A group of five diaspora-based players is set to join the Kenya Morans basketball camp this week in preparation for the upcoming FIBA Africa Afro-Can Championships in Luanda, Angola, scheduled from July 8th to 16th.
Among the players expected are Tom Wamukota from Rwanda’s APR, Arial Okal from Dynamo Burundi, Fidel Okoth from Oman, Derrick Ogechi from Minnesota, USA, and Peter Sifuma from UCU, Uganda.
The national team began their training at the Nyayo National Stadium gymnasium a week ago, and team manager Mercine Milimu expressed excitement about the arrival of the diaspora-based players. She mentioned plans for arranging friendly matches on Friday and Saturday.
Mentioning Derrick Ogechi, who was part of the 2021 Afro-Basket team in Rwanda but didn’t get playing time, Milimu praised his skills and game control, highlighting his shooting ability. She also commended the performance of the local players during training, noting the abundance of talent available for the team in the coming years.
In their first friendly match against a Streets League Combined side at the Nyayo Stadium gymnasium on Friday, the local-based players displayed impressive form and emerged victorious with a scoreline of 114-86.
Milimu expressed optimism about the talent-laden future of the team, mentioning that players who don’t make the cut this year will have the opportunity to participate in the Afro-basket Qualifiers in November next year.
Head coach Cliff Owuor, based in Rwanda, temporarily excused himself from the camp to attend an official release in Kigali but is expected to rejoin the team by the end of the week. Owuor led the Morans to a silver medal in the inaugural event held in Mali in 2019.
During the recent draws conducted in Maputo, Mozambique, the Morans were placed in Pool A alongside Gabon. The identity of the third team in the group will be determined after regional qualifiers.
The top three teams from the previous Bamako event, including Kenya Morans, earned direct qualification to the 12-team tournament, which aims to promote and develop basketball players from African leagues.
