L. MathekaMorans eying a friendly in Egypt ahead of World Cup qualifiers
Reading Time: 2min | Mon. 20.06.22. | 19:01
The side is in group D that has Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Egypt and Senegal.
National men’s basketball side, Kenya Morans, are yet to begin residential training for the FIBA Africa World Cup qualifiers set for 1 to 3 July in Egypt.
The team, currently training under coach Sadat Gaya at Nyayo Indoor Arena began meeting three weekends ago, training only on Sundays with the Kenyan-based players.
They have since been joined by the trio of forward Ariel Okall, centre player Fidel Okoth and last season's Most Valuable Player (MVP) Ken Wachira who have been playing in Uganda and the frequency of the training sessions changed to daily.
"We train from 8 to 10pm at Nyayo Indoor Arena. Currently I have ten players in camp. We are yet to begin residential training but we are hoping to get a few days before departure for Egypt," offered coach Gaya.
Morans have an herculean task as they look to overturn their 0-3 deficit for a chance to proceed to the second round of qualification.
Coach Gaya, who is set to be joined by head coach Cliff Owuor this week says preparations have not been to expectations and a friendly match before the games begin will do his team alot of good.
"In the previous outings we have managed to play some friendly matches that have proven to be crucial. We are hoping to get to Egypt in time for at least one friendly before the 1 July match as that would help us get some perspective as to where the team is.
National men’s basketball team Kenya Morans begin their hunt for a place in the 19th edition of the FIBA World Cup 2023 with a clash against the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) at the African qualifiers throwing off on Friday 25 February. https://t.co/upLSvryiso
— Mozzart Sport Kenya (@MozzartSportKe) February 25, 2022
Our preparations could have been better. First, getting the team in ready without a clear picture of who is available for duty could be difficult. We are, however, hopeful the entire squad will be in camp soon and we will get a few days to train together," offered Gaya.
In addition to Okoth, Okall and Wachira, Gaya has the experienced quartet of Griffin Ligare, Victor Bosire, Victor Ochieng and Eric Mutoro.
Varsity players Ariel Otega, Dennis Koja and Bramwel Chevai are also in camp making it ten, the number of players who have consistently trained for the July window of qualification.
Morans will miss the services of centre player Desmond Owili, with Gaya confirming the player has been sidelined with injury. Also unavailable is Faheem Juma who was named in the 3x3 national team currently in camp preparing for the Commonwealth Games.
The technical bench will be relying on the availability of Preston Bungei, Joel Awich, Tom 'Bush' Wamukota, Albert Onyango, Valentine Nyakinda among others.
