Former East Africa boys’ basketball champions Laiser Hill Academy are looking to end more than 10 years of heartbreak and pain at the hands of their regional opponents.
The national champions are determined to reclaim the East Africa title they last won in 2012 when the games were held in Bujumbura, Burundi.
Since then, their best performance was last year’s second-place finish during the annual games held in Mbale, Uganda.
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Despite losing 51-54 to Amus College in the final, they had made a good account of themselves. Laiser Hill will be battling 11 other schools at this year’s Federation of East Africa Secondary Schools Sports Association (FEASSSA) games set for August 14-23 in Kakamega.
Laiser Hill coach Anthony Kirimi is confident that his charges can build from last year’s display to finally reclaim the title that has eluded them and Kenya for over a decade.
“We did well last year even though we failed to kill off the game and our opponents capitalised on home advantage to deny us the trophy. We have been working hard and the boys are determined to give their best and improve on last year’s performance,” Kirimi said.
He added that though they will be playing at home, Kenyan teams must start well and maintain the good show throughout the competition.
“We have home advantage, but that alone without hard work will amount to nothing. We must put in the effort on the court and with Kenyans rallying behind us, I believe we will be unstoppable. We are now playing for the country and if we all start well and be consistent, we can enhance our chances of having the trophy remain in Kenya.”
The four Kenyan sides will be looking to wrestle the title from the Ugandans who have dominated the sport for years. Upper Hill was the last Kenyan side to win the coveted boys basketball trophy in 2013 in Lira, Uganda.
Since then, the boys have been overshadowed by their Ugandan counterparts.
Former national champions Dr Aggrey, Dagoretti High School and newbies Lukenya Boys High School will all be battling it out against Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda teams for the title.
They will launch their title campaign in Group A alongside Lukenya, who will also be out to impress on their first appearance. The two Kenyan sides will be up against East Africa regulars Juhudi Secondary School from Tanzania, Marie Reine Muhanga from Rwanda and Uganda’s St Cyprian High School Kyabakade and Kibuli Secondary School.
Laiser Hill captain Dynoken Ochieng said they will play every match as if it were the final because they respect all their opponents.
“We will handle all our opponents with the seriousness they deserve because they are the best from their countries. Just like us they worked hard to qualify for the games and so we respect them,” Ochieng said.
Dr Aggrey and Dagoretti are in Group A that also has defending champions Amus College and Seeta High School from Uganda, I.T.S Kigali from Rwanda and Tanzania’s Lumala Secondary School.