GITAHI: Should we expect better outings in club basketball this year?

Straight out of the gates, Kenyan clubs participation in FIBA international tournaments in 2022 was heartbreaking and worrying. Or maybe my expectations were higher than they should be?

Engulfed in the smoke this past year were the two teams that have for a long while maintained their dominance in the Kenya Basketball Federation scene – Kenya Ports Authority that somehow choked in the big stage.

On the women’s side, KPA had their FIBA Africa Zone Five Club championship title won in 2021 slip through their fingers, losing 78-67 to Egyptian opposition Alexandria Sporting Club in the finals. The other Kenyan side present, Equity Hawks finished fifth.

Having made the zone five finals, next up for KPA December was a trip to Maputo, Mozambique in the FIBA Africa Women’s Champions Cup – where podium finishes had proved difficult in the past.

It was status quo yet again – a sixth place final classification that ended in a blowout loss to Senegalese side ASC Ville de Dakar.

KPA had lost 4 of their 7 games played as fellow Zone Five finalists lifted the crown.

What about the men you ask?

Okal shares Somalia experience, still putting up big numbers in Oman

2022 offered a Kenyan side with a precious opportunity to make it through to the holy grail of African basketball tournaments – the Basketball Africa League – entering its third edition after two magnificent seasons.

Home side and defending champions, Kenya Ports Authority had in their first attempt made a logistical mess of the whole situation – arriving late into the competition only to leave early!

November was different, credit to the club organization, but the on-court performances weren’t.

The writing on the wall came in a surprise loss to Malagasy side COSPN in the Road to BAL 2023 games before a series of three blowout losses ensued.

The defeats were to little-known Burundian side Urunani (72-43) and wildcard side NBA Academy (84-69); stooping well below their two wins in 2018 that at least offered a route past the group stages.

International-caliber players losing in the manner they did looked like an all-time low. And so was the coaching.

As unfair as that might sound, the aforementioned club struggles exposed game plans, tactics and preparedness – the latter which from a logistical sense was enhanced, but not on the court.

In the sidelines were savvy heads that with their level of experience – spanning decades- have earned my trust, but there needs to be a sign of ‘improvement and progress’ when everything else (from the outside looking in) seemingly appears to be falling in place.

No way is this a lynch on one group of orchestrators. It's a call for individual clubs to sense the times and maybe take measures to put themselves in a position to win all while regaining trust from the fans?

FIBA Africa resolve to launch Women’s version of BAL

City Oilers from Uganda needed three years of groundwork- from a painful 2019 loss to Ferroviario da Beira to their historic BAL qualification to come to fruition. In amongst that was the trust in coach Mandy Juruni to do the re-build; the progress is visible.

2023 will offer similar opportunities to league champions in the proposed Africa Women’s Basketball League and the BAL qualifiers later in the year. Clubs showing vision early and entrusting the right personnel to transform it to reality is greatly vital in solving the puzzle. Looking at the mirror could be where they start!