With a big dream, an experienced new coach, quality signings and hours of sweat and pain in intense training, Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) have indeed done everything within their means, and it’s now up to the gods of basketball to decide their fate.
The dockers return to the Women’s Basketball League Africa (WBLA) on a mission to be the best in Africa as the annual championship begins today in Cairo, Egypt.
The 2023 silver medallists who missed last year’s championship are determined to go one step further and claim their first ever WBLA gold. They will face off with 11 other sides, among them defending champions Ferroviario de Maputo from Mozambique, hosts Al Ahly Sporting Club and the two Rwandese sides that troubled them in the qualifiers.
They had a tumultuous qualification journey that saw them almost locked out of this year’s contest after missing an automatic slot to Rwanda Energy Group (REG) in the semi-finals of the Zone Five qualifiers. KPA lost 81-71 to Armée Patriotique Rwandaise (APR) in their last preliminary match. They suffered at the hands of the Rwandese once again as they succumbed to a 45-62 defeat to REG in the semis.
Follow The Standard
channel
on WhatsApp
They got a reprieve thanks to a wild card, but they had to work hard for it in their third-place play-off match against Burundi’s Les Hippos. They qualified as the last team from the zone following a hard-fought 89-81 overtime win against Hippos.
KPA assistant coach Samuel Ochola revealed that the team was keen to play better than they did during the qualifiers.
“We are ready and have held some training sessions here (Cairo), and the girls are in high spirits. Our strategy is to remain focused on the match at hand and throughout the entire game as we utilise our chances and be sharp on execution in both defence and offence,” Ochola said.
Ochola noted that returning to the championship after one year in the cold, they have to improve on the silver medal or at least secure a podium finish.
“We don’t expect the standards to be as they were in 2023 and so we are going to give our all because we want to upgrade our silver, but we must be on the podium,” said Ochola.
To level up their WBLA opponents, KPA sought the services of experienced tactician Nabil Kabalan, who will be in charge of the dockers on an interim basis.
Kabalan brings a wealth of experience to the Coastal side, having been the assistant coach of the reigning Basketball Africa League (BAL) champions, Al Ahli Tripoli, and the Libyan national team. KPA also strengthened the playing unit with the signing of Americans A’llexxus Johnson and Sara Dickey.
Kabalan, who linked up with the side days before the start of the tournament, is expected to immediately instill high levels of tactical discipline, mental strength and winning spirit in the squad. The inclusion of Johnson and Dickey will also bolster the side which has retained most of the players who featured in the qualifiers.