Preparations underway for 3x3 basketball beach games

As Kenyan federations get ready for the National Olympics Committee beach games set for March 18-19 2023 in Buntwani Park, Malindi, Kenya 3x3 head coach Zaddock Adika has embarked on another journey that will be a continuation towards seeking a team that will take part in the 3x3 beach games.

NOCK earlier last week made an official communication that they had reached an agreement with the Kilifi County Government to host the ‘first and biggest Kenyan beach games ever’ aimed to provide a sense of different culture, biodiversity, fun and sustainability.

The games will involve close to 15 federations that actively participate in beach game disciplines like basketball, handball, tennis and volleyball as they prepare for the Africa Beach games scheduled to take place in Tunisia in June.

The 3x3 national head coach through the Kenya Basketball Federation had initially programmed a series of trial matches late last month but the tournament did not reach the finals as it had been planned; mainly because some teams failed to show up.

“We are planning to do things differently this time,” Adika said. “We intend to have another trial on Friday March 10 at Nyayo Stadium that will now involve a maximum of 22 men’s and 16 women’s registered teams. From there we will begin the process of elimination via knockout games.”

Due to a number of logistical issues that affected the games in February, Adika hopes that teams will apply early and get ready for the games that will have only four teams from both categories advancing to take part in the Kenya beach games in Malindi.

“We will cut down the teams to two each and the respective 16 players will face off in Malindi,” Adika re-emphasized. “The winning team will represent the country in Tunisia for the Africa games.”

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Also in the calendar are the 2023 ANOC World Beach Games set for August in Bali, Indonesia. The Kenya 3x3 team is among the teams that have qualified to take part in the tournament.

Registration from the 1600-2000 EAT event is currently ongoing.