Olympic teams shine at Junior NBA and Safaricom tournament
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Reading Time: 2min | Mon. 24.02.25. | 14:00
Forty coaches were on-site to assist with workouts for the players before the games
The Olympic boys and girls teams were the stars of the first Junior NBA and Safaricom tournament played at Sabis International School in Nairobi.
The tournament had an impressive turnout of 24 schools, with more than 500 junior players.
In the girls’ semifinals, Olympic beat Daima 26-4 in a one-sided match on the outdoor courts.
St. John was made to sweat before edging out Chrisco 12-10 in an entertaining encounter.
In the boys’ semifinals, Olympic were in a class of their own as they brushed aside Harambee 15-6 in the first semifinal.
St. John, on the other hand, pushed hard before edging out favorites Makini School 16-14.
Daima secured third position in the girls’ tournament after defeating Chrisco 13-5.
In the boys’ competition, Makini hammered Harambee 23-10 to take the bronze medal.
Olympic won gold in the girls’ competition after thrashing St. John 25-3 in a one-sided final.
However, the tables turned in the boys’ final, where St. John edged out Olympic 17-14 in a tightly contested match.
“It feels great. We have worked hard, and winning a tournament like this is a just reward for all the effort we put in. Preparations were vigorous because we have been training since schools closed in November (2024). When others went on holiday, we stayed behind in Nairobi to train. The rewards are showing now,” said Ezra Alenga, coach of the Olympic Junior Secondary team.
“We’ve been working toward this for years. It feels good because it was a tough competition. My boys were disadvantaged because of their size, and our opponents in the final were very physical. But we were tactical and shot from the three-point line that they didn’t guard, and that’s how we scored,” elaborated Coach Brian of St. John Junior Secondary School in Korogocho.
Forty coaches were on-site to assist with workouts for the players before the games. Some boys and girls will be selected for the Junior NBA Elite 100 camp in April in Mombasa.
“We had all 500 players playing games and doing workouts. One hundred were identified for additional workouts on day two before the semifinals and finals. Fifteen girls were selected for the ‘For Her’ camp by the Basketball Africa League, which will be held in Nairobi at the end of February during the BAL weekend in Kenya,” explained Mike Finley, Kenya Country Lead for NBA Africa.
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