.jpg)
FIBA Afrobasket Q: Lionesses keen to cut errors ahead of crunch tie with Egypt
Reading Time: 2min | Thu. 06.02.25. | 13:44
On Wednesday, Kenya gave away the ball 17 times, with Burundi capitalizing to score 13 of their final 53 points
Kenya Lionesses head coach George Mayienga has said his team will need to get better with their ball handling if they are to get the better of hosts Egypt in their final pool game of the 2025 FIBA Women’s Afrobasket Qualifiers.
Kenya, with a 1-2 record so far, heads into the Friday contest at Hassan Moustafa Sports Hall with faint hopes of making it to the finals.
With just four points, Lionesses will hope that both leaders, Uganda (six points) and Egypt (five points), lose both of their matches on Thursday, with them beating Egypt in the decider.
Speaking about a rematch with Egypt, whom Kenya memorably beat in 2021 to make the continental showpiece, Mayienga told FIBA: “We have watched them all through the tournament and respect them as fierce competitors.
"We, however, need to work on our ball handling to reduce our turnovers, as that has been a big problem for my team.”
On Wednesday, Kenya gave away the ball 17 times, with Burundi capitalizing to score 13 of their final 53 points.
The day before, Kenya had doubled the number against South Sudan, while giving up 25 on their opening loss to Uganda.
2021 Most Valuable Player Victoria Reynolds meanwhile acknowledged that competition in Zone 5 had improved over the years, notably giving chances to nationalized players in the country.

Asked about the team’s need to win despite dropping two games, Reynolds said: “We met together before the Burundi match and asserted our feeling that we didn’t come all this way (to Egypt) to not win.
“We made some adjustments in our execution, and I am happy with the way we played."
They will hope the form carries on to the weekend.












