Kenya Lionesses coach reflects on team's performance in Afrobasket qualifiers

Every situation offers you an opportunity to learn every day.

Those were the words of Kenya Lionesses head coach George Mayienga when asked about the summary of what was a valiant effort from the national team in the recently concluded FIBA Women’s Afrobasket Qualifiers in Kampala, Uganda.

The national team jetted back into the country Monday morning to a warm reception by fans and ministry officials, but things felt way more different than in 2021.

It was not the gold medals that they expected to have strapped round their necks when they left out last Sunday, but bronze, and a missed opportunity to take part in July’s Afrobasket Finals in Kigali and the Africa Games.

“It is disappointing,” Mayienga told Mozzart Sport. “Losing and being knocked out by points is painful. We were points away from being in the finals and when the FIBA tally came through, we were of course very disappointed.”

Kenya lost one game out of the five they played, and it turned to be the decisive one as they were clear second bests against Egypt in the 82-57 loss on Saturday.

“On paper, Egypt [the tournament champions] lost as many games as we did. Uganda even lost more. Depends with how you look at it. We did our part but just didn’t show up against Egypt. It was that close,” Mayienga said.

The USIU tactician also noted the keen details opponents carried in fixtures against them, often finding ways to nullify offenses by marking their prolific players.

In a development first reported by Newslibre Sports, Uganda on Monday acquired a wildcard spot that qualifies the team to join Egypt and hosts Rwanda to the Afrobasket tournament finals in July.

“We will look at this year’s games as a missed opportunity but also an avenue for us to learn and improve our chances for qualification,” Mayienga added.

Following the Afrobasket Championships in 2021 – where the team finished ninth- the Lionesses were out of the scene till weeks to this year’s qualifiers. A whole year passed by, without a window for the team to meet or play competitive games.

That lack of exposure is what Mayienga feels needs to be dealt with in as far as boosting the team’s chances is concerned.

FIBA Women’s Afrobasket Qualifiers: Lionesses blowout South Sudan to win bronze

“Some of the girls making their debuts obviously haven’t been in such situations before and you could sense some stage fright creeping in,” Mayienga said. “My personal proposal would be to get ways in which young players get an opportunity to train or even compete in set national team camps maybe once in every four months.

“That would be very helpful to them and to us [coaches] because we will prepare them better for such tournaments. With some players on school holidays, that could be a brilliant time to have them around.”

That said, Mayienga is optimistic that the players available have got what it takes to make future tournaments, hinging on this year’s heartbreak.

The Star reported early Monday that there are talks in place to work out an opportunity for Kenya to gain a wildcard spot for the continental championships.