Kenya Morans sweating on Ongwae's availability

Kenya Morans assistant coach Sadat Gaya is hopeful team forward Tylor Ongwae will recover in time to link up with the team in Cameroon where the team will play the second window Afrobasket qualifier matches between February 17 to 21.

Ongwae, a Bakken Bears’ player, was injured in the first minutes of his team’s 119-92 win against hosts Horsens IC in Denmark’s top-tier basketball league on January 31 and missed Bears’ 96-76 win against Randers Cimbria in the Denmark Cup semi-final on February 6.

“His absence will cause a domino effect of changes that will need to be made. In the event he is unable to join the team, we will need to make major adjustments as he is the kind of player we cannot replace with just one player. His absence will leave a big void and the other players will need to pick up the scoring responsibility. We will also have to change our style of play in his absence,” Gaya said.

He continued, “However, this will not be the first that we are forced to make such drastic changes as Tom ‘Bush’ Wamukota’s absence in the first window in Rwanda forced us to change our plays. We are hopeful he will be cleared for the Cameroon trip.”

Ongwae has been an integral part of the Morans squad and was instrumental in helping the team clinch their first Zone Five championship title, where he was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP), to book a ticket to the inaugural Afro-CAN championship in Bamako, Mali.

The 29-year old helped Kenya bag silver at the Afro-CAN as he picked the top-scorer gong. Morans beat Nigeria but lost to Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in the group stages. They went on to defeat Ivory Coast and Tunisia to book a date with DRC in the final where they lost 82-61. Ongwae and Wamukota made it to the team of the tournament.