Kenya women’s basketball team deserve praise and support

The Kenya womens basketball team swept aside all opposition at the Africa zone 5 games to qualify for the 2013 Africa basketball. The results were impressive; From the very beginning, Kenya was all business and showed their opponents who was the boss. They trounced Burundi and Tanzania by scores of 86-44 and 74-32 respectively.  In their 3rd game, Kenya earned a measure of revenge by beating Rwanda with a 71-49 pummeling. The win was impressive because Rwanda had beaten Kenya to qualify for the 2011 Africa championship. And the Rwandese team is always laden with American mercenaries. Hilda Indasi scored an incredible 34 points.

Then came the big game against Egypt Kenya started on a furious note leading 35-18 at half time before dispatching the Egyptians 70-64. Beating Egypt is no easy feat. The Egyptians have dominated Kenya at virtually every team spot but especially basketball. The fact that Kenya women were able to beat Egypt means the sport is coming of age at least on the women’s side.

In the final game, Kenya trounced neighbours Uganda by a score of 77-57 to book their ticket to the championships which will be held in Maputo. The performance put aside the nightmare of the last two championships where Kenya failed to qualify. In 2011 they lost to Rwandan team full of American mercenaries by 3 points. And in 2009, Rwanda also qualified at Kenya’s expense. The last time Kenya qualified for the African championships was in 2007.

Coach Ronny Owino, a former Kenya international deserves praise as do the players for their stellar effort.

Time for Kenya Basketball Federation to publicize and promote the team

The KBF has been rather silent when it comes to promoting this team. Kenyans know about the exploits of the Kenya volleyball team. They are all over the papers whenever they win a tournament. However the exploits of our basketball girls go unnoticed. At this zone 5 championships, the coverage from Kenya’s daily newspapers has been scant or non existent. The onus is on KBF to work hard to publicize the success of Kenya’s girls amongst the public so that Kenya fans can become familiar with Silalei Shani, Hilda Indasi, Ronny Owino and the others. KBF must go as far as calling the newspapers to ensure coverage of this team. The fact that basketball is considered this unimportant by the newspapers and the public is one of the reasons sponsors like KCB are pulling out.

Use this opportunity to gain sponsorship

Tied to publicizing this team is the fact that with good publicity, sponsors will come. When Kenya Prisons volleyball team qualified for the world cup, it enabled them to gain sponsorship from Equity Bank. When the Kenya rugby sevens team became a core member of the IRB series, they got a multitude of sponsorship. The sponsorship came largely because of the good publicity that these teams received in the media. This is precisely why KBF must work hard to publicize the achievements of this team. KBF should not miss this glorious opportunity to gain sponsorship for the women’s national team.

Bring back some of Kenya’s experienced players

The Somalia men’s national team surprised many by performing well at these championships. It was largely because the team was composed entirely of Somalis based in the UK, USA and Australia. It happened because a few individuals took the initiative to raise funds to get these players to come back home and play for the Somali flag.

Kenya has a number of players with experience playing in top leagues all over the world. Yet none of that talent is ever used. KBF should seize the initiative to identify 2 or 3 players whose addition to this team will make the team stronger and more capable of competing with Africa’s giants.

Kenya has players like Josephine Owino who recently has played in Turkey and Eastern Europe. There is Marion Githegi who is based in the UK. Mildred Olumasi and Beatrice Awino Duol who recently played for Union University. Rose Ouma formerly of Baptist University and a host of others. The addition of 2 or 3 deserving players from this group could enable Kenya to compete with any team in Africa.

Owino and Duol especially would be useful because this Kenya team likes height. The tallest player is Silalei Shani at 6’1″. Owino and Duol are 6’5″ and 6’6″ respectively. This is the kind of height needed to compete against the likes of Senegal and Cameroon whose team is laden with gigantic girls.

It is a crying shame that each year Kenya sends some of its best players to the USA on scholarships and once these players leave, they never play for Kenya again. Not only could they make Kenya stronger, but they could impart much of the knowledge they acquire in the USA to other Kenya players and especially to the youngsters at places like Tigoi girls and Shimba hills school.

KBF can either sit on their hands and say they dont have the money to bring these players. Or they can start a fund raising campaign early, present a budget and a plan to the Ministry of sports , start soliciting for sponsorship and get some of these players added to the team.

Preparation is Key

Now that Kenya has qualified, for the Africa championships it will be critical that the core group of players is kept together , kept motivated with financial incentives and most importantly play against high quality opposition. The last time Kenya played in the Africa championships in 2007, they won only one game and lost four matches against the likes of Angola, Nigeria and Cameroon. This is the opportunity to show the continent that Kenya basketball has indeed come of age. It can be accomplished with a well planned program.

With proper preparation, planning and support, this group can emulate the group of 1993 who reached the finals of the African championships in Senegal and thus qualified for the world championships.

Let us support our girls

Playing in the African championships against the likes of Congo DRC, Tunisia, Angola and Nigeria is no easy task. The Kenya girls will need both moral and material support from Kenyans.