Trio to represent Kenya in Fiba Africa Championships
What you need to know:
- Gode is now appealing to Kenya teams to step up their training ahead of the championships in September.
Kenya Ports Authority, Equity Bank and Strathmore University will represent Kenya at the 2018 Fiba Africa Zone Five Club Championships, according to Kenya Basketball Federation secretary Vitalis Gode.
Speaking at the weekend in Mombasa, Gode said the three teams will each field men and women’s squads in the championship.
At the same time, Dar es Salaam and Mombasa have been earmarked to host the championships after Rwanda pulled out due to unavailability of a conducive venue for the event.
According to Gode, Rwanda’s Amahoro Stadium, the only indoor court in Rwanda and which meets international standards to host Fiba events will be undergoing a face-lift and will be unavailable.
Gode said Dar es Salaam and Mombasa have expressed willingness to host the events but have been given conditions which they must fulfill before they are given the nod.
“We have moved the games from Kigali due to the unavailability of the venue and we are waiting for Mombasa and Dar es Salam to fulfill conditions set by Fiba before we can confirm the venue to host then event,” Gode said.
Kenya Ports Authority women are the defending champions in the women’s category, a title they won in Dar es Salam in 2016 and retained last year in Kampala. City Oilers from Uganda are the defending champions in men’s category.
KPA teams will compete as Kenyan champions, while Equity and Blades will compete by virtue of having finished second in the local league.
Gode is now appealing to Kenya teams to step up their training ahead of the championships in September.
