L. MathekaMorans begin Afrobasket campaign against Ivory Coast
Reading Time: 2min | Wed. 25.08.21. | 13:30
The national team is making a return to the games after a 28-year absence.
National men's basketball team, Kenya Morans take to the court on Wednesday 25 August 2021 for their first match on the FIBA Afrobasket in 28 years where they face Ivory Coast from 10PM EAT.
Morans head to the match as underdogs against a team currently ranked number 50 on the FIBA World Ranking and fourth in the continent. Morans are ranked 111th globally and 19th in Africa and have their work cut out against an Ivory Coast team looking to replicate their performances of 1981 and 1985 when they won gold.
Ahead of the championship, Morans have played three friendly matches. First for a narrow 75-72 win against national league champions Ulinzi Warriors at Nyayo.
The team, upon arrival in Kigali played two friendly matches losing to Senengal and Uganda.
"Against Senegal, we has a good start and the first five minutes we were holding our own. They dominated the remaining minutes on first half on transition and bench scoring. We also gave easy baskets which we need to avoid during the championship,"
"We settled in the second half but it was difficult to close the gap they had created. There were alot of positives from the game and we got to see areas that needed working on,"
"We only played three quarters against Uganda but that was enough to test if we had adjusted our plays. There were positives there too. We managed to stop their transition plays but we allowed them to move the ball well and make open shots," said assistant coach Sadat Gaya.
Ivory Coast were no doubt the top performer of Group C in the AfroBasket 2021 Qualifiers. The West African nation have not looked back since their return from the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup in China.
MATCH DAY!!! 🇰🇪🇰🇪🇰🇪🇰🇪🇰🇪
— Team Morans (@Teammorans) August 25, 2021
Kenya vs Ivory Coast 10pm EAT
Khaemba, Owilli, Ligare, Okall, Gundo, Odero, Bosire, Ongwae, Nyakinda, Mutoro, Wamukota, Okoth#moranstotheworld pic.twitter.com/YBXrRBF7Se
No doubt their confidence has grown and it has shown in their approach to any event as was witnessed throughout in the AfroBasket 2021 Qualifiers. The 'Elephants' punched their ticket to the final in Kigali, Rwanda with convincing wins over Cameroon, Guinea and Equitorial Guinea.
The team recorded a perfect record in all 6 matches they played in the November and February Windows living nothing to chance that they were the best team in their group.
Additional information by FIBA Africa
