Kenya Morans coach upbeat despite residential camp delays

With barely a fortnight to the second window of the Afrobasket Qualifiers where Kenya is up against powerhouses Senegal, Angola, and Mozambique, the homeboys, Kenya Morans are yet to go into residential training.

Currently training at Nyayo Indoor Stadium under coach Sadat Gaya and the newest addition to their technical bench Liz Mills, Morans have less than 14 days to train in Kenya as the competition jumps off on February 17 to 21 in Cameroon.

“We have intensified our training and are now holding two training sessions in the morning and in the evening. This has helped get our drills right. Since we do not have the luxury of playing friendly matches at this time, we are looking forward to residential camp and having all our squad members in camp. This will go a long way in helping us prepare even better as we will have more time together as a unit,” said coach Sadat Gaya.

Morans will have a two-day rest when the action begins in Cameroon before taking on group B leaders Senegal on February 19. Angola will be up next for Gaya’s charges on February 20 with the final duel against Mozambique scheduled for the last day of competition.

“Coach Mills has brought in her expertise in analytics and film-breakdown which is helping immensely in our training sessions. We are working on our shooting which was a major undoing in the November window losses, half-court offense, transition, and execution of plays,” added Gaya.

Kenya lost 92-54 to Senegal in a match that showed instances of brilliance from the home players, especially in the first half. Kenya held the group leaders to a 19 all draw in the first quarter before losing 28-14 in the second quarter. With a 14-point lead on the break, Senegal made tactical changes in the third quarter, resting their first-team players allowing Kenya to score 19 points against 11 for the match to head to the final period with Kenya trailing by three baskets. Senegal made easy work of Morans in the final quarter scoring 34 points against Morans’ two for the final score.

Against Angola, Kenya trailed by 14 points on the break and extended the gap to 30 points at the end of the third period. With the win secured, the 11-time Afrobasket title holders had the luxury of letting Morans run the scores for 28 points against 15 but it was too little too late for Morans.

Morans recovered from a three-point trail at the half-time mark in their do-or-die clash against Mozambique to score 23 points in both quarters of the second half against the opponent’s 12 and 14 for a 79-62 win.