Women’s 3x3 basketball coach welcomes NOCK sponsorship, labels it ‘timely’.

Women’s 3x3 basketball head coach Tonny Ochieng has expressed much gratitude to the National Olympic Committee – Kenya for it's 'timely gesture' and constant support to the game, with their eyes fixed on making inroads to the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

The ladies’ 3x3 basketball team alongside the Malkia Strikers on Monday were the recipients of a total of Kshs 9 million in Olympic Solidarity grants set to stamp up the teams’ preparations for the aforementioned Olympic Games.

The sponsorship comes at a time when the two teams have been on an upward trajectory, showing remarkable improvements in the Birmingham Commonwealth games and the World Championships respectively.

The women's 3x3 basketball team bowed out of the 2022 Commonwealth Games in the quarter finals, losing 21-12 to hosts England.

“That was a very timely gesture by NOC-K,” Ochieng said. “It is also a sign that the Olympics Committee believes in sports development through our youths. Given that the Olympic Games are less than two years from now, the funds will definitely play a big role in getting us to prepare in earnest. That makes me happy as a coach to see us anticipate rather than react.”

Speaking about the rigorous process of preparation, Ochieng is confident that the women’s team participation in various tournaments leading up to the Olympics will be without any stumbling blocks.

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“Qualifying for the Olympic Games needs a proper plan, something we hope to achieve together with the basketball federation. Everything will stem up from having a good recruitment program, getting in the right squad of players available, doing early training and most importantly, playing in as many international tournaments as possible.”

The first assignment for the women’s 3x3 basketball team will be the twin event of the FIBA 3X3 Africa Cup and the FIBA 3x3 U17 Africa Cup set to take place in Cairo, Egypt in December 2022.

“The Africa Cup will definitely provide us a platform to qualify to more international tournaments, a key thing for us in terms of testing ourselves against the rest of the world. We are ranked as the second best side in Africa (behind Egypt) and our plan is to make sure that we rise to the top. Our Seniors provisional squad of players for the tourney are already in non-residential training and they should hit the camp this weekend,” Ochieng noted.

The winners of the FIBA 3X3 Africa Cup will qualify for the 2023 FIBA 3X3 World Cup, a route towards locking up a spot in the 2024 Olympic Games.