Kenya Morans routed by DR Congo in FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 Qualifiers

Kenya Morans were outplayed by the DR Congo   56-66 despite a strong performance in the first-round game at the Dakar Arena, in Senegal.

DR Congo maintained control throughout the game to grab an opening win over Kenya. The Central Africans have yearned for one thing for decades, worn their way into the restricted circle of great basketball nations on the globe.

DR Congo disclosed 25 turnovers and team Morans made the most of it elevating 17 points from that.

Kenya looked vulnerable without bigs Tom Bush Wamukota and Fidel Okoth, protecting their rim as they were out-rebounded 54-29 and DR Congo’s bench rose to the displaying, contributing 25 points.

DR Congo’s captain Malela Mutuale Balume translated his team’s desire to want to measure up with the game’s heavyweights.

“I’m very proud of what my teammates showed because we played against a very good team and we were tough on defense against Kenya,” the 30-year-old said in the aftermath of that game.

“We looked better physically, we tried to drive them to the limits and at some point, it worked but we have several aspects to improve on,” Mutuale noted, before adding “We badly want to be in the World Cup and you can say it even in the way we play as well as in the attitude of the players.”

The top performers in the game were Griffin Ligare of Kenya recording 12 points and Shekina Munanga of Congo RC recording 7 points.

Also, Senegal crushed Egypt 75-55 in the first-round game in group D.

The spirited Morans will square it out with Egypt today and Senegal on Sunday in their group D matches of the first round of the 2023 World Cup African qualifiers. The return matches are scheduled for July this year. The best three teams from all four groups will advance to the second round of qualifiers.