Griffin Ligare: Inspiring a generation of ballers

A constant figure in the Nairobi City Thunder basketball side and an integral part of the current men’s national team squad, Griffin Ligare is arguably the best point guard Kenya has produced in recent times.

At 5’9’’ he may have seemed out of depth when he was starting, in a sport which rewards the big players, but what he lacked in size, he made up for in enviable skill and speed.

“Lacking in height makes everyone underrate how well one can play. While it can be tough to deal with it drove me to play with purpose. I play to the best of my ability and despite my size, I know how to run my team, make my teammates better and score,” Ligare expresses.

Growing up at Nanyuki Army engineering barracks, like most boys his age, Ligare was into football and he religiously devoted himself to the sport. Playing for the Army youth side, he looked up to Croatia skipper and Real Madrid attacking midfielder Luca Modric for inspiration.      

With fairly good sports facilities within the army base, the 36-year old was familiar with other disciplines and would occasionally play some pickup basketball games. It was not until his first year in high school at Sipili Secondary in Laikipia County that he gained some serious interest in the sport.

“In form one, I took up football but had to wait until form two to make the basketball team. It was easy to play the two since basketball competitions were held in the first term while football came in the second term. We had an average boys’ football team and the best we did was reaching the then District final losing to Nanyuki High. The girls’ team was good and went up to the provincial level. The basketball team was not any better but it was more fun and I loved it more hence the switch after high school.”

Ligare joined Kenyatta University (K.U) after high school and he was determined to make something out of his love for sports and basketball in particular. While pursuing his undergraduate degree in Sports Science, he joined the university team, K.U Pirates, under coach Waringo Gitau.

“Before joining campus I played pickup games at Avenue Park courts in Nairobi. On joining school and registering, I located the basketball court and was ready to go. I even opted for on-campus accommodation as it gave me the flexibility I needed to slot in early mornings and late evening practice sessions. I did not make the main team until I was in my second year of campus. It took a lot of hard work and a pre-season camp for me to make cut,” explained Ligare adding that dropping football was not easy but he still plays for fun.

In 2005, while in his second year of schooling, Pirates went on to win the Division One national league and gained promotion to the premier league. Additionally, the side won the National University and Colleges Basketball League (UCBL). He stuck with Pirates in subsequent years, leaving after graduating to join International Christian Centre (ICC) now Thunder.

“Fun and good competition have kept me at Thunder all these years. It sure feels great to win but it is meaningful when it is done while having fun. It gives you a reason to want to run it back. Once the fun and the joy of playing go out the window, withdrawal from the game is inevitable. I have no regrets sticking with my team despite missing the league championship,” the Thunder captain says.

He continues, “I will give it a couple of more shots and pray to God for one before I retire. Besides, looking at the journey, how we have impacted each other and the lives of those watching us especially the younger generation, it makes me proud of the far I have come as a player and what we have achieved as a team.” Thunder reached their first final in the 2019 season losing to Ulinzi Warriors 3-1 in the best-of-five final.

His stay at Thunder has not been without attempts to sway him off his loyalty. After K.U, Ligare attended the now-defunct Co-Operative Bank’s tryouts but he did not make the team. Kenya Ports Authority reached out but being a Mombasa-based club presented a challenge for him.

“I wouldn’t have turned down a chance to play professionally. Playing full-time basketball for a living is a dream for every baller who is passionate about the game. Had I gotten that opportunity a couple of years back, it would have been awesome. However, that does not downplay how great it would be for me if I got such a chance now,” he explains.

Having worked his way up to earning the alias ‘Kenya One’ in the national team, Ligare says he learned from the best when he received his first call up to Morans in 2005. While he did not make the squad then, his day came in the 2008 Afrobasket qualifiers in Rwanda where he made his debut for Morans and has never left. 

“Iron sharpens iron and being around the best players in the nation, working with top-notch coaches, makes one realize there is a lot to improve on. So, I kept working and embracing more team concepts and made the team in 2008. I had the likes of Ben Oludhe, now a coach in Rwanda, Ancet Wafula who was then the captain and Tobias Onyango who were lethal shooting guards,” Ligare says.

While Morans experienced a period of inactivity between the years Ligare made his debut and the recent rise that can be traced back to 2018, the player has remained in good form as evidenced in his performance in the recent outings.

He has captained the national team to their maiden Zone Five title where they beat Egypt for the first time in the history of the team. He also skippered Morans to a second-place finish in the inaugural FIBA Afro-CAN championship held in Bamako, Mali. He followed that up with another win in the six-nation Afrobasket pre-qualifier tournament.

The armband only changed hands as Morans headed to the first round of the Afrobasket qualifiers held in November 2020 as Eric Mutoroh was appointed captain in the absence of Ligare who joined the team in Rwanda for the final match of the round against Mozambique.

Away from club and national duties, the teacher by profession is involving himself with player development and sports administration. “I am inspiring the next generation of ballers by coaching primary and high school players. I am a volunteer coach at Far East Basketball Association (FEBA) academy. The next generation deserves full support in terms of sponsorship, exposure and better playing terms as that will grow our sport,” Ligare opined.

Top of the challenges that the point guard has faced in his playing career is a lack of finances both at club and national team level. This, he says has affected how Kenyan teams prepare for competitions. However, he says that recent outings with the national team have been decent.

His advice to the young, up-and-coming ballers, “Managing basketball and another career, since our leagues are not yet professional, requires discipline. Without it, one of the two suffers,” he concluded.