Eldonets cry foul as KBF playoffs begin

The chickens have come home to roost as the mundane manner in which Kenya Basketball Federation (KBF) run their league affairs has finally caught up with them. 

Men's premier league side, Eldonets, have called out the federation for handing a walkover against them in the regular season that has seen the side drop to seventh place instead of fifth had they been allowed to play the match. 

The Maurice Ouma-coached side were scheduled to play Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) in a return match in Mombasa on Wednesday 20 October but the match never happened. 

"We are not a fully professional side and having players in Mombasa on a weekday, despite it being a holiday was practically impossible. This was a postponed fixture. The first time it happened we got a call from the office and were informed that the match would be played at a later date. 

We spoke to the fixtures secretary Joseph Amoko after the mid-week fixture was released to us and explained that we would not be able to travel to Mombasa. During the inter-provincial playoffs hosted in Eldoret in November, again, we spoke to Amoko and agreed that the match would be played on 15 January 2022. 

It was not until he released the standings on 3 January that we realised that he had indicated that we had given a walkover to KPA, despite the agreement we had," Ouma explained. 

While there is no way of ascertaining the conversations indicated above happened and whether KPA were informed of the unavailability of Eldonets on 20th and the rescheduling of the match, this is not the first time decisions have been made with no official communication from the federation.

"Our first fixture against KPA was cancelled verbally so this is not new. I have written to KBF and the Secretary General (SG) kept promising to have the issue resolved until a week ago when they (officials) stopped picking calls. 

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I believed this was unfair treatment and did something about it. However, the players are ready to play against KPA as the repercussions of doing others will be relegation for giving two walkovers in a season," Ouma further said adding that his position in the team is uncertain. 

Efforts to reach either the fixtures secretary or the Secretary General to shed light on the matter were futile. 

KPA have been training in Eldoret this week in preparation for the fixture. Coach Sammy Kiki says that, while the break had affected his playing unit's fitness levels, they have had some time to regroup and are ready. 

"Being inactive for more than a month has had its toll on the players but we had a good camp in Eldoret and I believe we are ready for the task ahead. 

Playing outdoors brings a different dynamic to our game and we will need to be sharp in all departments. However, defence will play a huge role in us winning against a side that is accustomed to the playing surface and to playing outdoors," offered Kiki.