Morans miss out on Afrobasket qualification after loss to Guinea
Reading Time: 2min | Sun. 23.02.25. | 18:44
The result means Kenya finished bottom of Group E with six points as Guinea sealed their third-straight qualification
Kenya men’s basketball team’s hopes of making back-to-back appearances at the FIBA Afrobasket were extinguished on Sunday afternoon following a 57-44 defeat to Guinea in their do-or-die qualifying fixture at the Grand Hall in Libya.
Morans, who lost to Angola on Saturday, came into the game knowing that a win would secure their place in this year’s final, only to fold when it mattered most.
In a near one-sided contest that Kenya never led, Guinea raced to an early 8-0 lead, as Morans missed six attempts from distance, and thrice on the paint before Fidel Okoth opened the scoring for the East Africans halfway through the opening quarter.
Ousmane Drame and Abdoulaye Sy's back-to-back treys and a midrange jumper from the latter saw Guinea lead 25-12 with about three minutes to half time, Kenya taking the difference down to ten (31-21) at the end of the second period off a Albert Odero three.
Two treys and a Eugene Adera basket brought Kenya to within four points at 33-29, but Drame and Shannon Evans went up thrice from behind the arc to restore status quo at 43-33.
Kenya, who had carried a seven-point deficit to the final quarter, allowed Drame to go back-to-back from range to restore Guinea's double digits advantage at 51-38.
The final five minutes had both sides locked in a scoreless exchange of possession, with the final buzzer all but confirming Kenya’s exit from a competition they so wished to get out from, following their heroics of 2021.
“Two good defensive teams played against each other today and Guinea were the better side,” Kenya’s Tylor Ongwae, who led his team's scoring with 12 points, said after the loss.
“Our identity is defense and we executed well, but offensively we struggled. If we had a bit more energy, we would have given ourselves a chance."
Kenya’s loss will sting more given that they passed up an opportunity to grab valuable points last Friday, when a flight delay forced them to forfeit their match-up with Tunisia.
Morans finished bottom of Group E with six points, as all their pool opponents booked tickets to Angola.
