A number of schools are set to represent Kenya at the Federation of East Africa Secondary School Sports Association that begins later in Mbale, Uganda. St Joseph’s Kitale, otherwise known as JOBO, Onjiko School, and Friends School Kamusinga will be representing the Kenyan boys’ category, while in the girls’ category, it will be St Joseph’s Girls Kitale, Butere Girls, and Nasokol in the championship.
St Joseph’s Kitale will also look to claim the regional title banking on the brilliant skills of Solomon Leek, who emerged MVP at the national level. The side is set to dethrone reigning champions in both the boys’ and girls’ categories, Uganda’s Buddo Secondary School.
St Joseph’s Girls, Kitale coach Patrice Kisaka said they were ready to give the Ugandans a good run for their money. The team fine-tunes their strategy and irons out any mishaps that came out during the nationals with a one-week training camp at Mukumu Girls. Kisaka is banking on Gai Nyayual – who was MVP at the nationals – to spur them to victory.
Butere Girls are also focusing on bettering their performance this time around, having improved to third place last year. Coach Vincent Omondi expressed confidence in doing much better since they had good build-up toward the event with strong teams in both 3×3 and 5×5. Nasokol’s coach, Mark Kewasis, is targeting a top-three finish in his maiden appearance in Uganda.
On the boy’s side, coach Herman Masafu of St Joseph’s Boys Kitale is optimistic about his team having a fair share of glory for Kenya. The team recently won its maiden title after outclassing Onjiko Boys 16-14 in a thrilling final at Kisii School. Onjiko coach Joseph Were said he is focused on improving on their past performance by learning from the mistakes that cost them the final.
Indomie Kenya, represented by its marketing administrator Lucy Nyambura, pledged continued support to KSSSA and growth of basketball talent. It provided kits and gift hampers for the top three teams at national level and is determined to forge a long-term tie with KSSSA in a bid to reward outstanding performances in the sport.