Owuor Officially exits Kenya Morans

Basketball tactician Cliff Owuor will not be part of the national men’s basketball side Kenya Morans anymore. The former United States International University (USIU) coach has rejoined his former employer APR of Rwanda.

Morans reported to camp on January 13 with a majority of local-based players. At the time, assistant coach Sadat Gaya was in charge as Owuor was still in Rwanda. Australian Liz Mills has since joined the technical bench ahead of the second window Afrobasket qualifiers that kick off in a fortnight.

With federation officials maintaining that Owuor would still join Morans and take over his role, his continued absence from camp raised eyebrows on his availability. The tactician, however, joined the team in training on Tuesday evening and set things straight.

“Due to the nature of my job and the demands that my club is presenting, I will not be available for the February window of the qualifiers. I am still open to coaching the national team if the chance is presented and my job allows for it to happen. I met the team on Tuesday and explained my unavailability,” said Owuor who is shortly in the country before going back to Rwanda.

Rwandese dailies have reported that Owuor has agreed to a two-season contract with the army side that will see him stick with the club until the end of the 2023 season. Owuor has previously coached the side for more than ten years before leaving in 2017. In that time, he guided the side to four league titles and the 2008 FIBA Africa Zone V club championship. 

He has been Morans’ head coach since the team began their journey back to the continental scene after almost a decade of inactivity. He led a squad of ten players who traveled by bus to Kigali where they played two friendly matches against the Rwandese national team at the Kigali Arena.  

The trip to Rwanda under Owuor and Carey Odhiambo then, its shortcomings notwithstanding, was the tip-off of a chain of events that has led to Morans being part of the Afrobasket qualifiers. The initial squad had ten players led by Griffin Ligare, Victor Odendo, Joseph Khaemba, James Mwangi, Fidel Okoth, Valentine Nyakinda, Brian Muchina, Faheem Juma, William Otieno, and Dan Lubutse. They went on to lose 80-65 in a Friday night encounter but played a better game the following day to draw 65-65.

He guided Morans to Silver at the inaugural Afro-CAN championship in Bamako, Mali after clinching the ticket to the continental showpiece by winning their first Zone Five title. In January 202, he was at the helm as Morans beat five other countries including Luol Deng-led South Sudan in a Zone Five pre-qualifier event held in Nairobi. In the first window of the qualifiers proper, the team won one match against Mozambique and are looking to post at least a win in the second window to make a return to the Afrobasket after 27 years.