Tylor Ongwae quits Kenya Morans

"I am not completely shutting the door on Morans but at the moment I am not part of the team." 

These are the sentiments of Kenya Morans forward Tylor Ongwae who quietly stepped down from the team after their participation at the Afrobasket. 

In an interview with Mozzart Sport, the Denmark-based Ongwae says his decision to quit the team after the Afrobasket was fueled by mismanagement. 

Despite saying that he had informed the team that he would not be joining them for the Word Cup Qualifiers (WCQ) and Mozzart Sport reliably learning that he left all social media (WhatsApp) groups associated with Morans after that, he was still named in a 20-man provisional squad released on Sunday for the WCQ set for next month. 

"I informed the team and management back in September that I was stepping down to focus on club and family and leave room for up and coming players to also have a platform to grow," offered Ongwae. 

His retirement has been made public at a time when the national team has been rocked with accusations and counter accusations between the playing unit and out going tactician Liz Mills with a damning letter send to the Kenya Basketball Federation (KBF) executive painting a bleak picture of the relationship the players shared with the Australian tactician. 

Mutinous Morans' damning letter that may have cost Australian Liz Mills her national basketball team job

"I have never had any issues either coach Cliff Owuor until his departure neither with Mills during her reign. The only thing I have struggled with is the management of the team from the get go. There is alot that needed to change in how the team's affairs were handled," he says,

He adds; "If the way the team is managed changes for the better, then maybe I can consider making a comeback. However, that maybe be too late for me to make a return due to the age factor," Ongwae continued.  

The three-time Danish champion joined Kenya Morans in 2019 ahead of the AfroCAN qualifiers and championship, playing a major role in the Kenyan side winning silver at the continental showpiece. 

While he missed the Afrobasket pre-qualifiers, he was, again, instrumental in the two wins that Morans bagged to qualify for Afrobasket in 28 years. 

He was instrumental in Morans' win over 11-time Afrobasket championship title holders Angola, a win that handed the team a ticket to the biennial Afrobasket showpiece after a 28-year hiatus. 

He had a largely quiet game against Senegal in the first match of the February qualification window. Playing 21.12 minutes, the small forward managed six points as Kenya lost 69-51. 

The lanky forward came to life in the Angola match where he played 33.10 minutes and top scored for Morans at 16 points. 

It is, however, his buzzer-beater, a mid-range jumper, that will forever be remembered in the entire match as it stunned Angola 74-73 to sent Kenya to the Afrobasket. He stayed out for the Mozambique match that Kenya lost 71-44. 

In the five matches he played in the entire qualification process, he was Morans' leading scorer averaging 14.8 points and 4.2 assists. He finished as the team's second leading-rebounder with 7.2 board.