Skillful Mutoroh named Warriors skipper

As Kenya Basketball Federation (KBF) men's league holders Ulinzi Warriors look to defend their local title, national team shooting guard Eric Mutoro will captain them in their campaign. 

Mutoro, who has been part of the team since 2014, will be assisted in his duties by lethal point guard Tiberius Menya. The two take over from the team's forward John Washika who guided the Warriors in clinching the 2019 title. 

In addition to the local league, Warriors are expected to represent the country in the second edition of the Basketball Africa League (BAL) whose inaugural edition is tipping off on May 16 to 30 in Rwanda, without a Kenyan representative. Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) were eliminated in the qualifiers to the inaugural showpiece. 

Mutoro has been a constant figure in the national team squad, Kenya Morans, since 2019 when the team won their maiden Zone Five title to qualify for the inaugural Afro-CAN held in Bamako. He produced man-of-the-match performance in Bamako as Kenya finished second in the competition reserved for Africa-based players. 

He has served as the assistant captain to Griffin Ligare in the national team until their trip to Rwanda for the Afrobasket qualifiers, last year, when he took over as captain in the absence of Ligare. 

Warriors had played five matches, losing one away to Kisumu Lakeside in a 61-59 score line, before the league was suspended following President Uhuru Kenyatta's directive following a surge in Covid-19 positive cases in March. With the league expected to resume soon, Warriors will be looking to get back to winning ways. 

Meanwhile, a change over has also been effected in the military side's second team, Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) Morans who play in the KBF division one league. 

Stephan Simuyu will captain the side assisted by Samuel Kariuki. The two take over from Samuel Dalamia, a small forward, who joined the team in 2011 after four year of playing for the Engineers Brigade.