Hookies, Sons of Anarchy shine at the Eldoret edition of the Red Bull Half Court Tournament

As the Red Bull Half Court tournament made its debut in Eldoret, Team Hookies and Sons of Anarchy were crowned the winners of the qualifier in the men’s and women’s categories respectively. 

The tournament held at the Eldoret Sports Club saw a total of 14 men’s teams and seven ladies' teams participate. 

Akam One, Moischers Nets qualify for Red Bull Half Court final set for May

The team were looking to qualify for the national finals where they get to play against teams from Nairobi, Mombasa, and Kisumu for a qualifying slot for the world finals that will be held in Belgrade Serbia.

Team Hookies managed to snatch a last-minute winner to beat team Kickers who had kick-started their campaign in the qualifiers with an emphatic win of 17 points in their first pool match. 

Aside from the exciting games of the tournament emerging stars in junior categories got an opportunity to showcase their talent with 15-year-old Emmanuel Kiplagat putting up a show in the men’s shootout category that was dominated by senior basketball players. 

In the women’s category, Judith Cheptoo of Team Hookies received recognition in the shootout challenge. 

Speaking after the game Team Hookies captain Michele Atieno attributed their success to good preparations leading up to the competition. 

“We are happy that our team has played well. We however, acknowledge that the competition is going to be tougher especially when we get to the national final where we will be playing against some of the best teams in the country," she offered.

The format of Kenya’s only nationwide 3 on 3 basketball tournament follows the FIBA rules where teams play for 10 minutes to score 21 points max. In the case of a tie, the team that scores 2 points first wins the game. 

In each qualifier, the teams will play on a 1st round pool play where the team that accumulates the most scoring points is rewarded with a bonus point and a qualification spot in the knockout stage.

The qualified teams from the Eldoret edition of the tournament will play other qualified regional teams from Nairobi, Mombasa, and Kisumu in the National Finals that will be held on the 27 May.

Focus now shifts to the Kisumu edition of the tournament which will be held on the 29 April.