This archive report was first published on 16 September 2021.
On September 16, 2021, Kenya Lioness, the national women's basketball team, jetted out to Yaoundé, Cameroon, ahead of the 2021 women's AfroBasket, which began on September 17, 2021.
Despite missing the services of influential player Felmas Koranga, who led Kenya in Africa Zone V Championships in Rwanda, where she was voted the Best Power Forward, Vilma Achieng is confident ahead of the games.
Lioness head coach George Mayienga made two changes to the squad that won the Zone V championships, bringing in Ivy Opicho and Selina Okumu in place of Koranga and Cecilia Okumu.
Speaking to The Standard Sports, Achieng said the team is in a good mood and are under no pressure.
“Our main focus is competing better than our predecessors,” said the Lioness power forward, referring to Kenya's best performance at the championships in 1993 where they lost to Senegal in the final.
The Lioness bagged the automatic Africa Zone V ticket by stunning Egypt 99-83 in the final in Kigali, where Victoria Reynolds was named the Most Valuable Player.
Kenya's last AfroBasket outing in Dakar in 2019 was a disaster as they failed to win any match, a show Achieng said they want to forget.
Kenya are in pool A alongside Cameroon and Cape Verde. The Lioness will be led by Melisa Akinyi and Rose Ouma.
