Courtesy
Courtesy

Contrasting fortunes for Kenya's 3x3 teams in U23 Nations League

Reading Time: 2min | Mon. 31.07.23. | 17:39

With Monday 31 July acting as rest day, the two teams will return to the court on Tuesday, taking part in the next three stops that culminate on 3 August 2023

Kenya’s basketball team to the 3X3 U23 Nations League - Africa Nations Cup (Northern Conference) has in the first half of the required six stops in Algiers, Algeria registered contrasting results as the chase for September’s 3x3 Nations League Finals hots up.

On the bright end, there has been the bright spot of the ladies team claiming victory in one stop, and posting remarkable results in individual legs, with a much changed men’s side finding it tough going in the six team tournament.

After finishing third in Stop 1 on Friday 28 June, where the ladies team went on to beat Algeria 19-10 before narrowly losing to Egypt 14-13, the quartet of Madina Okot, Esther Minayo, Mary Lisa Omondi and Mary Ann Nyagaki, stormed to a Stop 2 victory Saturday night, recording two Pool A victories before hammering Egypt 20-19 in the final.

The trend was not the same for the ladies on Sunday, as after beating Morocco 19-5, fell to Tunisia in the second pool game, halting their progress into the finals.

As it stands, Egypt top the overall standings with two legs won, as compared to Kenya’s one, but remain in good standing to book a place in the finals in Mongolia should they amass maximum points in the next three legs coming up.

The men’s side - who have a wildcard to the finals- have however not registered a single win in the first three stops, with their closest performance being a narrow 13-12 defeat to Egypt on Sunday.

Kenya also lost 19-18 to Algeria in overtime on Friday.

“They are not the results we really wanted,” the men’s U23 head coach Tonny Ochieng said on Monday. “We are playing well but need a win to measure our performances. Our finishing, if anything, is what we need to pay attention to and we are working hard to get it right.”

With Monday 31 July acting as rest day, the two teams will return to the court on Tuesday, taking part in the next three stops that culminate on 3 August 2023.

The men’s team is seeded fifth, while the women’s team are the fourth seeds.



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Kenya 3x3 National TeamAfrica Cup 3x3 championshipNorthern Stop3x3 Nations League

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