coaches will respect players from schools.
And as Olumbo, who is also the Eagle Wings coach, puts it, KBF ought to compel clubs to form youth teams which would feed the clubs when their players leave for whatever reason.
Permanent Under-12, Under-15, Under-18 and Under-20 teams would beef up the national team, he said.
“We should be knowing who will be a replacement for which player instantly, without looking around, which is only possible through youth programmes,” Olumbo said.