This archive report was first published on 26 July 2019.
Kenya's national men's basketball team, the Morans, have made history in the ongoing Fiba AfroCan tournament in Bamako, Mali, after beating Tunisia 82-76 in an overtime thriller on November 25, 2018.
Coach Cliff Owuor's team had a slow start, losing their first match to the Democratic Republic of Congo, but they fought their way into the last four, shaking off the slow start to secure a spot in the semi-finals against Morocco.
Coach Owuor praised his team's brilliance in the campaign, saying, “After we lost our first match, we had to device a winning strategy and we agreed that we have to be brilliant in all aspects of the game. We had to tighten our defence and also play more offensively and I am glad that our game plan worked out.”
He added that victory against Tunisia was no easy feat, and that fighting to level the score in regular time and eventually winning in the extra period was a clear indicator of the strides the Kenyans have made to improve their game.
Against Tunisia, captain Griffins Ligare top-scored for Kenya with 22 points, while Bush Wamukota scored 21. Tyler Okari and Erick Mutoro, who have been instrumental for Kenya in Mali as well as last month’s Fiba Zone Five games, scored 14 points each.
Meanwhile, Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr has expressed concern over the unprecedented free agency period, calling transactions sparked by star players “bad for the league” and “a real problem.”
